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Iraq
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''If you decide to take a taxi, you might as well take it from [[Cizre]] (50 km from the border) instead of [[Silopi]] (10 km from the border) as the taxi prices are the same (20 TL). When I arrived in Iraq my Taxi driver dropped me off just after the border, he told me I would have to take another taxi to get to Zakho but the price would only be 1 TL - that was not true, the taxi was 4000 Iraqi Dinaar (about 6,5 TL). Anyway, don't take another taxi, it's just 10 kilometers to the town, you can walk or hitch it.'' --[[User:Jakobwithk|Jakobwithk]] 19:29, 12 January 2012 (CET)
On the way back, the Iraq side is walkable by foot, but when you reach the Turkish side they expect that you have a taxi. When they see you're clearly a backpacker type, they might be more lenient and arrange for a passing truck to take you through. In short, easier to cross the Turkish side without a taxi on the way back from Iraq. You may also find mini vans (dolmuses) willing to take you for free on the Iraqi side, you can normally find them in petrol stations filling up their tanks before they head over to the more expensive Turkey. However, be warned that they offer you a free ride because they want to use you to smuggle cigarettes, tea and other goods across to more expensive Turkey. The consequences of getting caught is not known but checks are usually fairly strict because of the P.K.K conflict in the Sirnak district and checks could take upto 5 hours or more. These mini-vans are usually happy to take you upto Silopi or Cizre at least for free.
''In December 2011 I managed to get a free ride back to Turkey by a friendly taxi driver who was going there anyway. I generally got the feeling that you can easily pass the border without paying for a taxi, there are a few private cars passing by that might pick you up. I walked into the border from Iraq and all the taxi drivers told me that hitchhiking/otostopping was not possible. Just ignore them, go and get your exit stamp, shortly after there's a checkpoint where you can ask people to give you a ride'' --[[User:Jakobwithk|Jakobwithk]] 19:29, 12 January 2012 (CET)
