Tajik looks

 

 

Iskandarkol - Tajikistan

 

A glimpse of Florence

More to come...

Streets of... New York

Brooklyn bridge as seen from Manhattan, New York, US

A week in Cuba

Cuba is the emblem of the struggle between cultural identity and personal freedom. Can individual choice be submitted to restrictions to preserve national identity and local culture? Should multiculturalism be restricted to a defilé of tourists to allow money to pour down the veins of a country dependent on its own stereotype?

Some of these pictures have been taken by Laurette. Credits below

Murals in La Habana - by Laurette

Kyrgyzstan dreaming

A boy and yurt close to the Chuy river, Kyrgyzstan

La Ciudad de Hierro, Colombia

 

 Ferris wheel operator, Puerto Asis

Santa Cruz de Mompox, Colombia (Part 2)

Continues from here.

Santa Cruz de Mompox, Colombia (Part 1)

It took me at least 20 hours (maybe a bit more) to get from Cabo de la vela to Santa Cruz de Mompox, in the Bolivar Department of Colombia.

To arrive in this little colonial-style village - declared UNESCO World Heritage in 1995 - at the junction between Magdalena and Cauca rivers I had to travel two days no-stop, to change 7 times of vehicle, and to use 4 different means of transport (colectivo, taxi, motocycle and raft).

Istanbul, a love-hate relationship (part 1)

First of all, allow me to state I am desperately in love with Turkey, and Istanbul in particular.

However, apart from being among the most magnificent and fascinating places I toured on my way back from Central Asia, Istanbul is also the place where I learned one of the toughest lessons of my life.

The town of fairies: Göreme

I always heard lots of stories about the beauty of Cappadocia. Apparently, this part of Turkey is able to inspire visitors a mystic feeling of worship, stupor and respect. Its bewitching landscape of spectacularly eroded tuff fields, extinct volcanoes, and capped-cones (called "fairy chimneys") made this region in Central Anatolia famous worldwide.

A day in paradise - Lake Van, Turkey

Notwithstanding having risked to be jailed for smuggling on my way from Iran to Turkey, I finally reached Van. I managed to reach it safe and free, I mean.

Tehran in a glance

I left Tashkent without having booked an hotel, bought a guide or city map, and without being able to get in touch with anyone of the people I was introduced to by email. Before landing, I already had two offers for a ride in town, and one offer for accommodation as a guest. Before leaving the airport, the latter raised up to three. This is just to give you a practical example of how much a government can differ from the population it rules on. I visited many countries, I know friends - very good friends - from a number of different states, but I never met such a hearty felt sense of hospitality for unknown foreigners. If I am able to consider Tehran as one of the best experiences in my life, this is all because of Mr. Soudi, Reza, and Azadeh. These three people, among many others, dedicated a lot of their time driving me around to see the city and meet their friends, acted as translators and offered me shelter. They introduced me to some secrets of Tehran, ad it's my pleasure to share some sparkles of its beauty with all of you. From now on, don't trust the media when it comes to Iran. Ask Iranian people instead.

Finally, Samarkand!

The Guri Amir Mausoleum

Across the Uzbek desert

These photos have been taken during the trasfer from Khiva to Bukhara. Let's say it's a compensation for the fact that I didn't take any photo in Bukhara...

Khiva dreaming

After leaving Moynaq and the sad remaining of the Aral Sea, I drove south for 7 hours to reach Khiva before dark. Unfortunately, I failed. I was dropped out the taxi at around 8 in the evening. Considering that it was mid-February, the difference with anytime around midnight was not so remarkable. Because of that, and of a series of unlucky situations (all cheap B&B seemed to be undergoing renovation works) I ended up being in a oddly expensive hotel right in front of the main door. Let's face it: 50 dollars per person\night is a ridiculously high price for a modest hotel during off season. Anyway, the city was worth the investment. Khiva is an incredible place, and I hope the photos you will see below prove what I say.

No land for minors, women and disabled...

For all of you (probably none) who are wondering what happened to the poor 32 people arrested, tortured, prosecuted and sentenced for Nookat events, here you have the (un)happy ending.

Now, their only hope is with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and international community to intervene advocating on their behalf.

Talas, вoдкa и снег

Talas, vodka and snow


I must be honest.

At first, I seriously thought about telling you what happened during this last crazy funny week end in Talas. It's important - I told myself - it's the first experience out of the capital, you cannot avoid writing down all the things that happened and, believe me, there's plenty of things to say.

But in the and I decided not to do it. Federica was faster than me and her English is much worthier of telling this particular story, so I decided to forward you directly to her blog. There, you'll find the full report of our reckless week end in the Talas Oblast, plus some beautiful picture of Besh Tash (Five Stones), the Natural Reserve we went visiting the second day.

Enjoy the reading, as compensation I will tell you another story, a unique one.