Archive for the 'Middle East' Category

Jun 10th
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WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

On April 22 TotalAdventure departed Tbilisi by auto, with the driver from British Hotel. Before leaving Tbilisi, there were a few stops to pick up necessary documents for crossing the border.

From Tbilisi to Yerevan is about 300 km, taking around 5 hours, including time crossing the border.

Armenia – Country Number 97 For TotalAdventure.

Shortly after the border crossing we had a bit of a detour. The driver received a text warning that Azeri soldiers had made an incursion into Armenian territory. The war has been on and off for over 30 years – since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The next road we went on was closed for about 30 minutes due to a farmer’s demonstration. In all delays were about 90 minutes. It was later reported one Azeri soldier was killed. Above, the peaceful image of winter’s snow receding in the strong spring sunshine.

TotalAdventure’s hotel was right off Republic Square – a grand plaza of Government buildings, libraries and museums.

A delicious dinner at Kavkazia – beginning with Dolma.

Followed by Borsht and then Shashleek. Armenian cuisine is hearty – a crossroads of various Empires – Russian,Turkish, Persian,Greek.

Armenian Dram. As of this writing, the Dram is 387 to the US Dollar. Overall the country is lower priced than the US and Western Europe. A good meal for 2 in a top restaurant, with wine would be about US $ 60, about a tenth of that in a common locals canteen.

Mt.Ararat in Eastern Turkey. It is where Noah landed the Ark after the Great Flood. The mountain is sacred in Christianity,Islam and Judaism. Though only 53km ( 32mi) distant as the crow flies – to drive is 547 km since the Turkish border has been closed since 1991 -one must circumnavigate through Georgia to get there. At nearly 17,000 feet, 5800m the mountain is snowcapped for eternity.

The Cascade – 672 steps with the 40th Anniversary of Soviet Armenia Monument at the top. TotalAdventure climbed it effortlessly on a 29 C day.

Author of a a favorite childhood book “My Name is Aram.”

Artist and Director Sergei Paradjanov pictured at his home, now a museum.

Paradjanov Artwork.

Paradjanov Artwork.

In may places throughout the city – memorials to soldiers killed in the ongoing war with Azerbaijan.

Russian TV is prominent. TotalAdventure watched Rossiya 24 – like a Russian verion of Fox.

Rossiya 24 previewing things to come. TotalAdventure is self taught to read Cyrillic – very helpful in Russia ,the Balkans ,Mongolia and the post Soviet world in general.

TotalAdventure often hires a car with driver in many countries, in order to film and photograph the countryside. In Armenia that was prohibitively expensive, so I rented a Chevy SUV for $ 35 a day.

The main mission was to visit ancient churches and monasteries. Taking information from an online guide, I pasted the locations in Google Maps on my MacBook Pro and then sent the resulting map to my iPhone. This map – Bluetoothed on my dashboard screen- was my tour guide throughout the next two days of exploration. These features will soon be embedded in our new engine – adventuretravel.ai

All the monasteries are featured in THE VIDEO AT THE TOP.

Mother Stork Is Expecting ! Or perhaps feeding the little ones.

The Soviet bus seems to be a 1950s relic – but it’s from 1987.

Remains of Zvartnots Cathedral.

1300 hrs. Armenia is GMT + 4 – 2 hours ahead of Western Europe and 8 hours ahead of New York.

Poppies – a popular flower in nearby countries.

Interior Cathedral.

Hovhannavank – The Catholicos of Armenia.

A church on a forested mountaintop.

Overlooking Lake Sevan. SEE THE VIDEO AT THE TOP !

St,Gregory – who was imprisoned in complete darkness in a snake pit for 13 years !

Also overlooking Lake Sevan is the Writer’s Hotel. Built around 1960, it is a classic example of Soviet Brutalist architecture.

After years of abandonment, it is now reopening as a hotel – the views are beautiful, the rooms basic, for about $ 35 a night. And writers won’t have to write about the glories of Lenin and Marx.

Final stop to gas up the rental ! The next morning TotalAdventure flew around enemy lines to Baku.

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WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

On April 16th, TotalAdventure boarded Turkish Airlines from Miami to Tbilisi Georgia on a one- way ticket. The reason for the one -way ticket will be discussed in the Armenia and Azerbaijan chapters to follow, but it had to do with visiting currently peaceful ,yet potentially volatile areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The highlight of my 6 hour layover in Istanbul Airport was Nusr-Et’s amazing $45 cheeseburger. It was quaffed with an icy cold Efes Beer.

