Dohuk

Among the three major cities in Iraqi Kurdistan, Dohuk is the smallest one. But size does not necessarily matter. Dohuk (also written Duhok, or دهوك in Arabic letters) is a city which has a lot of similarity with Slemani due to its geographical position. It is surrounded by mountains which overlook the place. Unfortunately the mountain tops have all been closed during 2009 and 2010, reportedly after too many people committed suicide there. You can only wonder why people would do so, given the natural beauty of the Dohuk basin you can admire from up there.

Dohuk is nearly hitting the 150,000 inhabitants marker and is working hard to establish a state-of-the-art infrastructure. It is very popular among all Iraqi as a holiday destination, there are hotels for almost any budget and some nice tourist attractions. In 2010, the city hosted up to 38,000 guests simultaneously, most of them from the rest of Iraq.

Main attractions are:
- Dohuk dam - an impressive water reservoir north of the city. You may walk from the city centre along a nicely arranged promenade until you reach there. Once you are getting closer to the dam, restaurants and coffeeshops will pop up. The dam's wall is squeezed in between two hills. You can access the top of it without restrictions, and can enjoy the view in both directions: towards the water and the mountains, or back to the city of Dohuk.
- Mazi - this is a big mall, a good hotel, a water park and an amusement park alike. It is considered to be top of the tops as a tourist spot in Dohuk with thousands of people floating in during weekends and holidays. Buses from Nenava province (Mosul) are numerous and Baghdad number plates outnumber locals on certain days. This is a place where you can relax and unwind, where the everyday sorrows and concerns are washed away, and where you are living in a feeling of complete safety.

Unfortunately, Dohuk does not have many restaurants. This is completely in line with the other cities in Iraqi Kurdistan. Everybody will have fast food of international or local type ('Kentucky' almost being considered as local) but restaurants in a western sense hardly exist. Coffeeshops tend to serve various kinds of bites, however the sweet things are really sweet indeed. If you want to check out a few places you might want to try
- Venicia Café - located near Kurdistan roundabout, 1km west of the city centre. Kurdish is spoken there, Arabic will be a bit more difficult and only the cashier tends to speak English.
- Mankhal Restaurant - close to the city centre and very well known. Only Kurdish and Arabic is spoken there.
- the unnamed 'Manaqeesh' place on the street between the bridge near the main exchange centre and Mankhal restaurant. It is on the left side of the street uphill. Excellent manaqeesh there (for those unfamiliar with this type of food, it is like a very thin pizza or tortilla with various ingredients on it such as meat, cheese and eggs). Only Kurdish and Arabic is spoken there.
- a bit out of the city, on the road to Amedi/Amediye - the first restaurant on the right side after leaving the city. Once you leave Dohuk you will go through a huge gate. This is shortly after the place where the road to Erbil turns off to the right. Once you are behind the gate, continue for another 1km and you will see the restaurant shortly behind a petrol station. in the wilderness. Can't miss it. The upside is quite nice food, yet the downside is that you may encounter language problems.

Some general restaurant/coffeeshop rules for Kurdistan: very often there is no published menu, and if so it may be in Kurdish or Arabic only. Do not expect menus to mention prices. In smaller restaurants or coffeeshops you may be asked to come to the kitchen and have a look at what they can offer you. Do not ask for the cheque, go to the cashier directly. They are always located next to the exit. Tipping in restaurants is not customary in Kurdistan.

Dohuk can be considered a very safe city where stability prevails. It is well connected through shared taxis, with a travel time of 45 minutes to Zakho and Ibrahim Khalil border crossing (into Turkey) as well as 2h15 to the region's capital Erbil and 1h15 to the tourist hotspot of Amedy/Amediye. To Mossul you would have to count less than one hour, yet it would be a risky venture and tourists will not be able to pass the Kurdish checkpoints given that Iraq proper would require them to have a visa.