Author Archives: admin

VISA My Experience My application was processed by my tourist agency. I sent a photocopy of my passport to them and they did the rest. They then send the application to multiple security organizations, apparently an expensive process. Once that … Continue reading →

Syria – Central and Northeast (Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Tartus) November 5-7, 2019 Aleppo was our final destination from Damascus. The main expressway (a 385kms drive from Damascus) has been closed for 5 years and is presently controlled by … Continue reading →

Aleppo is the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 4.6 million in 2010, Aleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War; however, now Aleppo is probably the second-largest city in Syria after the capital Damascus. … Continue reading →

Ancient City of Damascus Krac des Chevaliers Ancient Cities of Northern Syria Palmyra ANCIENT CITY of DAMASCUS. Is the historic city centre of Damascus, Syria. The old citY is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, contains numerous archaeological sites, including some … Continue reading →

Syria – Southeast (Damascus, Daraa, as-Suwayda) November 1-3, 2019 I flew from Ashgabat to Istanbul on my way to Beirut, Lebanon and Syria. Despite having crossed into Turkey from Bulgaria on October 9, I had to get a visa (€50 … Continue reading →

April, Nov 2019 – TURKEY – General, Stray Cats & Dogs, Turkish Thrace, Istanbul, Marmara, Ege, Central & West Anatolia, Black Sea West. Black Sea Central & East, East Anatolia, Southeast Anatolia, Mediterranean East, Mediterranean West  Oct 2019 – IRAN – General, Iran Visa, World Heritage … Continue reading →

Turkmenistan – North – Daşoguz, Lebap (Turkmenabat) October 28-30, 2019 After seeing the last sights in Ashgabat (Nisa, Carpet Museum, Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque), we had lunch in the big shopping center and started the drive to the Darvaza gas fire … Continue reading →

TIPS & OBSERVATIONS 1. Currency. Denominated Turkmen Manat (DTM). 1€ = 4.1 DTM This is a black market money country – the official rate is 1$US = 3.5 DTM. The black market rate is $1 = 18 DTM. As a … Continue reading →

Turkmenistan – West – Balkan (Balkanabat, Turkmenbashi) October 27, 2019 When I arranged my tour with Murad, I sent the Nomad Mania lists of the three regions of Turkmenistan saying that I would like to visit every region and see … Continue reading →

TURKMENISTAN FINDS a NOVEL SOLUTION TO MASS EMIGRATION It is simply stopping people from leaving Jul 5th 2018 ATLANTIC  Citizens of Turkmenistan are definitely allowed to leave the country, its immigration service insisted in a statement in mid-April. The declaration … Continue reading →