After flying day and night and another half of a night, TotalAdventure arrivrd in Tbiisi at 3 AM. Immigration took seconds. Waiting for me was a driver from the excellent small inn British House. I dozed from about 5 AM till 11 and then hit the ground in my hiking boots.

The first graffiti I read on the street. The populace is pro-Europe ,and the nation was grated Candidate Status to join the EU this past December. However, the government, perhaps out of fear – leans pro Russia. Georgians are naturally wary of their large northern neighbor that has already captured nearly half their territory in earlier wars. As of this writing , Parlaimentt just passed a pro-Russian foreign agent law, threatening further integration with the EU.

Holy Trinity Cathedral is on top a high hill overlooking the city. For a view of city sights be sure to view VIDEO AT TOP OF PAGE !

Putin is not so popular in Tbilisi.

Lots of cool grafitti in the streets.

Many quiet squares thoughout the vibrant and fashionable city. The young crowds seem more Parisian than Muscovite.

Noisy Protests Almost Nightly. Some fear that another Trump Presidency would result in a carte blanche handover of Georgia to Putin.

Delicious Kinkhali as an appetizer.

Followed by a lamb stew.

A sparky stove !

Do not know the name but amazingly tasty !

Riverboat style architecture.

A modern bridge over the Kura River which flows from Eastern Turkey to the Caspian Sea.

Holy Trinity in the distance.

TotalAdventure’s Room At British House. 2 Rooms , actually, plus a small balcony. About 75 US.

Georgia Lari. 2.78 to 1 USD as of this writing.

The next stop was Gorki ,birthplace of Comrade Josef Stalin, Dictator of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953. Dictators love to pose with children. Thanks to Stalin, millions of children were orphaned when both their parents were sent off to slave labor in the Siberian Gulags. The children themselves grew up in orphanages where they could be brainwashed to be obedient little Party cadres.

HIs death was secretly celebrated by many. Shortly afterwards some liberalization from an ablsolute police state began.

1930s Exection Squads.

See Stalin’s Train Car IN THE VIDEO AT TOP OF PAGE.

From the plans of central Georgia, we drove to 3000meters elevation into the Caucasus Mountains, highest in Europe,

The view of Mt.Xazhgebi by night. At over 5000 meters , it is half in Russia.

On the side of bi-national Mt.Xazhgebi,is Holy Trinity, dating from the 1300s.Winter snows are subsiding in late April.

Light From The. Heavens.

Gudauri Ski Resort is very high, over 3000m in most areas and goes on for many kilometers. In late April the season was ending, the higher peaks were off limits due to avalanche danger from the strong spring sunshine. Georgians, Russians ,Germans and Americans all ski together peacefully.

Jul 14th
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Click For A Fast Tour Of Dubai !

After leaving Asmara, Eritrea, a city locked in a 1930s Time Warp, TotalAdventure flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where it seems already to be 2040. On the first evening we went to the top of 2700 ft. 0.8km Burj Khalifa, formerly known as Burj Dubai.

The view from the top deck, on the 148th floor.

Looking out over the Persian Gulf. ON a clear day you can see Iran.

High Speed dune buggies are a great desert pastime.

In a Land of the Future, echoes of the past.

A view from a Cigarette Boat.

The best choice of Middle East cuisine anywhere. Here is Sheep Head, at an Iraqi restaurant.

Although surrounded by Saudi Arabia, alcohol is served in international hotel bars and nightclubs, but not in public areas. Instead, enjoy a strong hot tea with your meal !

From Dubai ,TotalAdventure returned to the united States. THis was to be the first of may international trips this year, touching every continent except Antartica. The worldwide epidemic has postponed that temporarily and we will be exploring the United States instead.

Sep 11th
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The TotalAdventure Team flew Qatar Airways from Miami to Saigon (HCM) Vietnam .On the way we had an 8 hour layover in Doha. On the way back we stopped over for two days. The above video is a compilation of the two visits.

Qatar is the wealthiest nation in the world, per capita. But tradition prevails in the desert lands outside of Doha.

It’s a 13 hour flight from Miami. 15 hours going back.

Right off the plane from Bangkok , we went riding the high sand dunes south of Doha. You can experience the adventure in the video above.

We went right dawn to the waterway that separates Qatar from Saudi Arabia, other than the narrow land bridge. The border between the two US Allies is currently closed. That’s a Saudi Army post about 3 km in the distance.

 

Back in the city , we went to Souk Al Waqif.

