Why spent 7 months in the Middle East? Why the Caucasus? Iran, Syria and Israel, Armenia and Turkey. So many contrasts! In Georgia we were even surprised by the war. An itinerary full of conflicts and full of religiously charged countries. But also a region full of art treasures and spectacular nature. Ultimately, this is … Continue reading “Backpacking trip Middle East and Caucasus 2008”
In Aswan, I bob around on a felucca on the Nile or watch the boats glide past the green islands, round granite rocks and the desert in the background. Meanwhile, there are some boats that have some kind of logo on the sail. One boat, for example, seems to belong to an American fast food … Continue reading “Via Aswan and Luxor to Leipzig…”
In the White Desert near Farafra, one feels transferred into a painting by Dali. Everywhere you look, wondrously shaped knobs of white chalk lime. With imagination you can find faces, animals, flames, tables and more. You don’t even need imagination to see the mushrooms. Sometimes the ground looks like snowdrifts, which look especially crazy when … Continue reading “White Desert”
The Islamic old city of Cairo is a wondrous collection of domes, minarets, market alleys, fountain houses; most of them in dusty brownish-grey colour. In between, a dense throng of market criers, porters, shoppers and tourists. The most beautiful buildings were built by the Mamluks. These were originally soldier-slaves, Turks bought by the Middle Eastern … Continue reading “Cairo”
Where else do you see more donkey carts rumbling along the road than cars? The oasis of Siwa is still far remote from everything, even though there are now street lamps that look as if they had strayed here from Paris. A thicket of date palms, two large salt lakes and in the background the … Continue reading “Oasis of Siwa”
Deep blue water full of coral reefs, with reddish granite mountains towering behind. So beautiful that this is the third time I’ve come to this coast. In places, the granite rocks are criss-crossed by swarms of black dykes like a zebra pattern. Nuweiba is almost deserted, the camps and restaurants are empty and the few … Continue reading “Sinai”
The “crater” Ramon in the Negev Desert in Israel was not formed by a meteorite impact, but by erosion of a fold
At the ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea (Israel)
Young, pretty and happy. As light as a fresh summer breeze, Tel Aviv is the antithesis of Jerusalem‘s heavy weight in holiness, tradition and history. The conflict is far, far away, but the beach is just around the corner. Cafés and bars are filled, more and more art galleries are opening. Green boulevards provide shade … Continue reading “Tel Aviv and the North of Israel”
A question of tectonics? A graffiti in Jerusalem shows someone throwing a stone, with the Hebrew writing “all because of the Syro-African Rift”. In the West Bank, I visit Hebron, where the conflict is clearly felt. Surrounded by concrete walls and barbed wire, there is a Jewish settlement in the middle of the bazaar. Heavily … Continue reading “Hebron and Bethlehem”
As an atheist among believers in the holy city (Israel)
On the most important Jewish holiday, the holy city stands still
Coming from Jordan, the entry into Israel was as lengthy as expected and yet not as troublesome as I had feared. Almost the most annoying thing was that I had not expected the bus from the Jordanian to the Israeli post to be more expensive than a bus to Aqaba and back, so I had … Continue reading “Crossing the Jordan”
Splashing in salt water, the gorge in the Wadi Mujib reserve and Byzantine mosaics (Jordan)
Another day trip takes me to the “Desert Castles” in the east, most of which are not castles at all, but probably holiday homes of the Umayyad dynasty (see also Damascus and Jerusalem). Perhaps they were also intended for trade, or for pilgrims on their way to Kufa or Medina, or they were farms, or…. … Continue reading “Desert Castles in Jordan”
The beautiful day in the ruins of Jerash ends in disaster: in the evening my camera stops to work, I can’t even switch it on. Unfortunately, all the shops are closed for three days because of the end of Ramadan. And then it’s Friday, no luck again. Day by day my mood gets worse… Finally … Continue reading “My camera has a loose screw”
Roman ruins in northern Jordan
I am damn glad that Ramadan is over now. In Jordan, it is indeed hard to find a restaurant during the day, even bread; I usually only had shredded flatbread from the day before in my backpack. Buses also run less frequently, hardly at all on Fridays, opening hours are shorter and unpredictable, in sha’Allah. … Continue reading “Ramadan for travellers in Jordan”
Crusader Castle in Jordan
An old village above a gorge, bizarre sandstone cliffs and gnarled juniper trees in southern Jordan
By jeep, camel and on foot through a desert of rocks and sand in the south of Jordan
Fascinating ruins from antiquity in an equally fascinating landscape in Jordan
My hostel in Beirut, Lebanon
Ruins in Baalbek, Tyre, Byblos and Aanjar, bars and war damage in Beirut and a queasy feeling
The “white city” with the Umayyad mosque and excursions to the Deir Mar Musa monastery and the Roman ruins in Bosra
Fortunately, I don’t have to go hungry during Ramadan while travelling in Syria. Although many restaurants are closed during the day, there are always some who don’t miss out on business. There is even beer in the Christian quarter. Still, it’s a pity that you can’t sit down in a tea house for an hour … Continue reading “Ramadan for travellers”
Ancient ruins in the Syrian desert
Crusader castle in Syria
Huge water wheels and Roman columns
A wonderful old city in the north of Syria
