We drove from Zakho to the symbol of ancient Zoroastrianism – the Charsteen Cave. It is located just next to the Duhok Dam (🎫 1000 IQD). Fire, water, soil, and air were four sacred elements in Zoroastrianism. A short rocky tunnel leads to the sacred place – an open fire temple...
If you read our post about the horrible experience at the Turkish border crossing, then here you will find the second part from the Kurdish side, where we spent another 6 hours. Maybe this little guide will help you to cross it more smoothly than us. After crossing the bridge, you will...
From our parking location behind Eruh, it took us two hours to get to Cizre. We did good shopping in Migros, and after that, we decided to take the cake with coffee and leave the town around 10 pm towards the Ibrahim Khalil border. It was supposed to be the easiest crossing between Iraqi...
After a late rich breakfast, we took a curvy road from Lake Van through Southeastern Anatolia to Eruh, with a predominantly Kurdish population that welcomes visitors. Sadly, renewed hostilities from 2015 between the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and Turkish government forces, along with...
We drove from Kars to Lake Van through several mountain passes (2100 – 2400 m) for the whole afternoon. Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey in the Armenian highlands at 1,640 m above sea level. It is a saline soda lake (pH 9.8), receiving water from many small streams that...
We drove 45km east of Kars to Ani ruins (🎫 50 TRY). We arrived there around 7 PM at large parking near the entrance. To our surprise, nobody was around that time, but to our luck, they left the toilets open. Ani lies east of Kars and along the Arpaçay River, which forms the border with...
Our first stop on our second trip through Turkey was Kars, a city in northeastern Turkey situated on a plateau 1750 meters above sea level on the Kars River, close to the border with Armenia. The city, divided into an older upper section and a newer part to the south, stretches out on...
Truck spare parts for our scheduled service arrived in Tbilisi from the USA late (probably because of Xmas time). The customs delayed the delivery for more than 1,5 months, and the communication with them was terrible and, most days, impossible. Ultimately, they did not allow logic...