The Event 005

I read today that the leader of the secular Kurdish People’s Protection Units, who are struggling to defend Kobane from well armed ISIS forces, is a woman, Mayassa Abdo. Her nom de guerre is Narin Afrin. She is 40 years old and described as ‘cultivated, intelligent and phlegmatic’ (Mustafa Ebdi). Knowing nothing of her as a person, I imagine her sitting up late and night, tired and dealing with all manner of pressing matters.

I hope she and all the others manage to somehow escape.

Fifteen years ago (1999) I spent several weeks in the small Turkish town of Halfeti, which is only 78km from Kobane. Halfeti is an Armenian-Kurdish town on the banks of the Euphrates. Abdullah Öcalan, founding member of the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) was born nearby in the village of Ömerli. I visited Halfeti just as it was about to substantially disappear beneath the waters of a new hydro-electrical project, the Birejic dam. I produced an extensive, navigable portrait of the town, in the style of the computer game, Myst, but composed of photographs, video interviews and real ambient sounds. After I had returned home it took me over a year to put the whole thing together. In the end I felt I knew my way around Halfeti better than almost any place in the world.

Looking at Google Maps I realise I could have almost walked from Halfeti to Kobane.

Google provides a full description of the route:

Walk 78.0km, 15 hours 59 minutes (use caution – may involve errors or sections not suited for walking)

  • Halfeti, Turkey
  • Head south-east on Orta Cd (92 m)
  • Turn left towards Söğütlü Sk (39 m)
  • Turn right onto Söğütlü Sk (50 m)
  • Turn left onto Çakıllı Sk (18.0 km)
  • Turn right towards Haydarahmet Köyü Yolu (22.3 km)
  • Continue onto Haydarahmet Köyü Yolu (4.1 km)
  • Turn left (850 m)
  • Turn right towards Gaziantep Şanlıurfa Yolu/D400/E90 (5.7 km)
  • Turn right onto Gaziantep Şanlıurfa Yolu/D400/E90 (1.6 km)
  • Turn left onto Kayıcak Yolu (2.7 km)
  • Kayıcak Yolu turns slightly right and becomes Yağışlı Köyü Yolu (4.6 km)
  • Turn left at Harmanalan Köyü Yolu (2.7 km)
  • Turn right onto Yaylatepe Köyü Yolu (67 m)
  • Turn left (2.0 km)
  • Turn left (40 m)
  • Turn right at Küçükova Köyü Yolu (1.6 km)
  • Turn left onto Balaban Köyü Yolu (76 m)
  • Turn right (2.5 km)
  • Turn left at Yumurtalık Köyü Yolu (5.3 km)
  • Turn right onto Gaziantep Şanlıurfa Yolu/D883
  • Entering Syria (1.5 km) * Continue straight (31 m)
  • Turn right (94 m)
  • Turn right (20 m)
  • Turn left (96 m)
  • Turn right (69 m)
  • Turn left (500 m)
  • Turn right (69 m)
  • Turn left (450 m)
  • Turn right (450 m)
  • Turn left (10 m)
  • Turn right (9 m)
  • Turn left (350 m)
  • Kobanê, Syria

These directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, weather, or other events may cause conditions to differ from the map results, and you should plan your route accordingly. You must obey all signs or notices regarding your route.

I expect other events have indeed made conditions differ. What kind of event would it be now to walk from Halfeti to Kobane, particularly to walk the across the border between Turkey and Syria? The Kurdish defenders of Kobane will need to escape along this route if they have any chance of survival. ISIS is focused entirely on taking this road and preventing any escape.

I can see precisely the ground that needs to be covered – such a small, straighforward distance. If only it could be carelessly traversed. If only the walk was completely uneventful.

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