Museum of Anatolian Civilisations and Mosaic Museum
Trip along the coast with Sumela, Trabzon, Amasya, Sinop, Amasra and Safranbolu
The Pontic Mountains, which stretch along the coast in the north of Turkey, have their highest heights just before Georgia, before turning into the Lesser Caucasus (see also The Formation of Mountains). The Kaçkar Mountains are also called the Pontic Alps; dark, rocky crests, needles of granite, blue cirque lakes, boulder fields. I could imagine … Continue reading “Trekking Mount Kaçkar”
Ruins of the ancient Armenian city in Eastern Anatolia (Turkey)
Hiking in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park and cave monasteries in Vardzia
On the drive from Kutaissi to Borjomi, it was clear to see that something was happening: endless military convoys and crowds of people waving at the roadside, cheering the soldiers. So this is what it looks like when a war starts. This morning Georgia invaded the breakaway province of South Ossetia, Russia is defending it. … Continue reading “Start of war”
It’s time to move on to a country where alcohol is not such a part of everyday culture as it is in Georgia. In my homestay in Kutaissi, I pour wine into myself from drinking horns, our arms intertwined and then smacks on the cheek. Friendship forever and all that, a toast to world peace…. … Continue reading “One more toast …”
Wild mountain villages in Georgia: Cycling from Mestia to the defence towers in Ushguli and a hike to the Coruldi Ridge with a view of Ushba
Stalin’s birthplace in Georgia
Monasteries in the North of Armenia
The self-proclaimed Republic of Nogorno Karabakh is not recognised by anyone, according to international law it is still part of Azerbaijan. De facto a part occupied by Armenia and for those living here it is 100% Armenian and always has been. There is nothing to discuss. That is a daring thesis, since an independent Armenia … Continue reading “Nagorno Karabakh”
Monasteries in the South of Armenia
In the capital of Armenia
At the toe of the Kazbek in the High Caucasus
In the capital of Georgia
Two ancient cities in western Azerbaijan
Instead of glowing lava, cool mud and natural gas emerge from mud volcanoes. This phenomenon can be observed in regions where clay quickly reaches great depths.
Baku is oil. A whole row of oil platforms can be seen on the horizon in the bay, even in the suburbs there are oil pumps on every corner and in every second front garden, and the wider surroundings of the city are a tangle of pipelines. In the many bars, money is immediately converted … Continue reading “Baku”
Hiking through the High Caucasus in Azerbaijan: rustic mountain villages and cloud-covered mountains
In the Northwest of Iran
Iran is not known for its beaches. Of course, men and women have to bathe separately and for this purpose pieces of beach and sea are separated with corrugated iron walls. The amount of rubbish lying around doesn’t make it any better. But for the Iranians, who will probably come here in a fortnight, the … Continue reading “Caspian Riviera”
Climbing Iran’s highest mountain, the volcano Damavand (5670 m), and what unexpected surprises it can hold.
In the capital of Iran
Bazaars, palaces, mosques and the mountain village of Abyaneh
An old city full of famous mosques (Iran)
Desert city with famous wind catchers in Iran
Winding bazaars in Shiraz and the ruins of the ancient Persians in Persepolis (Iran)
As you know, in the Mesopotamian plain, human civilisation rose from the mud that the rivers Euphrates and Tigris yielded for this purpose. Now the present time is not very suitable for visiting the ruins of Babylon or Ur, which are situated in Iraq. However, on the edge of this plain, not far from the … Continue reading “The Ziggurat of Choga Zanbil”
Antique ruins at a strange karst spring
Food in the Middle East is pretty meat-dominated, so if you are travelling with a vegetarian, it can be quite exhausting to get something to eat. For example, you walk for hours through the alleys of a Turkish bazaar, with delicious shish kebabs and köfte roasting left and right next to tomatoes on a charcoal … Continue reading “Kebab … Iran for vegetarians”
When we arrived at the border in a minibus (coming from Dogubayazid), there were several busloads of Iranians on the Turkish side, jostling, shoving, shouting and swearing around the two open counters, waving their passports…. It took hours until we finally got the exit stamp in our passports. I was a bit annoyed that today … Continue reading “Entering Iran”
Around the lake in Eastern Anatolia
A strange royal tomb from antiquity in Anatolia (Turkey)
Fairy-tale volcanic landscape full of old churches (Central Anatolia, Turkey)
Istanbul serves us as a gentle introduction to the Middle East, after all, this city still has one foot in Europe. A fantastic backdrop of domes, minarets and water, but also a vibrant nightlife, hardly any headscarves… Hagia Sofia (6th century) is also a good historical introduction, as it is the architectural model for many … Continue reading “Istanbul”
A trip to the Middle East? Of course, that requires a little preparation and luck. Some of these countries don’t want everyone to come as a tourist. If you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, for example, you don’t even have to think about Syria or Iran. The Syrian embassy kept us waiting for … Continue reading “Visas for the Middle East”
Isn’t it fascinating how stubbornly this small country and its inhabitants defy everything that befalls them? The collapse of the Soviet Union, economic blockade, the lack that comes with it…. Who knows what will happen when Fidel is gone; high time I thought, to drink a mojito to the revolution on this green island lapped … Continue reading “Cuba”