We stumbled across this small market when we spent the night in the Georgian mountain town of Kazbegi, which is squeezed in between South Ossetia and Chechnya. I thought the “Google supermarket” was pretty freakin’ funny: Continue reading
Category Archives: Places We Go
Photos Of The Day: Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is the national symbol of Armenia and has been revered by Armenians for ages. In Armenian mythology Mt. Ararat is the home of the Gods, much like Mt. Olympus in Greek Mythology. And then, of course, some people believe as well that a man named Noah built an ark that came to rest … Continue reading
Photo Of The Day: A Casualty Of The Nagorno-Karabakh War
I took this picture while visiting the front line of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The front line is strewn with the wreckage of the machines of war, but for some reason this lone armored personnel carrier (APC), flipped on its side amidst a field of flowers, resonated with me. Perhaps it serves as some sort of … Continue reading
The Palace Of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad
As we were entering Damascus, our taxi driver pointed out the palace where Bashar al-Assad lives on a hill overlooking the city. It’s quite a structure: You can get a pretty good view of the impressive layout of the palace and the surrounding gardens from Google Earth. Just type in “Damascus, Syria” and zoom in … Continue reading
Visiting The Mleeta Resistance Landmark
Regardless of where your sympathies lie in the various conflicts in the Middle East, the Mleeta Resistance Landmark is an interesting place to visit. Established by Hezbollah and opened in 2010, the Mleeta Resistance Landmark is Hezbollah’s presentation of their conflict with Israel and a celebration of their role in it. The “Tourist Landmark of … Continue reading
The Syrian Countryside
Most of the attention on Syria is focused on the cities (such as Damascus) and the towns (where much of the activity associated with the current uprising is taking place). But, I wanted to give you a better feel for what all of the space in between (which represents the majority of Syrian territory) is … Continue reading
The Cedar Forests Of Lebanon
The cedar forests of Lebanon first began to resonate with me after reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, perhaps the oldest written story on Earth. The Epic of Gilgamesh describes vast, unexplored cedar forests dominating the lands of the Mediterranean and Middle East. During the tale, Gilgamesh journeys into the cedar forests to slay the ogre-guardian … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 