Gunes Murat Tezcur
 

Travel Notes and Photos

"If I were asked to enumerate the pleasures of travel, this would be one of the greatest among them—that so often and so unexpectedly you meet the best in human nature, and seeing it so by surprise and often with a most improbable background, you come, with a sense of pleasant thankfulness, to realize how widely scattered in the world are goodness and courtesy and the love of immaterial things, fair blossoms found in every climate, on every soil." Freya Stark

Currently under construction

Iran       Syria       Lebanon       Turkey       Iraq

 

The Shrine of Fatima in Qum, Iran

A desert town located south of Tehran, Qum reflects both the self-confidence and uneasiness of the clerical regime.

The City of Aleppo, Syria

Once a major trading center in the Levant, the old Aleppo still preserves its medieval charm and hosts one of the best preserved citadels in the world.

Erbil Castle, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

After years of poverty and political suppresion, Iraqi Kurdistan has achieved great progress towards statehood. The "Kurdish question" is likely to be one of the most intricate issues in world politics in the near future.

Ani, Turkish-Armenian Border

The Aras valley makes the border between Turkey and Armenia. One cannot help but feel that the disappearing ruins of the medieval Armenian capital Ani is now the end point of the civilization.

Ishak Pasha Palace, Eastern Turkey

The palace which was built in the 18th century overlooks the Kurdish town of Dogubeyazit on the skirts of the Mt. Ararat.

The Hosab Castle, Eastern Turkey

Hosab means pleasant water in Kurdish and Persian. The castle, erected on a step cliff, overlooks the Murat River. Ruined it may be, the Hosab castle still lies on the main transitroad from Iran to Turkey.

British Cemetery in Galipoli, Turkey

During the WW I, the Gallipoli peninsula witnessed the toughest moments of the whole Ottoman history when the allied forces attacked the straits of Dardanelles with the purpose of capturing the Ottoman capital of Istanbul.

Beaufort Castle, South Lebanon

This strategically located crusader castle, as seen from the notorious al-Khiam prison, was under Israeli occupation until 2000. The prison which had been made a museum by Hizbollah after 2000 was destroyed by Israeli air strikes in 2006.

The Alamut Castle, Qazvin Province Iran

The legendary Castle of the Nizari Ismailis is located in a pleasant valley surrounded by majestic Elbourz Mountains, south of the Caspian Sea.

Tyre, South Lebanon

Once resisted Alexander the Great, the port of Tyre is now home to maginificent ruins and has the unfortune of being proximite to the Israeli border.

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