A day of architecture

After a good night in the house of Haluk and Dilek, Haluk asked us if we wanted to go to Konya. He said Konya was one of the most beautiful places in Turkey for the architecture. For us it was OK so we went to Konya. And we can confirm Haluk said the truth. On this post, you will see a lot of pictures of the beautiful buildings. The first thing we’ve done, was a visit to the Museum. We learnt a lot of things about the history and the present situation in Konya. We walk further and saw a big building. We asked Haluk what was that big building and it proved to be a post office.

Konya is one of the most religious centers in Turkey. That’s why the inhabitants of the city has a sumptuous mosque called the Alaeddin mosque.

Konya also owns the biggest university in Turkey with around 76.000 students. We also visited the cultural centre, the Konya Train Station, the Alaeddin Hill Park, the Kombassan Tower and much more incredible places.

It was difficult to put all our pictures, so we made a collage.

On the way back to Antalya we passed through Isparta. In that city there was one special thing. Their main economic activity is the creation of rose water and rugs. We did not stay too long in Isparta but we can say it was a interesting stop and the inhabitants are very hospitable, just like Haluk and his wife.

As you can see, not much text on that post of our blog. That’s because Konya is a city you have to SEE. Lots of images in our heads. Icons.. is the meaning of Konya and that’s not a coincidence.

Türkiye'de Hoşgeldiniz

When we arrived at the airport in Antalya, we did not know what the sentence above meant. But when we asked it to a inhabitant, he said we were welcome in Turkey. Turkey is a huge country. We asked the same inhabitant how many people were living in Turkey and we were astonished when we heard his answer.. around 74 million inhabitants.

Our first goal today was to find somewhere to sleep. After talking a bit with our Turkish friend (in English of course), we asked some interesting places for sleeping. His answer was: “ Yes, in my house” . We accepted his offer and we followed our friend Haluk to his house. His house was very beautiful, as you can see on the picture. We met his wife and four children. They received us like nobody else. Turkish tea (Çay) was offered as sign of welcome. During the teatime we made meetings with each other.

Haluk is the boss of the house. In English his name means ‘good nature’. His wife Dilek means desire, wish. And then we have the four children. One boy and three girls. The name of the boy is Berk and the meaning of that name is strong, solid, firm. He is the youngest of the family but like his name says he is very muscular. And then we have the 3 girls: Yildiz, Suleand Melek and the respective meanings are star, flame and angel. We liked their way of being so familiar to us.

But we were here to visit Turkey so we asked to Haluk what were the most beautiful places in that country. Living his whole life since he was born in Antalya, Haluk suggested to be our guide in that city and show us the most beautiful places. So we did not know the city so we agreed. Today it was beautiful weather and the fact Antalya is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, Haluk took us to the Lara beach. Lara is a district of Antalya and has the longest beach of Turkey.

After that, we went to Kaleici, the historical centre of Antalya. Kaleici has been restored after the second world war and now it is the most touristic place in Antalya with its clubs, hotels, bars and restaurants. Very beautiful city with a mix of Lycian, Pamphylian, and Hellenistic -but mainly Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman- architecture. In that picture you can see an old clock in the Kaleici.

Everybody was a bit Hungry and to thank our guide for the great welcome we’ve hd, we decided to invite him for lunch. The only thing he had to do is find a typical restaurant where we can eat local things. He knew exactly what we were searching and led us to a very small restaurant at a corner of a street. Apparently he knew the boss of the restaurant and he asked an assortment of delicacies.

First of all, the owner of the restaurant served a glass of Raki. And do you, readers know what raki really means? Well, we will tell it to you. Raki means milk of lion (just because it is white like milk and strong like a lion). And then the great lunch began. Lots of strange things were served just like Kapuska and Sehriye Corbasi (soups), Taratorlu Mydye Tavasi, Kimali Enginar (meats) and Cacik and Zerde (deserts). After 2 hours of talking and savoring those delicious things, we decided to go home. So as you can see, not a very difficult day today but really emotional to see how people are doing everything to make us happy. Once at Haluks’ house in the evening, we ate some other specialties friendly offered by Dilek and the children. After eating, we all went to the living room for a last cup of tea. They were also curious to know how life was in Belgium and so we changed some interesting information about culture, architecture,… Finally we went to bed for another interesting day near Antalya. See you next time ;)

The valley of Tabriz

Once again, hello dear followers!

