Wikitravel - Changes related to "Arbil" [en]

Dubai

2013-05-18T11:52:03Z

‎Buy:

Istanbul

2013-05-15T22:58:19Z

‎Get around:

Wikitravel:How to edit a page

2013-05-15T06:15:55Z

‎Using the check boxes:

Iraqi Kurdistan

2013-05-14T02:48:30Z

‎By plane:

Dubai

2013-05-13T06:47:56Z

‎By taxi:

Iraqi Kurdistan

2013-05-11T08:11:06Z

‎Understand:

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 Dubai is practically synonymous with shopping. The huge amounts of cargo passing through its port and the low tariffs ensure that practically anything is available at fairly competitive rates, although the appreciation of the Dirham, and the plentiful supply of shoppers means that Dubai is no longer a bargain basement shopping city. You'll also find products in western chain stores, still with the original tags quoting euro or sterling prices, being sold with a 20-30% mark-up once converted to Dirhams.
-The best things to buy in Dubai is textiles, electronics and gold, electronics is believed to be much cheaper while textiles and gold offer a wide range of selection.
+The best things to buy in Dubai are textiles, electronics and gold, electronics is believed to be much cheaper while textiles and gold offer a wide range of selection.
 Even in the mega-malls, Dubai shops suffer from the standard developing world shopping phenomenon of having no storeroom and no stocks in reserve - and for clothes shopping this may mean that you may struggle to find the style you want in the size you want.  Shops open as early as 9AM and stay open to 10PM and on weekends to 12AM and some stay to 1AM.

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 [[Image:Istanbul akbil.JPG|thumb|100px|An ''Akbil'' device.]]
-Buying an Istanbulkart is a good idea if you are in Istanbul for more than a day or two, and intend to use public transport. This is a plastic card that looks like a credit card.  It can be used as a ticket on buses, trams, suburban trains, metro and even the cross-Bosphorus ferries. You touch the Istanbulkart to a reader when you get on the bus or enter the tram/metro platform. The great part for groups of travellers is that you can buy only one and touch it as many times as there are passengers (unlike London's ''Oyster'' card, there is no need to ''touch out''). You can buy or refill them at designated booths located at any major bus, tram, to metro station, as well as some other places such as newspaper stands close to bus stops. An Istanbulkart provides slightly discounted rates (about 0.10TL cheaper) compared to regular single tickets, as well as discounts in transfers (when used multiple times within a limited period, roughly an hour and a half since the last time you used it). A deposit for the device itself is payable when you buy it (10 TL), which is not refundable, and neither is any credit left on the Istanbulkart.
+Buying an Istanbulkart is a good idea if you are in Istanbul for more than a day or two, and intend to use public transport. This is a plastic card that looks like a credit card.  It can be used as a ticket on buses, trams, suburban trains, metro and even the cross-Bosphorus ferries. You touch the Istanbulkart to a reader when you get on the bus or enter the tram/metro platform. The great part for groups of travellers is that you can buy only one and touch it as many times as there are passengers (unlike London's ''Oyster'' card, there is no need to ''touch out''). You can buy or refill them at designated booths located at any major bus, tram, to metro station, as well as some other places such as newspaper stands close to bus stops. An Istanbulkart provides a flat fare of 1.95TL for the first ride, which is a cheaper option in comparison to tokens used in Metro and speed trams (jeton, 3TL), but more expensive for buses. Istanbulkart also allows discounts in transfers (when used multiple times within a limited period, roughly an hour and a half since the last time you used it). A deposit for the device itself is payable when you buy it (10 TL), which is not refundable, and neither is any credit left on the Istanbulkart (when bought at the Ataturk airport metro terminus, 4TL deposit will be already on the card when bought). Note that there are different booths for buying the card and for charging it, and charging booths accept only banknotes.
-Once you have bought and loaded the card, your first journey costs 1.95TL, then any change within approximately 2 hours costs progressively cheaper; second journey is 1.25TL, third is 1.00TL and so on. Note that changing metro line or travel type, i.e. ferry to bus, or metro to tram, requires you to go out of the turnstiles then to check back in to the new line or travel type. Therefore this is extremely more economic than buying individual ''jetons'' at 3TL per journey.
+Once you have bought and loaded the card, your first journey costs 1.95TL (except for Metrobus, which costs around 3TL), then any change within approximately 2 hours costs progressively cheaper; second journey is 1.25TL, third is 1.00TL and so on. Note that changing metro line or travel type, i.e. ferry to bus, or metro to tram, requires you to go out of the turnstiles then to check back in to the new line or travel type. Therefore this is extremely more economic than buying individual ''jetons'' at 3TL per journey.
 The Istanbulkard is relatively new, and is replacing the older ''Akbil'' metal touch-token which is being phased out (but is still in wide use).  It is now just about impossible to buy an Akbil.  However, there are still some places that do not yet accept the Istanbulkart, so if you have an Akbil token left over from previous trips to Istanbul, keep hold of it:  they still work.  Some Kiosks still have ''Akbil'' signs rather than ''Istanbulkart'' signs - but you can usually buy or top up your Istanbulkart at any kiosk where the ''Akbil'' sign is displayed.

