estetika, Flickr
In the West, randomness is a crucial, torturous pillar of border security. Those who have been to Asia know that active sadism is supplanted by bureaucracy, vanity and venality. In my opinion these are highly preferable alternatives. Once you know how land ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Iran
The Gatekeepers Of Asia: Face To Face With The Border Guards Of The Far East
estetika, Flickr
In the West, randomness is a crucial, torturous pillar of border security. Those who have been to Asia know that active sadism is supplanted by bureaucracy, vanity and venality. In my opinion these are highly preferable alternatives. Once you know how land ...Half The World Pedaled, Half To Go
Later this week, Vancouver firefighter and cancer survivor Rudy Pospisil will unpack his Giant Seek bicycle on the coast of Portugal, clip in and head for the Middle East. The road ahead stretches 9,000 miles, the distance between him and his goal of circumnavigating the ...Balochistan, The Unluckiest Corner Of The World
The earthquake that shook Iran and Pakistan last week has already been overshadowed by fatal tremors in Sichuan, China, a few days ago. Perhaps not surprising given that both places are in seismically active areas, but both of these disasters are repeats of far more ...Fourth Largest Cave In The World Discovered In Iran
A team of Iranian spelunkers exploring an underground cave system near Mehriz, Yazd have made a surprising discovery. Last year, the group of cavers stumbled across a massive underground chamber and after taking careful and exact measurements of its size, the cave is now ...5 Countries That Are Great Alternatives To Their Crowded Neighbors
It's the great hypocrisy in the mind of every traveler that they want to tour a place free from other tourists. Grumbling that a place is overcrowded isn't without grounds, though. Who hasn't wanted to pull a Dr. Manhattan on the tour groups that take group photos with ...Survey Ranks 'World's Most Unfriendliest' Countries
Have you ever been to a country that just seems to give tourists the cold shoulder? Now, there are some figures behind those unwelcome feelings; the World Economic Forum has put together a report that ranks countries based on how friendly they are to tourists.
The ...Cyrus Cylinder, 'The First Bill Of Rights,' Tours US
The famous Cyrus Cylinder, a baked clay tablet from the 6th century B.C. that's often called the "first bill of rights," has made its U.S. debut at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The Cyrus Cylinder was deposited in the foundations of a ...My Year In Adventure Travel: A Look Back And A Look Forward
We're approaching the end of 2012, so it's a good time to assess what we've done and where we're headed. There's a whole year of adventures and opportunities awaiting us in 2013, despite what the New Age crystal clutchers say. The world is not ending and that's a good ...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 ...Visiting The Sacred Sites Of Shia Islam
"She wants you to take her picture," a man said when the old woman in the black abaya came up to me.
We were standing in the mosque of Imam Husayn in Karbala, Iraq. This is one of the holiest shrines for Shia Islam. It was near here that Imam Husayn, son of Imam Ali, ...Travel Warning Issued: For Canada?
Previously voted the world's most recommended country to visit just days ago, Canada's popularity took a turn for the worse this week as Iran's foreign ministry said Iranians should avoid travel to Canada.
The move was in response to Canadian diplomats walking out of ...The Greatest Photo I Never Took
The Iranians love Ferris wheels. When I spent a month in Iran back in 1994 I saw them everywhere. The parks in the big cities had the big, brightly painted ones we're familiar with in the West. Smaller towns and villages had more modest Ferris wheels, some small enough ...A Conversation With Rick Steves
Rick Steves doesn't want you to go to Orlando. For more than thirty years, Steves has been trying to sell Americans on leaving the country in his work as a tour guide, author and host of the PBS Series "Rick Steves' Europe." These days, Steves thinks that it's more important ...Video: Violinist In The Mountains Of Iran
I love hearing different music when I travel, and often it's the music I remember the most. One of my clearest memories of Bulgaria, for example, is an elderly woman on the streets of Sofia singing a folk song. Even though I didn't know the words, the song stuck with me.
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Video: Finding Love In Iran
When people think of Iran, dating isn't the first thing that comes to mind. It's a conservative country with a strict form of Islamic law. Natural urges are unconquerable, though, and young people will always find a way to hook up. This video from Alessio Rastani describes ...
Ten big travel adventures for 2012
A new year always brings new possibilities, particularly in the realm of travel. With 2012 now officially underway, it is time to start plotting our adventures for the year ahead. This year, rather than share yet another top ten list of adventure travel destinations, we ...Space Tourists: a cinematic journey to the ISS (w/ Audio Interview)
Space Tourists airs tonight on the Documentary Channel at 8pm & 11pm
When Anousheh Ansari boarded the International Space Station on September 20th, 2006, she became the first self-funded female, the first Iranian citizen, and the fourth human overall to ...Uncornered Market Q&A: Audrey and Dan on Iran
Uncornered Market is one of the most popular travel blogs out there. A quick gander will demonstrate why this is the case. Audrey Scott and Dan Noll's labor of love boasts some of the most arresting travel photography around. The subjects the two take on are of broad ...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 ...Video of the Day - IranAir 727 makes emergency landing
Just one week ago on October 18th, an IranAir Boeing 727 landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport without the use of its front landing gear, after the bay of the nose gear failed to open on approach.
The crew performed a landing without the nose gear on runway 29L ...