We already have arrived at our last stop in Iran, Tabriz. This trip really goes way too fast. We didn’t even have the time to recover in Tehran. We needed to catch the train to Tabriz, located in the West of Iran. Tabriz is situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri river and Aji river. Tabriz is located in a valley of the long ridge of the volcanic cone of Sahand. With cold winters and temperate summers the city is considered a summer resort.

What immediately drew my attention is the architecture in the city. There are a lot of ancient and modern buildings. Most of the buildings are very beautiful. I didn’t expect that kind of architecture over there. I was surprised the most by the modern buildings like the one on the picture. You also find beautiful ancient buildings like mosques for example.

Because we wanted to find out something more about religion and Islam in general, we decided to visit one of the biggest mosques in the city: the Saheb Ol Amr mosque. None of us really knew a lot about their religion and that’s why this location was interesting for us. We all could learn something about their beliefs and traditions and so we did. We visited the mosque like we’re supposed. So we visited the mosque as if we were Muslims. We did exactly what the imam told us to do and we followed their rituals. So before we could enter the mosque, we needed to cleanse ourselves. This may seem ridiculous to some of us, but in fact when you follow all those people it is quite normal. I think we gained some respect towards that religion by doing all this. It was interesting to learn something about religion as well on our trip.

Another thing that stands out in this city: the parks. There are a lot of parks in Tabriz. Tabriz counts 132 parks. The oldest park in Tabriz, called Golestan Park, was established at first Pahlavi's era in city center. This park is part of the UNESCO world heritage. When you’re lucky, you can find a type of tigers here: the Caspian tiger. We had the luck to see one when we visited the park. What an amazing animal that is! I’m glad we visited one of the many parks in Tabriz. And I think we made a good decision by visiting the Golestan park. It was incredible.

When you take a walk in the city, you cannot deny it: the rugs. Tabriz is the center for Iranian quality rugs. Tabrizi rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. One of the main quality characteristics of Tabriz rugs is the weaving style. Too bad I can’t take one with me to give to my mother. They are to heavy but o so beautiful.

That’s it for Iran my beloved followers. You won’t hear from me anymore until the end of our journey. But my friend will keep you up to date for the last stops. Bye!

The capital of Iran

We arrived quite late in the capital of Iran, Tehran. We took a late flight from Birjand and landed around 22 pm local time. It was quite late to go to the hotel and again we were rather exhausted. But when we left the airport and saw Tehran for the first time, it was all worth it. What a beautiful skyline at night! We immediately noticed the difference with the East side of the country. Birjand was already a growing city but incomparable with Tehran.

When we arrived in the evening, we didn’t know much about this city, except that the people speak Persian or at least a dialect of Persian. We needed to wait until morning to learn more about this city and its inhabitants. So the next day we got up full of enthusiasm and went out to discover this huge city. We found out a lot about Tehran that day. I’m going to try to reduce the facts to a minimum. The thing that really shocked me is the fact that Tehran is in fact the 32nd national capital of Iran. And last year, they were planning to change the capital again! Government says it’s necessary for safety and administrative reasons. Now the plan is finalized and they’re started relocating all defense-related industries out of the capital. I was quite shocked when I heard this. I understood that they’re afraid of a potential earthquake that would destroy the entire capital.

It certainly is hard to understand when you know that the economy of Tehran is flourishing and knowing the capital is really important for the industry. About 30% of Iran’s public-sector workforce and 45% of large industrial firms are located in Tehran and almost half of these workers work for the government. Today many modern industries of this city include the manufacturing of automobiles, electronics and electrical equipment, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products.
So as you see we found out a lot about the city. We discovered all this by moving through the city from the one location to the other with the metro. Perhaps I didn’t tell you this yet: Tehran has one of the most convenient, if not the most convenient, metro system in the world. I had never seen a metro this clean! It was a pleasure to cross the city by metro.

