Wandering Earl in Iraq
FYI, Wandering Earl is one of the (seemingly few and far between) legitimately great travel bloggers - not least of all because he takes tour groups to places like Iraq and tells heartwarming stories about some of the endearing interactions they have with super-friendly locals. Good stuff....
Here's the post in question:
A few more photos and quick tales from the Wander Across Iraq tour!
I can't stress enough how kind and hospitable the Iraqi people are to visitors...
- After a guided tour of the impressive Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, I went to give our excellent museum guide, Salam, a tip. I thanked him and handed him some money. But he refused. I tried again. He refused again.
He then looked at me and said, "The smiles on the faces of your guests is the only tip I need."
- The owner of an ice cream shop in Fallujah would only accept 50% of what I owed when I bought ice cream for the group. He smiled and simply said, "Welcome to Iraq."
- When the local commander of a regional army that liberated his area from ISIS came upon our group at a historical site, he immediately invited us to his house for dinner, all 15 of us.
- While visiting one of Saddam Hussein's abandoned palaces, we were met by hundreds of schoolgirls who were there on a school trip. They came up to all of us with huge smiles, asked us questions, took endless selfies and made us all feel so welcome in their country!
- While visiting a Christian family in the north, our 'quick visit' lasted 1.5 hours as they were all so welcoming. They then invited us to tour their local church and meet the priest. This turned into an invitation to visit the priest's home. And naturally, this turned into an invitation to visit one of the local Yazidi temples. Surprises everywhere!
- When visiting a juice shop in Baghdad on my first day, I ordered two raisin juices from the man behind the counter. He poured the juice, handed over the two cups, put his hand on his heart, smiled and said "For you. No money. Welcome to Iraq."
And on and on and on it went!