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 If you are [[Special:userlogin|logged in]] to a [[Wikitravel:How to create a user account|user account]] there will be a '''This is a minor edit''' checkbox for marking your changes as "minor". The idea with this is that people reviewing page history or recent changes can filter out unimportant changes. It's up to you to determine what makes your changes "minor" -- usually, spelling corrections, grammar, or formatting changes are "minor", and changes to the real information on a page are not.
-The '''Watch this article''' checkbox puts this article on your [[Wikitravel:Watchlist help|watchlist]]. Any changes to the article, or to the article's talk page, by you or anyone else will show up in your watchlist, so you can keep an eye on the article.
+The '''Watch this article''' checkbox puts this article on your ''[[Wikitravel:Watchlist help|Watchlist]]''. Any changes to the article, or to the article's talk page, by you or anyone else will show up in your Watchlist, so you can keep an eye on the article.
-The default setting -- whether these checkboxes are checked or not by default -- can be set in your [[Wikitravel:User preferences help|user preferences]].
+The default setting -- whether these checkboxes are checked or not by default -- can be set in your user ''[[Wikitravel:User preferences help|Preferences]]''.
 ==Starting new pages==
-If you are starting a new page from scratch, please make use of our '''[[Wikitravel:Article templates|templates]]''' which helps to organize the information on a page and give a consistent look. See [[Wikitravel:How to start a new page]] for more information.
+If you are starting a new page from scratch, please make use of our '''[[Wikitravel:Article templates|Article templates]]''' which help to organise the information on a page and give a consistent look. See [[Wikitravel:How to start a new page]] for more information.
 ==Restoring previous article versions==
-If an editor changes or removes content from an article the old versions of the article are still available from the article's history.  To view article history, click on the "history" tab for any article, then click on the date for the revision that you are interested in.  To revert the article to the specified revision, simply click on the "edit" tab while viewing the old version and then re-save the version.  Alternately, if you just want to revert a single edit click on the "undo" link from an article's history next to the edit that is being reverted.
+If an editor changes or removes content from an article the old versions of the article are still available from the article's history.  To view article history, click on the "'''View history'''" tab for any article, then click on the date for the revision that you are interested in. To revert the article to the specified revision, simply click on the "edit" tab while viewing the old version and then re-save the version.  Alternately, if you just want to revert a single edit click on the "undo" link from an article's history next to the edit that is being reverted.
 ==See also==

