The Tbilisi Ateshgah (aka Atashgah or Fire Temple) was under restoration when I visited it in 2007. That work is now complete and, mercifully, the restorers have been gentle. The old brickwork has been cleaned, and in a few places discreetly repaired, but has largely been left “as is”, without any gross tampering. A perspex […]
Browsing Posts in Travel
Tbilisi Ateshgah (Restored)
May 20, 2010
Batumi's Stalin Museum
May 19, 2010
The Stalin Museum in Batumi is much more modest than the imposing Gori Stalin Museum. It comprises three mid-sized rooms, in a former worker’s hostel which housed the young Stalin when he was organizing workers in Batumi. However, the Batumi museum provides a much more personal and enthusiastic touch than in Gori. Your 3 Lari […]
The Oracle at Siwa
March 29, 2010
A visit to the Oracle of Amun in the Egyptian desert, with a lush oasis and prophetic donkeys.
Damascus Encounters
March 17, 2010
Damascus’s Old City is very tourist friendly and it’s a pleasant place to wander. It’s mostly pedestrian-only and while the souks are fairly busy, the streets are mostly wide and it doesn’t feel too crowded. People say “welcome!” a lot. Mercifully, the many souvenir shop owners are only slightly pushy. There are two large contingents […]
The Chouf Mountains
March 13, 2010
I arranged a car and driver for a trip from Beirut up into the Chouf mountains. The road from the coast quickly entered low, but steep, mountains, heavily wooded and very green. Higher up, the hills became more mixed, sometime still green and wooded, sometimes rocky and barren. At the Chouf Cedar Reserve at Maaser […]
Baalbek: Roman Grandeur
March 10, 2010
I took a shared taxi over the border from Homs to Baalbek. There was some minor confusion at Syrian passport control: I hadn’t been issued an Entry Card when I entered Syria from Turkey and the Syrian immigration officer was duly aggrieved. But I mumbled some confused apologies, my taxi driver protested on my behalf […]
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