Category: Travel
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Nagorno-Karabakh: Shushi
I took a marshrutka out from Stepanakert to the old scenic town of Shushi. Shushi was on the front-line of the 1990’s Nagorno-Karabakh war and suffered heavy damage. It was an Azerbaijan stronghold, opposing Armenian-held Stepanakert. Over the course of the war most of the population fled, and the town still has many abandoned buildings.…
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Tehran: National Jewels Museum
The Tehran National Jewels Museum is truly over-the-top, with a staggering collection of gem encrusted artifacts. I had missed this when I was in Tehran in 2008, so I made sure to catch it this time. The collection is in 37 large display cases, full of many lavishly decorated items. There are bright crowns, covered…
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Astara Border Crossing Zoo
The Astara border crossing from Azerbaijan to Iran turned out to be a bit of a zoo. The border crossing is very slow, and to maintain order the Azeri authorities have created a special queuing area with four distinct queues separated by cage-like walls. Every 30-40 minutes the authorities would open the steel door for…
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The Itaipu Dam
I caught a local bus out to the visitor center at the giant Itaipu (“it-eye-poo“) dam on the Brazil-Paraguay border. Depending how you measure it, this is either the #1 or #2 hydroelectric plant in the world, with a peak generating capacity of 14 Gigawatts. Yowza! I signed up for the “Special Circuit” tour, which…
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Brest Fortress, Belarus
The Brest Fortress complex commemorates the heroic defence of the Soviet garrison against the German invasion of June 1941. I entered the Hero Fortress at its new ceremonial entrance: a giant concrete slab with a Soviet star cut into it. Stirring martial music plays as you enter. The gateway was rather grayer and drabber than…
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Post-Election Minsk
I got into Minsk on December 21st 2010 (Tuesday), coming in from Smolensk. I’d seen news reports in Russia of large scale protests and large scale arrests in Minsk on Sunday, after opposition supporters decided to express their skepticism of Mr Lukashenko’s reported 80% share of the vote in the Belarus presidential elections. I hadn’t…