What would you do for 30 liters of Fuel?

It’s hard to believe that fuel would be so scarce in such an oil rich region. With fighting in the south of Iraq continuing and Kurdistan's main provider of refined oil - the Baiji Oil Refinery - under attack, we are certainly feeling the pinch.

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Why not just hunker down and ride it out? Good point, Turkey has agreed to begin fulfilling Kurdistan’s fuel needs with shipments arriving as early as the end of the week. Only problem is that we need to urgently travel to Erbil to formally apply for our residency visas. That means we need enough fuel to get there and back, plus a little extra for driving around the city. 

So, after getting word that a gas station had opened up for business in a town 20 minutes away, several of us jumped in our cars and raced through the gorge pass that takes you there as though we were in a presidential convoy. 

For some it was a suicide mission, with only enough fuel to make it there - failure to find fuel and their car would be spending the night. 

Good news, our communications proved reliable. The line was long, but it was moving ever so slowly. My prediction was a 2 hour wait… a long time in the searing heat, but bearable.