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 ===Orientation===
-Iraqi Kurdistan refers to the 3 Kurdish northern Iraqi Provinces, which are autonomous of the central Iraqi government and ruled by the Kurdistan Regional Government. These provinces achieved de facto independence after an uprising in 1991 and their autonomy has now been enshrined into the Iraqi federal constitution. The 3 Kurdish Provinces are, Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaymaniya. Although the city Kirkuk is largely inhabited and controlled by Kurds, but still not under the rule of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Kirkuk and some other parts such as Diyala and Mosul are disputed. The Kurds claim that these places are originally Kurdish but were subjected to harsh Arabization by the outsted Bath party which ruled Iraq for 30 years. They want these cities to return to Kurdish autonomy. Apart from the 3 Kurdish provinces, it is not safe to travel to the disputed places. While it is very safe to travel to Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaymaniya, it is not safe to travel to Kirkuk or Diyala.
+Iraqi Kurdistan refers to the 3 Kurdish northern Iraqi Provinces, which are semi-autonomous of the central Iraqi government and ruled by the Kurdistan Regional Government. These provinces achieved de facto independence after an uprising in 1991 and their autonomy has now been enshrined into the Iraqi federal constitution. The 3 Kurdish Provinces are, Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaymaniya. Although the city Kirkuk is largely inhabited and controlled by Kurds, but still not under the rule of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Kirkuk and some other parts such as Diyala and Mosul are disputed. The Kurds claim that these places are originally Kurdish but were subjected to harsh Arabization by the outsted Bath party which ruled Iraq for 30 years. They want these cities to return to Kurdish autonomy. Apart from the 3 Kurdish provinces, it is not safe to travel to the disputed places. While it is very safe to travel to Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaymaniya, it is not safe to travel to Kirkuk or Diyala.
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 ==Get in==
-Citizens of the EU, the US, Canada, Japan and Australia are given a free stamp on arrival. Most other nationalities must produce a valid "Iraq - Kurdistan Region" visa on arrival. However, you will have to report to the Residency Office within 10 days of your arrival. This involves many forms to fill out, around $30 USD in fees as well as a compulsory blood test to check for Hep C and HIV. Be prepared to wait for around 2-3 hours throughout this whole process.
+Citizens of the EU, the US, Canada, Japan,Australia and Turkey are given a free 10 days stamp on arrival. Most other nationalities must produce a valid "Iraq - Kurdistan Region" visa on arrival. However, you will have to report to the Residency Office within 10 days of your arrival if you want to stay longer than 10 days. This involves many forms to fill out, around $30 USD in fees as well as a compulsory blood test to check for Hep C and HIV. Be prepared to wait for around 2-3 hours throughout this whole process.
 Border control is fairly strict (understandably). If you have a contact in Kurdistan, come armed with their name and address. If you don't, make sure you have a very good idea of what exactly you will be doing and where you will be staying. You are also more likely to get in if travelling with someone else, and if you are well-dressed.
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 * Silamani International Airport (ISU/ORSU) http://www.sul-airport.com/index.php
-There are daily flights to Europe and turkey specially from erbil international Airport.
+There are daily flights to Europe and Turkey and also Middle-East like Lebanon Dubai and Amman specially from Erbil international Airport.
 ===By bus===

