http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ekim/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ekim en-us Sun, 26 May 2013 02:51:33 +0000 Sun, 26 May 2013 02:51:33 +0000 Maramure the most isolated and traditional corner of Romania has a rich cultural fabric. And the Christmas and New Year holidays bring them to the forefront. I was fortunate to experience those traditions while on a photography workshop with Davin Ellicson this past December. I stayed with a local family in the village of Valeni. Valeni like so much of Maramure is a farming community http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Maramures/blog-770660.html I cannot even begin to count the number of times I was asked why in the world I wanted to go to Iran by my incredulous friends. Then too nor can I count the number of times I was embraced by envious friends who dreamed of the same trip. And that was just the beginning of a trip which continued to be filled with overpowering dichotomies As an American I had to be part of a booked and organized to http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-751145.html Until the Arabic invasion that brought Islam to what is today Iran Zoroastrianism was the main religion across the Iranian plateau. Zoroastrianism was one of the first religions to be based upon the idea of an omnipotent and invisible God. That God is named Ahura Mazda and Ahura Mazda was to be worshiped through light thus the Fire Temples for which the Zoroastrians are famed. The name Zoroastr http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Yazd/blog-748220.html Ancient Persepolis the heart of ancient Persia todays Iran. Towering columns massive gateways monumental staircases and exquisite reliefs. Its almost impossible to imagine these ruins in their former splendor. And to imagine the proud empire that held the Greeks at bay for so very long. It started in the 7th century BC with Persepolis being constructed in the early 500 BCs. At its he http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/South/Persepolis-/blog-748218.html As I left Korea one lasting impression was of the confusing mixture of sentiments and thoughts that I encountered concerning the Korean War. First we would do well to remember that Korea was first split after World War II before the Korean War. Korea had been controlled by the Japanese Empire in the decades preceding World War II and much like Europe was split amongst the Allied powers afte http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/DMZ/blog-739515.html Tunisia The place from which so much of the visual imagery of Star Wars came. The Sahara Desert. Ancient Troglodyte homes. The Ksars ancient granaries that later became stacked stronghold desert villages. Phoenician and Roman ruins. And more shades of blue on the Mediterranean coast than one could possibly imagine But to get from the airport to the start of our weeklong adventure was about to http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tunisia/Tozeur/blog-713762.html After hours on the narrow two track 4x4 trail dashing in and out of dry washes spinning across the flat expanse that is punctuated only by the towering termite mounds we roll into Murelle one of three tribal villages of the Karo people. We are high above a massive bend of the Omo River with a view that stretches forever. I gasp at the incredible view thinking these people know the old sa http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Southern-Nations-Region/blog-685223.html After too many different airports and too many different flights and way too much wind on one of the landings and too many close connections where you wonder if your luggage could possibly have kept up with you we finally land in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia. Its 4 am. The drudgery of filling out the form for an entry visa and standing in the will this line ever move line saps the last of my http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/blog-684865.html If you are a regular follower of my blog here please note that I39ve done three new postings not just this one. So you can slide back to my time in Vietnam and on Cyprus as well if the fancy strikes youOK into GreeceOnce every three years the Eastern and the Catholic celebrations of Easter line up to be on the same day. 2011 was one of those years. And so it seemed perfect to head to G http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/blog-628010.html Cyprus. From Roman ruins set beside the azure Mediterranean to lush cool mountains asking you to mountain bike through them Cyprus has an incredible variety of experiences to offer The south is closely tied to Greece and a part of the EU. It was a great place to practice my Romanian as a huge percentage of the service workers were Romanian They even had Romanian stores offering traditional http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Cyprus/blog-627974.html What an incredible pleasure it was to travel in Vietnam last Christmas Santa was everywhere As were the joyful and exuberant Vietnamese people.No where that Ive traveled have I been met with such an endearing curiosity people so eager to interact with you and learn about you. From the diminutive Hmung ladies of the northern highlands to Ho Chi Minh City college students traveling on their http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-627953.html The Palatul Parlamentului. The Palace of Parliament. After the pentagon the largest administrative building in the world using square footage for the measure. And the third largest in the world by cubic footage right behind Cape Canaveral. Right here in Bucharest. And visible from the balcony of my apartmentIn the 1984 the former Romanian dictator Ceaescu had a vision of this immens http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Muntenia/Bucharest/blog-587575.html Whether you consider it Southern Bukovina separated for now from their kin across the border in the Ukraine or you call it Northern Moldavia with family ties torn by the border between Romania and Moldova it is most certainly a very special corner of the world. This isolated corner of northern Romania was alway sparsely inhabited. From small bands of settlers who approached from the west fro http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Bucovina/blog-553347.html After beginning to accept the industrial grittiness of so many of Romanias cities and after coming to take for granted the imposing block structures of the communist era apartment buildings Maramure was a medieval delightThis far northern region of Romania nestled up against the Ukrainian and Hungarian borders seems not to have changed much in centuries. Sheep roam the hills and the be http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Maramures/blog-553345.html St. Petersburg Russia the end of the line for our Trans Mongolian trip. A vibrant city dedicated to living the summer fully before the long nights of winter return much too soon.The sun sets after 1100 pm during June's 'White Nights'. Followed by the glow that announces the coming sun rise before 300 am. A wide open sky that just does not end.The sun so low in the sky by most of the world' http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-489419.html I've been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC oh so powerful. And to Dachau Prison where I've seen the gas chambers and the crematorium where hundreds of thousands died. To the powerful Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw where the entire history of the vibrant Jewish community there just stopped without anyone left to even take care of the graves. But I think that the most moving experience yet http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-489143.html As the train rolled through the last kilometers approaching Moscow the sun rose on our final day on the Trans Mongolian. The steady murmur of the wheels on the endless rails and the gentle rocking that put us to sleep was soon to be replaced by comfy beds in homey apartments as we spent a week in Moscow with our friend Vania who teaches there in Moscow. While the adventure had been incredible http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-484541.html I spent last week end in the dry forest of Sasan Gir National Park watching the desiccated leaves scurry across the parched earth in the hot dry breezes. The sun beats down mercilessly there as this corner of India anxiously awaits the coming monsoon still months away. Even so the regal Asiatic Lion holds sway over their kingdom camouflaged perfectly for this landscape. I took three safa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Gujarat/Gir-National-Park/blog-481637.html Yekaterinburg Russia Shrouded in mystery in so many ways for so many years. Birthplace of the Russian Federation's first President Boris Yeltsin. Site of the Gary Power's U2 plane incident. Renowned as the location of the murder of the last Russian Tsar and his family including Anastasia. Heart of the Soviet military machine. They all hold their secrets in this Russia's fifth largest ci http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Urals/Yekaterinburg/blog-478890.html A different type of entry this time. I'm finding less and less motivation to sit down and write about the adventures I enjoy on my trips. I mean my last posting is from the Trans Mongolian train last June And I haven't even gotten to Ekatrinburg or Moscow or St. Petersburg on that trip yet. Let alone the Diwali trip to Turkey and the Christmas trip to Oman Maybe its because I have so much c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-477123.html