Fatehpur Sikri seems like a city frozen in time. It was a short-lived Mughal capital in the 1600s and then abandoned completely. I have a book called The Alternative Travel List—Go here instead. This...
The heading is not a revolutionary statement or an understatement. The Taj Mahal is a fantastic building with a great romantic story. Agra was the second city I visited on my trip to India...
As in many countries, the capital often represents a country’s best and worst. I will say this is also the case in New Delhi. As I said in my previous post, I almost regretted...
New Delhi and Agra were the first stops on my India tour before I entered Rajasthan, the impressive Land of Kings. This was not my first trip to the Indian subcontinent, but my first...
Our journey through Iraq and Kurdistan was slowly coming to an end. We still had a few fascinating stops ahead of us before reaching Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Although Kurdistan is officially...
After several days in Iraq, we crossed into Iraqi Kurdistan, the autonomous Kurdish region in the north of the country. There was a passport check at the border, and our Iraqi guide was replaced...
Mosul was one of those names that appeared constantly in the news for years. Then, almost suddenly, it disappeared from the headlines. For many people, Mosul became synonymous with war, ISIS and destruction. Yet...
On our way north toward Kurdistan, we first stopped in Samarra before continuing on to the ancient city of Hatra. I have to admit I was disappointed that the most famous spiral minaret in...
There is something special about visiting a place you have heard about since childhood. For me, Ur was one of those places. Long before I became interested in travel, archaeology or history, I had...
We arrived in Karbala after dark. The city centre is largely car-free, so our bus had to drop us off at one of the gates. From there, we carried our luggage through security checkpoints...
