Category: Travel
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Abkhazia and Sukhumi
Before I arrived in Georgia, I had applied to the Abkhazian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sukhumi for a visa to visit Abkhazia. After a little toing-and-froing I was assured that my visa would be waiting in Sukhumi and my name would be on the “approved list” at the incoming border checkpoint. I took a…
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Gori's Stalin Museum (Revisited)
Despite the 2008 war, neither Gori nor its famous Stalin Museum seem to have changed much since my previous visit in 2007. The tall statue of Stalin still dominates the town square. The Stalin Museum still provides a positive narrative of Stalin’s life with a focus on the great Soviet WWII victory, and no mention…
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Tbilisi Ateshgah (Restored)
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…
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Batumi's Stalin Museum
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…
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The Oracle at Siwa
A visit to the Oracle of Amun in the Egyptian desert, with a lush oasis and prophetic donkeys.
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Damascus Encounters
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…