Zim & Chris' Turkish (Mis)Adventure

Today we were invited by a Haji for tea as we walked around the walls of Dirkabir in Kurdish Mesopotamia.

After sitting for a considerable time we met his son and a while later were introduced to a friend of theirs as he shouted a word we had not heard in weeks; "Hash-hash!" Being guests in their country it would have been rude to refuse. Our group soon walked off and smoked few joints. We were then taken down the hill away from the city walls and into a field on the banks of the Tigers River where they soon readied a fire for making more hash. As one of our new friends was cooking up the hash we heard gun shots in the distance and in responses one of the men in our group pulled a gun out which he soon used to empty a clip into a field of Romaine lettuce (Marror in Kurdish). Under normal circumstances this might have been alarming but we have grown quite accustomed to expecting the unexpected. Nobody raised an eyebrow so we continued chatting and soon were enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Making Hash the Kurdish way
Our first impression of Kurdish hospitality was much like that of Turkish hospitality nearly two months ago: leaving little to be desired.
The epilogue to our wonderful day: We scaled the city walls, enjoyed a meal of cheese, bread, and chilies. As we admired the city below from a perfect view we witnessed a minor blackout.