So as you see we found out a lot about the city. We discovered all this by moving through the city from the one location to the other with the metro. Perhaps I didn’t tell you this yet: Tehran has one of the most convenient, if not the most convenient, metro system in the world. I had never seen a metro this clean! It was a pleasure to cross the city by metro.

Maybe it was not a bad idea at all to do everything by metro, because another fact of Tehran is that they have to deal with a massive air pollution problem. It is estimated that about 27 people die each day from pollution-related diseases. So this was Tehran in a nutshell. It’s a fascinating city with unfortunately some big problems. It’s time to move on to the next and last stop in Iran, Tabriz. You’ll hear from us very soon!

Herat – beauty and art

Hi our dearest friends,

This is our last blog describing Afghanistan and all things we visited here and also happened here. As we told last time we will be travelling to Herat, Herat used to be one of the largest cultural and Islamic centers in the Central Asia and it’s is the third large city in Afghanistan. Herat is located in the western part of Afghanistan. Herat is known to have a very fertile ground and is also known for his wine. In comparison with the climate in 

Kabul Herat is much milder in the summer and also in the winter the cold is mild.

Economy

The economy of Herat is based on agriculture, the planting of cotton, rice, and wheat. Home industries produce rugs, carpets, silk materials, fur jackets and products of camel hair. Herat rugs have a worldwide value. The economic and agricultural are centered in the valleys of Hari Rod River. Herat historically has a great historic and tourist value. The traditional buildings and mosques, which form the dominant architectural accent of city, have been important to attract tourist to the center of the city. Just a side note Herat is 645 km 

west of Kabul.

The citadel

Built in its present form by Malik Fakhruddin in 1305 A.D.,

His citadel has a long history as conquerors like Genghis Khan and Tamerlane fought beneath its walls. This fort, originally built by Alexander the Great, suffered repeatedly attacks over the history but still dominated the landscape of Heart. Held by the Ghaznavids, the Seljuks, the Ghorids, the Mongols, the Timurids, the Safavids and others, the citadel is a reminder of the time of Kings, conquerors and great pageantry. 

After visting 2 cities here ,we are leaving Afghanistan, we had a rumbled time to say the least. But learned alot in our stay here. We hoped you enjoyed our stay in Afghanistan and hope to get more and more people in our experiences along the way!

That’s all for now, next time we will be leaving Afghanistan and heading somewhere else.. find out next time!!

Greetz

Frederic Vancoillie

- The Travel Crew -

following the balkan-route

Hi friends!

Our trip is almost coming to its end. We’re getting closer and closer to Europe. After Afghanistan, we followed the Balkan-route to Iran. The first stop in Iran was Birjand. Birjand is a big city in the East of Iran and is located on the “Silk Road”. That’s how the call the smuggling route.

A lot of drugs get shipped across the border. Mostly the drugs is from Afghan origin and makes its way across the Balkans to consumers in Western Europe, which is the world's largest heroin market. Approximately 30 million ton is seized every year in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In other words, for every kilo seized in the South East Europe, nearly 11 kilos are seized in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Luckily, the city is also known for other things like their carpet export for example. Saffron and barberry are typical products in this region as well. The main reason why we visited this city is because it’s a fast growing city. Birjand is becoming one of the biggest centers in the East of Iran. Because there’s an airport, we thought it’d be a good idea to visit this city and then take the plane to the capital of Iran.

But while we were there, there were enough places worth visiting. After we discovered the city centre, we decided to visit two of the most beautiful spots in the region. But therefore, we needed to leave the city and take the bus a couple of kilometers down South. After half an hour we arrived at our first stop:

The Band Dareh Dam is situated about 5 kilometers south of Birjand on the heights of Bagheran Mountains. Over the years it has kept its place. Not only is it a resort for travelers, it is also a source of hope for the farmers and thirsty trees of the region. After visiting the dam, we used the opportunity to discover the rest of the Bagheran Mountains. After walking a few hours, we arrived at our second stop.

Furg citadel

The Furg citadel is a citadel built in the 12th century. It’s an amazing construction and is well conserved through the years. As you can see, it’s situated on the top of a mountain and it gives an amazing view when you’re standing on the citadel. It was time to go back to the city because we needed to catch a flight. So we hurried towards the Birjand airport where we had tickets to go to the capital of Iran, Tehran.