The castle commands views of the Jordan Valley and three wadis leading into it. It is an essential strategic link in the defensive chain against the Crusaders and a counterpoint to the Crusader Belvoir Fort on the Sea of Galilee in present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This...
The small mountain village is located in the Asir Region beneath a cliff about 300 meters from the edge of the majestic Sarwat Mountains. The village is accessible solely through a cable car (🎫 70 SAR/return, 🅿️ 40 SAR), which only runs during the summer and only from Thursday to Saturday...
In 1973, President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr ordered the construction of the Erbil Observatory with three telescopes on the top of Mount Korek (2066 m). Unfortunately, the Iranian rockets launched during the Iran–Iraq War destroyed the partly-built observatories. Nowadays, you can take a 3670...
In Georgia’s second city (the capital of Adjara), we parked next to the promenade strolling along Batumis bulvari. With a backdrop of mist-wrapped hills and soaring snow-capped peaks, Batumi is a charismatic place with a charming Old Town fronted by the calm waters of the Black Sea...
We took an impressive “flight” on the famous Wings of Tatev above the ravine of Vorotan River to the Tatev Monastery. It is the longest cableway (🎫7000 AMD/return) worldwide (5752 m), recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. It takes 12 minutes to reach a monastery built by...
We spent two days in the cosmopolitan capital of the republic of Georgia. We parked next to Rike park above the Mtkvari River, just in the city’s center. With its dramatic valley setting, picturesque Old Town, eclectic architecture, and great eating and drinking opportunities...
We made a short stop in Borjomi – a tranquil resort town in south-central Georgia. It lies on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, surrounded by thickly forested hills. The town is famous for its salty-sour mineral water, well known in former Soviet Union countries...
Our second stop at the Black Sea coast was Ordu, a center for hazelnut processing and exporting (1 kg / 140 TRY). It lies at the mouth of the Melet River on the eastern slopes of Boztepe (550 m), a high hill that protects it against storms from the northwest. Ordu was the site of ancient...
On the way to our last High Tatras resort, we have stopped at Tatranec Camp to refill our water tank (ridiculous 7 EUR). Then we moved to a very local botanical garden with an exposition of Tatras Nature (entrance 2,50 EUR). Later we have parked near the cable car station (free parking)...
Sun waked up us in Jasná – the starting point of the cable car (22 EUR – return ticket) to Chopok (2024 m) – the third highest peak of the Low Tatras range (just after the neighboring Ďumbier and Štiavnica Peaks) in central Slovakia. We spent a quite long time in queues to get into...