Kurdistan IO Email

[Tom Odom]

here is another vew

Kurdish resort an oasis of peace in Iraq
WORLD BRIEFINGS
By Jason Motlagh
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 30, 2007


RAWANDUZ, Iraq
If the sight of jagged peaks towering above red-roofed chalets fails to conjure up the Swiss Alps, the screams of children riding the imported alpine toboggan make the comparison hard to avoid.
But armed guards at the gate betray what visitors would like to forget: The newly opened Pank Resort is located in Iraq, a country fractured by war.
Owner Hazem Kurda, a Kurd who fled to Sweden during the Saddam Hussein-era and opened a successful rice-processing plant, knows he took a huge risk when he decided to invest tens of millions of dollars of his own money to build a sprawling modern complex nestled high in the northeast of Iraqi Kurdistan.
"To speak of [Iraq] and tourism in the same breath may sound crazy to many people," Mr. Kurda said. "But I made up my mind to do something unique in my country. I thought somebody should take the initiative, and others will follow."
Coming attractions include a cable car across the limestone gorge that plunges from the edge of his property, an 18-hole mini-golf course and a camping site for those on tighter budgets. If all goes well, he thinks Hilton or Sheraton might one day lend its name.
Today, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and a growing number of bold entrepreneurs are going to great lengths to promote the north as "the other Iraq," a haven of relative calm where Iraqi Kurds, Arabs and foreigners alike are free to do business, retreat to nature or just live normally for a few days. See full report

According to the report, the Turks are the biggest investors.

Best

tom

[redbullets]

here is another vew


According to the report, the Turks are the biggest investors.

Best

tom

They are, and those profiting on either side of the border don't want this party to end early. The Chinese are in as well, and I have the photos to prove it. Most well educated highway construction crew I could ever conceive of - bumped into them on the road between Erbil and Suley.

Cheers,