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This new adventure, SUDELESTE
2008, will have more ambitious
goals than in 2007. First of all, we would like to
make two amateur documentaries, one about
Turkey and one about
Iran. So, it’s
important to find sponsors and financial aides that
will help us to acquire in time the necessary
equipment. Some of our main goals to accomplish
during this trip are:
- To
go from Romania to the Afghan border and back in
2 months
- To
reach the Russian border, in Azerbaijan
- To
sleep in the Iranian desert
- To
ski and swim, the same day in Antalya
During SUDELESTE 2008, the main way of accommodation
will once again be
couchsurfing, because, nowadays,
you can find available couchsurfers to host
travellers in nearly every country of the world,
even in countries as unexpected as Iran, Georgia and
Syria. As Turkey is a relatively big country with a
network of railroads all over the country, some of
the nights in Turkey will be spent on trains, while
going to the next destination.
The way of transport in Romania and Bulgaria will
certainly be hitchhiking, but once we get to Turkey,
we will use the train (like we said before) because
it’s very cheap there. For a Portuguese person, the
cost of the bus in Iran is very accessible, so
there, we will choose to take the bus.
The first
two cities to visit will be Constanta in Romania and
Varna in Bulgaria, two seaside resorts on the Black
Sea, very pleasant during the summer. From Varna, we
will go to the mythical city of Istanbul, obliged
visit because of its interesting history and
cultural wealth, and also because we have good
friends there. Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the
Egyptian market and the Bosporus are our main sights
of the city.
After Istanbul, SUDELESTE 2008 will make a brief
visit of the Yedigoller Park (the park of seven
lakes), near the Turkish cost of the Black Sea, then
we will go to the capital of Ataturk's homeland,
Ankara, where we can visit its amazing mausoleum and
visit also some friends. The next two stages will be
the region of Cappadocia with its surreal rocks,
some with ancient sculpted homes, and the Monastery
of
Sümela,
an unusual construction on the steep slope of a
mountain, in northern Turkey.
From Turkey, we will
continue until Armenia, Georgia and Azerbeijan, the
three countries of the Caucaso mountain range,
place of 1000 languages and also,
according the myth, land of the most beautiful
Caucasian faces (where the word came from). It's
also planned a short visit to the border between
Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.
By
ferry, we will cross the Caspian Sea to get to the
exotic and unknown Turkmenistan, and then we will
continue by land to northern Iran stopping at the
Iran-Afghanistan border, which is the return point
of the SUDELESTE 2008 adventure. Once we get there,
we will come back by the road in direction of
Teheran, the city of the monumental
Freedom Tower (Borj-e Azadi in Farsi).
Still in Iran, we will voyage to the south, in
direction of two historical cities and the ruins of
another historical city. The first is Isfahan, a
city so rich in culture and architecture that it’s
known in Iran by the expression “Isfahan is half of
the world”. Quite near is the city of Yazd,
religious centre of the ancient
Persian Empire, called
Zoroastrianism during the
Sassanid Dynasty.
Back in Turkey, we will visit the enormous Van Lake,
in the southeast of the country, region with the
biggest concentration of Turkish Kurds. Then , we
will go to a place, which is promising to be one of
the most attractive sights of our trip, Nemrut Dagi,
where we can see, according to the experts, the best
sunset of the world. There also, we will go to see
the enormous and beautiful stone statues,
testimonies of the presence of a Mausoleum built by
Antiochus I Theos of Commagene during the 1st
century BC. Another great historical attraction is
the city of
Aleppo, in northern Syria, whose first remains
of human occupation date back to 5000 BC.
Continuing on our path through Turkey, we will pass
though two cities of the Mediterranean coast, Adana
and Mersin, where we can visit some good friends,
who used to study in Portugal, and sunbath and swim.
After these cities, we will try to briefly visit the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Near the end of our adventure, we will visit the
region and city of Antalya, where we hope to ski on
the eternal snow of the region’s mountains and swim
in the hot water of the Mediterranean, in the same
day. After that, another beauty of nature in Turkey
is an exotic place called Pamukkale, which means
cotton castle in English. Finally, we will go to
Izmir, known for being a big seaside resort of
occidental Turkey and for the ruins of the
Temple of Artemis (Ephesus), one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World. There, we will also
visit some Turkish friends. Then, we will go to the
departure point of SUDELESTE 2008, Constanta, where
we will take a flight to Pisa and then to Porto.
Although the amount of detail about this trip,
nothing guarantees us that it will be just like we
explained. We have already thought about other
options and we are open to last-minute surprises and
changes. But only with those we will reach a high
level of adrenaline.
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