We departed from Halabja early in the morning and drove slowly towards the Federal Iraq border. At Kalar, we made a short stop at Sherwana Castle, built in the 18th century by a Kurdish pasha serving the Ottoman Empire. And then, we quickly visited the nearby Garmian Civilization Museum...
Khanzad Castle, also called Banaman Castle, is located on the road between Erbil and Shaqlawa. It was constructed during the time of the Kurdish Soran Emirate in the 16th century under the rule of Princess Khanzad and her brother Prince Suleiman Beg. For seven years, she ruled over two...
Telavi, the largest town in Kakheti, is a popular base for exploring the region’s viticultural, historical and architectural riches. It is set in the vineyard-strewn Alazani valley, between the Gombori Mountains and the Great Caucasus. We have parked next to the Batonistsikhe...
Ananuri is a classic example of Georgian architecture, enhanced by its superb location overlooking the Zhinvali Reservoir. The fortress historically belonged to the dukes of Aragvi, who ruled as far as the Tergi valley from the 13th to 18th centuries, and is today a popular stop on the...
Our first stop in southwest Georgia, not far from the border of Turkey, was a little town with a millennium-long history – Akhaltsikhe. It is situated on both banks of a small river, Potskhovi, which divides the city between the old town in the north and the new one in the south...
Uçhisar is a village in Cappadocia situated on the edge of Göreme National Park. The town was first mentioned in a 14th-century chronicle by Aziz ibn Ardasir although the general area had been occupied much earlier, perhaps from Hittite times. In the seventh century AD, the Byzantines...
Our next stop was Kızkalesi, where we visited its fortress rising from an island 250m offshore. Kızkalesi Castle (🎫 20 TRY) has mosaics of birds and trees in the central courtyard, where there are the remains of two chapels side by side and a vaulted gallery with 13 arches. The castle was...
The Crusader castle built between 1204 and 1222 is located in a strategic position that controls the exit of the Tempe valley southeast of Mount Olympus. The castle (🎫 3 EUR till 15:30) is at the location of the ancient city of Heraclea, most probably, there was already a Byzantine castle...
Tonight, we have parked in a historical town located within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Lidzbark Warmiński was for a long time a religious and cultural center of the region under the control of the Warmian Bishops. During the years 1350 – 1795, it was the seat of...
On the left bank of the Váh river, close to Žilina, we found the Strečno Castle on top of the limestone rock (entrance 6 EUR). In the past, it was the safest fort in the Považie region. We have parked below the castle close to the Pension Irenka, where drinks and food were served by the...