A delicious lunch of Sheep’s Head.

And Foul – a delicious Fava Bean stew.

Modest, yet colorful fashions.

Saffron and other exotic, expensive spices for sale.

The Architecture is Amazing.

Qatar Grand Mosque .

Al Zubara Fort.

It’s hot outside in July. That’s 117 F !

TotalAdventure would like to Thank Mr.Ahmed Nasser Al Rayes , Chairman of the Al Rayes Group for making our excursion in Qatar so flawless, exploring the majority of the country in a very short time. The Al Rayes Group owns 83 companies ,and is a leader in tourism investment.

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Tonight at 7:20 PM Miami time we board Qatar Airlines Flight 778 to Doha ,Qatar arriving there at 1620 tomorrow. During our 9 hour layover we will leave the airport to explore the city . As it is Ramadan we will break fast at sunset for the Iftar meal. At 0150 hours Friday we board Qatar  Flight  970 To Ho Chi Minh City ( Saigon), Vietnam arriving Friday afternoon about 1400. We will be traveling all over Vietnam,Laos ,Cambodia and Thailand ! Shooting with our beautiful new GoPro 6. Follow TotalAdventure Magazine every day to take part in this epic journey !

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Video Highlights – Germany – Austria – CzechRepublic – Poland – Slovakia – Hungary- Romania and on to Montenegro.

 

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Nightfall in Krakow Poland.

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The Route Travelled by Train.

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Red For Train. Pink For Plane. Blue For Road. Green For Boat.

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Our land based  journeys now behind us, it was time to move on for the final phase of of our journey – Turkey. We arrived at sleepy TGD about an hour before the flight.

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Unfortunately June 28th was to be another bloody ISIS attack – this time at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, one of the busiest in the world. TotalAdventure landed about 12:30 PM , passed passport and visa control and then transferred to the domestic terminal to board our 90 minute flight to Bodrum. The attack took place about 8 hours later – not in the part of the airport we transited, but killing 41 people. 17pp8pp

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Jul 25th
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TotalAdventure finally had some time to relax after a whirlwind journey. We stayed int eh luxurious resort town of Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea Our gracious host was Nezih Çavuşoğlu,the well known Turkish artist we met in Istanbul in 2012. Read the November,2012 article here.    You can review , and perhaps  buy his paintings here on Artsy.

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Balcony at the house of the Artist.

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Crystal clear Aegean waters. The atmosphere was peaceful in the days after the attack at Ataturk, hundreds of kilometers to the north.

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A newly constructed Mosque.

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The peaceful Mosque interior.

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Bodrum by night.

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Delicious fresh seafood every night.

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Jul 25th
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“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. “

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On the final day of June, TotalAdventure toured Ephesus , about 2 hours north of Bodrum. Ephesus began as a Greek city around 1000 BC and was later annexed by Rome. In Biblical times,early AD , the Apostles John and Paul lived there and the Virgin Mary perhaps spent her final days there.

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The House of The Virgin Mary.

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Same alphabet used today, but only in Greece.

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Bath Near Virgin Mary House.

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The larger of two amphitheaters. Ephesus is normally very crowded in the summer, but due to events in Istanbul there were very few tourists. In many areas we were by ourselves, along with a  few stray cats. Cruise ships had cancelled landings in the nearby port – their loss,our gain.

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On July 2 at 7 AM we left our host’s house in Bodrum to board a catamaran ferry to the Greek island of Kos, only 20 km across the channel. We looked back at  beautiful vibrant  Turkey, hoping  to return in the near future – to explore from Istanbul to the eastern provinces.

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We arrived in port 20 minutes later. We spent nearly 40 minutes to get passports stamped, as we were re-entering the EU and Shengen. Afterwards a 50 km taxi ride to Kefalos .

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In Kefalos , we found a beachside Taverna where we ate excellent grilled squid, stored our stuff and went snorkeling.

The water was as clear as an aquarium.

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There were ruins right by the sea !

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Soon it was time to leave for the airport. We took a turboprop to Athens, flying over hundreds of Aegean Islands. In Athens – once again passport control , as we were leaving Schengen. 4 hours later – another 1.5 hours in customs entering the UK.

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Just before midnight we arrived at our hotel, after a long Tube ride. We were right by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

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Our final day before returning Stateside was a whirlwind tour of some of the major sights.

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Iconic, but we opted for Indian instead.

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GMT + 1. The Trans European Adventure comes to an end.       7pp15pp9pp   6pp