I traveled to Beirut earlier this year with bmi (British Midland International), the East Midlands-based airline partially absorbed into British Airways in the spring. My Beirut trip was meant to be the third installment in an ongoing series called "Far Europe and ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Armenia
The Caucasus, Central Asia And British Airways
I traveled to Beirut earlier this year with bmi (British Midland International), the East Midlands-based airline partially absorbed into British Airways in the spring. My Beirut trip was meant to be the third installment in an ongoing series called "Far Europe and ...Yerevan day trips: Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery
There are two obvious day trips from Yerevan, both fascinating and absolutely worth the effort: Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery. Both of these sites are located less than an hour from Yerevan by car, along scenic roads that afford, here and there, great views of Mount ...Two Yerevan tips: Lagonid Bistro-Cafe & Sergei Paradjanov Museum
Here are two Yerevan tips. Though both make it into some guidebooks, neither would probably be an obvious choice for a Yerevan sojourn: the Syrian-Armenian Lagonid Bistro-Café and the Sergei Paradjanov Museum.
I never meant to wander into Lagonid ...Soviet Yerevan
The architectural influence of the Soviet years cannot be missed in Yerevan. Two examples in particular viscerally embody the grandiose massive-scale drama associated with Soviet architectural projects: the Armenian Genocide Monument and the 50th Anniversary of the ...Yerevan: Covered food market
Markets are great places for getting a sense of what makes a place tick, for grasping both the local agricultural bounty of a place and its culinary inclinations. Yerevan's covered food market presents no exception to this general principle.
It's physically a very ...Far Europe and Beyond: Introducing Yerevan
It took around five hours to get from Tbilisi to Yerevan, in a taxi organized along a rather mysterious logic. I made it first to Ortachala bus station, the appointed place in Tbilisi for hiring long-distance taxis for Yerevan, and was introduced to a portly gentleman ...Introducing Far Europe and Beyond
Far Europe and Beyond, a Gadling series in partnership with bmi (British Midland International) launches today.
Europe's eastern borders cannot be defined simply. The western, northern, and southern perimeters are easy: The Atlantic, the Arctic, and the Mediterranean ...Five ways to get more European stamps in your passport
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia.
Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that European passport stamps have become harder and harder to get. The expansion of the Schengen zone has reduced the number of times tourists are compelled to show their passports to immigration officials. For ...Travel then and now: Travel to the USSR and GDR
This year is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union and 21 years since the reunification of Germany. While citizens of the USSR and GDR were unable to travel abroad and restricted in domestic travel, foreign travelers were permitted under a controlled ...Gas stations: then and now
Once upon a time, gas stations gave away all kinds of cool stuff, most of it targeted at kids. As a child of the 70's, I clearly recall of our Exxon "NFL Helmets" drinking glass collection, and my miniature Noah's Ark collectible series (What genius ad team decided that was ...Archaeologists discover world's oldest wine press in Armenia
Archaeologists in Armenia have discovered what they believe to be the world's oldest wine press. The press is inside a cave, where they found the remains of grape seeds, pressed grapes, and vines of Vitis vinifera vinifera , the same type of grape still used in winemaking ...Weekend travel media top five
Among the best travel stories this last weekend of October: emerging Armenia, undervisited Northern Vietnam, a rail journey across China, top spots to celebrate Halloween (start your research for Halloween 2011 here!), and a wine-free tour of St. Helena, California.
1. In ...World's longest aerial tramway opens in Armenia
On October 16, Armenia became home to the longest aerial tramway in the world. The three-and-a-half mile track consists of just two stations - without any other supporting tower structures.
The new tramway takes passengers from the village of Halidzor to the Tatev ...AirBaltic expands, spruces up
Yesterday, Latvian airline AirBaltic launched two new routes: Riga-Madrid and Riga-Beirut.
Riga-based AirBaltic is an airline to watch. Little known in North America, the airline is notable for its low starting fares and the inclusion of most of Europe's most popular ...New train route to connect Turkey with Georgia and Azerbaijan
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I always get excited when new rail routes open up.
In my opinion, there is no better way to travel than by train. And when countries that are normally difficult to traverse by other means suddenly open up a new rail route, it makes travel and exploration all that much ...Nagorno-Karabakh: A War Zone worth Visiting?
It's not so often that one hears about travel to Nagorno-Karabakh. After all, this was hell on earth during the 1990s when regional conflict ripped it apart as Armenia and Azerbaijan fought for control of this parcel of land--a predominantly Armenian enclave located in ...Fresno's Saroyan Walking Tour
Small towns are fiercely proud of their local heroes who have made it big on the world stage. Fresno is no exception. This blip of a metropolis in the center of California gave birth to Pulitzer Prize winner William Saroyan.
Today, the William Saroyan Society is dedicated ...Armenia Dispatches Redux
Someone just sent me yet another note asking what happened to all the dispatches on Armenia I did back in 2005. And sure enough, when I went to check for them myself, the link was not working. So I went back and resaved out into the Armenia section all those dispatches and ...Word for the Travel Wise (09/15/06)
While our category list doesn't reflect it a quick trip over to the Armenia link for travelers headed that way will prove differently. Erik visited the country just around this time last year and posted some amazing information on concerts, chess, the Genocide Museum and ...The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh
Some folks here might remember the trip I took to a while back and the series of dispatches I filed from that lovely, wonderful country. Armenia is one of those lesser-known gems in the world, a place you can go to not only see centuries-old historical sites, but also to get ...