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 Taxis ply the streets of Dubai and are relatively easy to spot. The easiest place to find them is at the taxi queue at one of the malls or outside a hotel. Waving down a taxi on the road is possible, but can be difficult during rush hours. At peak times (7-9AM & 4-7PM workdays, and Friday evenings) demand far exceeds supply, and not only are taxis hard to find, but those who deign to pick you up may demand crazy off-meter fares or refuse short rides in congested areas entirely.  The standard of driving in Dubai ranges from poor to wild - taxis are some of the worst on the roads.  Taxi drivers are pretty good at knowing where the main shopping malls and hotels are, however less well known places will mean the driver calling his brother-in-law to get directions, whilst he drives around in circles on your time - hence it is a good idea to have a rough idea of where you are heading or what a nearby landmark is. It also helps to know exactly what place you are going to rather than to ask for the nearest whatever-it-is (hotel, Metro stop, etc.), as they might drive farther in order to charge you a higher fare.
-Taxis are metered at 1.75 dhs/km, so no haggling is necessary.  The rates of all taxi companies &mdash; Dubai Transport, National, Cars, Metro, and Arabian &mdash; are identical, so just take the first one that comes along.  From the airport, there is a standing charge of 25 dhs; all other street pickups attract a standing charge of 3.00 dhs during the day, 3.50 at night (10 PM-6AM), but a minimum fare of 10 dhs applies, and there is a surcharge of 20 dhs for going to [[Sharjah]].  Taxis are exempt from the Salik road toll charges.  Beware of unmarked hotel taxis and limousines though: while some of these are metered, they are ''not'' tied to the official rates, and can be much more expensive. [http://dtc.dubai.ae/en.portal?dtctariff,Article_000031,1,&_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=view] One way to spot whether a taxi is official or not is to look for a meter: no meter, don't get in.
+Taxis are metered at 1.75 dhs/km, so no haggling is necessary.  The rates of all taxi companies &mdash; Dubai Transport, National, Cars, Metro, and Arabian &mdash; are identical, so just take the first one that comes along.  From the airport, there is a standing charge of 25 dhs; all other street pickups attract a standing charge of 3.00 dhs during the day, 3.50 at night (10 PM-6AM), but a minimum fare of 10 dhs applies, and there is a surcharge of 20 dhs for going to [[Sharjah]].  Taxis are not exempt from the Salik road toll charges which costs an adtional 4 Dh (since January 1st 2013).  Beware of unmarked hotel taxis and limousines though: while some of these are metered, they are ''not'' tied to the official rates, and can be much more expensive. [http://dtc.dubai.ae/en.portal?dtctariff,Article_000031,1,&_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=view] One way to spot whether a taxi is official or not is to look for a meter: no meter, don't get in.
 If you can't find one otherwise, you can attempt to call a taxi at 04-2080808, there's a surcharge of 3 dhs to book. The booking system was notorious for its unreliability but with a significantly increased taxi fleet, many taxis now deliberately wait in unofficial holding areas waiting for bookings. As a result, on a good day it can be possible to book a taxi and have it arrive within less than five minutes. If you absolutely have to get somewhere at a certain time (say, the airport or a meeting), it's still best to book a hotel taxi in advance, ''and'' get their estimate of how bad the traffic will be.
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 '''Phone Booths'''&mdash; Phone booths are located on most streets. Phone cards can be purchased from hotels and tourist shops.
-'''Internet''' &mdash; Internet cafés can be hard to find. The usual rate per hour is 3-4 AED. There are a number of cafés on Al Musalla Rd./Al Mankhool Rd. in ''Bur Dubai'', including one at 38 Al Musalla Rd. and one at Computer Plaza next to the Ramada Hotel. A number of Internet cafes are found in ''Satwa'' too. In Satwa there is the French Connection in the Al Wafa Tower on Sheikh Zayed road (opposite side of road from the Dusit Hotel), which has wi-fi access and nice cakes/pastries. In ''Al Qusais'', there is an internet café a five-minute walk northwest from the Dubai Youth Hostel. Turn right out of the gates and walk to LuLu's Hypermarket. The café is located inside the food court and currently charges AED 4.00 per hour.  Note that the Skype website is currently blocked, however, as are many other "common" Western websites. You may wish to consider using a proxy or VPN to bypass the blocking the UAE employs, but this is considered illegal in the eyes of local officials, and can lead to penalties or jail time.
+'''Internet''' &mdash; Internet cafés can be hard to find. The usual rate per hour is 3-4 AED. There are a number of cafés on Al Musalla Rd./Al Mankhool Rd. in ''Bur Dubai'', including one at 38 Al Musalla Rd. and one at Computer Plaza next to the Ramada Hotel. A number of Internet cafes are found in ''Satwa'' too. In Satwa there is the French Connection in the Al Wafa Tower on Sheikh Zayed road (opposite side of road from the Dusit Hotel), which has wi-fi access and nice cakes/pastries. In ''Al Qusais'', there is an internet café a five-minute walk northwest from the Dubai Youth Hostel. Turn right out of the gates and walk to LuLu's Hypermarket. The café is located inside the food court and currently charges AED 4.00 per hour.  Note that the Skype website has recently been unblocked by the two major service providers, Du and Etisalat (which are also the only service providers and are both owned by the government). You may wish to consider using a proxy or VPN to bypass the blocked websites in the UAE, but this is considered illegal in the eyes of local officials, and can lead to penalties or jail time.
 Surprisingly, the malls do not have internet cafés, but most have wi-fi, mostly free. Most hotel business centres are equipped with internet cafés, but are expensive ones.

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 Be careful when discussing nationalist issues which many Kurds feel strongly about. Also read up on the Al-Anfal campaign and chemical attack on the Kurds by Saddam Hussein to exterminate droves of Kurds in the late 1980s - although this was over twenty years ago, the event coloured the last few decades of Kurdish history. There are several powerful reminders of it, such as the Amna Suraka prison in Suleymaniyah.
-And be careful about calling a Kurd Iraqi because they don't count themselves Iraqi, even though they are Iraqi citizens by records, they say kurds are from Kurdistan -the land of the Kurds- and not Iraq, and recently the president of Kurdistan was claiming to anounce the Kurdish State, which is a serous debate in the region.
+And be careful about calling a Kurd Iraqi because they don't count themselves Iraqi, even though they are Iraqi citizens by records, they say kurds are from Kurdistan -the land of the Kurds- and not Iraq, and recently the president of Kurdistan was claiming to anounce the Kurdish State, which is a serious debate in the region.
 In Iraq, Kurdish and Arabs are very different, different language, different culture, different life style, Kurdish society consists of variety of religions and beliefs like (muslims, christians jewish, Yazidis, kakayis, Zoroasterians, Yarsanis, hawaris, Ahli haqs ...etc) and they all live together peacefully.