Lunch on the road

Today we stopped in the city of Qoya (aka Koya) to see Ali S. Ali, a prominent local resident who's big in the oil/gas business (I'll be writing more about Kurdistan's oil wealth in the paper).

Mr. Ali insisted we stay for lunch, and took us to a hotel on a hill just outside of town.

I could have sworn the place was closed - not a car in the parking lot, not a door unlocked, not a light on - icity - but after a few minutes a man came out
and escorted us into a dark, completely empty restaurant. ("Is there food here?'' I whispered to Avan, my interpreter).

But lo and behold, the staff - and there actually was a good-size serving staff - hustled together a delicious lunch of salad, lamb and chicken, followed by watermelon and, of course, tea.

Afterwards, Mr. Ali insisted we all pose for a photo together, which we were glad to do.

Qoya/Koya, by the way, is the home of Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president. Then it was on to Sulymeinyah (aka Slemani, Sulaimany and many other  variations), a major Kurdish city near the Iranian border.

Comments

[China Lawyer]

Excellent blog. My first time here, but will definitely return.