14 September 2014
Sulaimani
The most noticeable change in Sulaimani, Kurdistan’s second largest city in the southeast part of the region, is the increased lines for petrol. Somewhat isolated from the conflict that has infiltrated the region, and with a significantly smaller refugee and IDP population, the most visible sign of conflict and shortages is how precious a commodity gasoline has become. Outside my apartment is a large petrol station on the edge of the city, which I barely gave thought to when I lived here a few months ago. This morning, the fumes of a hundred or so stalling cars waiting in a long, winding line down the road met me as I left to find some breakfast. I returned later in the day, and though the line had diminished somewhat, it was still significant enough to require two men to direct traffic while taxis and buses carefully navigated the remaining (and much diminished) lanes. I asked the men who run the station if it was busy all day. Sweat dripping from all of them, they nodded as I interrupted their business for a quick photograph. In the last two to three months, they told me, petrol has jumped in price from 500 Iraqi dinar to 900 – a fairly shocking increase in a place where the exchange rate and taxi fares have been consistent for years. 
