Mittelholzer and Bisegar’s three thousand-kilometre flight from Switzerland included disputes with the Turkish authorities, which led to the confiscation of their plane. They also had to contend with poor-quality gasoline purchased in Baghdad and mapping errors that caused them to crash land and break the wheels of their planes. Mittelholzer’s initial impression of the land from the sky was, “The areas were deserted and barren, and as far as the eye could see, no moving parts could be seen for hours. Vast plains, ruined hillocks and brackish river deltas are characteristic of this country.
