(this is going to be a long story, a sad story – with plenty of somber photographs and a few uplifting ones) Aleppo used to be the commercial capital and the biggest city of Syria, bigger than Damascus. My guidebook, from 2010: ‘In Aleppo 80% of its old monuments inside the walls have survived’ and … Read more
The ancient citadel of Bam is nothing like what it used to be, before th 2003 earthquake, but there are many other unknown, yet interesting things to do in the sdesert around the lovely town
Two more places to visit from Kerman are Rayen and Mahan, with a well-maintained fort and a beautifully laid out garden, respectively.
City of a Thousand Steps may well be an understatement for Gjirokaster: in between the Ottoman houses against the slope are many stairs
Not only City of a Thousand Windows, but an almost equal amount of satellite dishes marked the old town of Berat in the 1990s
Kruja was were Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg had his castle. The citadel, an impressive structure built on a rocky outcrop high above the surrounding lowland, is visible from afar, and as it is relatively close to Tirana, made for an attractive day trip with visitors.