60 days / 17162 km / 356 hours 53 minutes
From Ljubljana, Slovenia to Ljubljana, Slovenia. 60 days and 17162 kilometers of new adventures. You too can use Furkot to plan your next road trip.
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9:00 - 299.7 km / 4 hours 41 minutes - 13:42
jez. Van, otok Akdamar & Katedrala
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Van
Lake Van (Turkish: Van Gölü, Armenian: Վանա լիճ, Vana lič̣, Kurdish: Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in the provinces of Van and Bitlis. It is a saline soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes (having no outlet). The original outlet from the basin was blocked by an ancient volcanic eruption. Although Lake Van is situated at an altitude of 1,640 m (5,380 ft) in a region with harsh winters, its high salinity prevents most of it from freezing, and even the shallow northern section is only occasionally an exception.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akdamar_Island
Akdamar Island (Turkish: Akdamar Adası), also known as Aghtamar (Armenian: Աղթամար [ɑʁtʰɑˈmɑɾ]) or Akhtamar ([ɑχtʰɑˈmɑɾ]), is the second largest of the four islands in Lake Van, in eastern Turkey. About 0.7 km² in size, it is situated about 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the island a hard, grey, limestone cliff rises 80 m above the lake's level (1,912 m above sea level). The island declines to the east to a level site where a spring provides ample water. It is home to the 10th century Armenian Holy Cross Cathedral, which was the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Catholicosate of Aghtamar from 1116 to 1895.14:42 - 64.3 km / an hour 18 minutes - 16:01
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Fortress
The Fortress of Van (Armenian: Վանի Բերդ, also known as Van Citadel, Turkish: Van Kalesi or Kurdish: Kela Wanê) is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and is the largest example of its kind. It overlooks the ruins of Tushpa the ancient Urartian capital during the 9th century which was centered upon the steep-sided bluff where the fortress now sits. A number of similar fortifications were built throughout the Urartian kingdom, usually cut into hillsides and outcrops in places where modern-day Armenia, Turkey and Iran meet. Successive groups such as the Medes, Achaemenids, Armenians, Parthians, Romans, Sassanid Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Seljuks, Safavids, Afsharids, Ottomans and Russians each controlled the fortress at one time or another. The ancient fortress is located just west of Van and east of Lake Van in the Van Province of Turkey.
The lower parts of the walls of Van Citadel were constructed of unmortared basalt, while the rest was built from mud-bricks.
Inscription of Xerxes the Great near the Van Citadel
Such fortresses were used for regional control, rather than as a defense against foreign armies. The ruins of this fortress sit outside the modern city of Van, where they support walls built in the medieval era.[1]
A stereotyped trilingual inscription of Xerxes the Great from the 5th century BC is inscribed upon a smoothed section of the rock face, some 20 meters (60 feet) above the ground near the fortress. The niche was originally carved out by Xerxes' father King Darius, but left the surface blank. The inscription survives in near perfect condition and is divided into three columns of 27 lines written in (from left to right) Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite. It is the only known Achaemenid royal inscription located outside of Iran.17:01 - 4.3 km / 11 minutes - 17:12
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Damghan (Persian: دامغان) is a city in, and capital of, Damghan County, Semnan Province, Iran, on the high-road to Mashad, at an elevation of 1,250 m, population: 57,331. The city trades in pistachios and paper almonds (kaghazi), with very thin shells, which are famous throughout the country.
Despite 7,000 years history, Damghan has been forgotten beneath desert sand dunes, It is one of the most ancient urban metropolis in the Iranian plateau, with many historical monuments including Tappeh Hessar which belongs to the Median (728-550 BCE), Parthians (248-224 CE) and Sassanid (224-651 CE) dynastic periods — the Tarikhaneh was built as a fire temple during the Sassanid dynasty and converted into a mosque after the advent of Islam - and many other historical buildings belonging to Seljuks and other periods.
Damghan was an important city in the Middle Ages, and was the capital of the province of Qumis (Qoomes), but was destroyed by the Afghans in 1723. Few remnants of that time remain; one is the ruined Tari-khaneh mosque with a number of massive columns and wood carvings and two minarets of the 11th century. The remains of Hecatompylos lie to the southwest of the city, extending from Forat, 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of Damghan, to nearly 32 kilometres (20 mi) west. On an eminence in the western part of the city are the ruins of a large square citadel with a small white-washed building, called Molud Khaneh (the house of birth), in which Fath Ali Shah was born (1772).[3]9:00 - 5.3 km / 11 minutes - 9:12
To the southeast of the city there is ruin of a castle from the Sassanids now called Tappeh Hessar, which is thought to be a garrison. After excavation in 1996, archeologists announced that the area ruins indicated three layers from three different eras. The oldest one dates back to 4000 BCE when the Aryans settled in the Iranian plateau.
10:12 - 76.5 km / an hour 17 minutes - 11:30
12:30 - 136.5 km / 2 hours 48 minutes - 15:19
16:19 - 85.5 km / 2 hours 34 minutes - 19:24
Halat Nebi Guburi, Golestan, Iran
http://historicaliran.blogspot.ch/2009/12/khaled-nabi-cemetery.html
In the graveyard of the 600 odd standing stones (symbolic of tombstones of male and female genitals) some are cylindrical in shape, height varying from 1–5 metres (3 ft 3 in–16 ft 5 in) and the others are of rectangular shape with two upper lobes; some are believed to represent female breasts. There are no engravings marking the dates of these phallic tomb stones but historians believe it to be of (Turkoman) tribal heritage who speak a dialect of Persian reside in northeast Iran and lead a nomadic life and training horses.20:24 - 55.8 km / an hour 46 minutes - 21:41
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Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, Iran
Mashhad (Persian: مشهد ) is the second most populous city in Iran and capital of Razavi Khorasan Province. Its metro area was home to 2,782,976 inhabitants including Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh cities. It was a major oasis along the ancient Silk Road connecting with Merv in the East.
The city is most famous and revered for housing the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam. Every year, millions of pilgrims visit the Imam Reza shrine and pay their tributes to Imam Reza.
Mashhad is also known as the city of Ferdowsi, the Iranian poet of Shahnameh, which is considered to be the national epic of Iran. The city is the hometown of some of the most significant Iranian literary figures.
Apart from Imam Reza shrine, there are a number of large parks, the tombs of historical celebrities in nearby Tus and Nishapur, the tomb of Nader Shah and Kooh Sangi park. The Koohestan Park-e-Shadi Complex includes a zoo, where many wild animals are kept and which attracts many visitors to Mashhad.
Some points of interest lie outside the city: the tomb of Khajeh Morad, along the road to Tehran; the tomb of Khajeh Rabi' located 6 kilometers north of the city where there are some inscriptions by the renowned Safavid calligrapher Reza Abbasi; and the tomb of Khajeh Abasalt, a distance of 20 kilometers from Mashhad along the road to Neishabur.
The Shah Public Bath, built during the Safavid era in 1648, is an outstanding example of the architecture of that period. It was recently restored, and is to be turned into a museum.9:00 - 35.7 km / 41 minutes - 9:42
Sang Bast, Khorasan Razavi, Iran
Sang Bast caravanserai, 11-15th century AD, Iran
Variant Names: Arslan Jadhib (Amiraslan Jazeb, Aslan Jazib) Gunbad, Mil-i Ayaz Minaret. Located near crossroads of Tus (Iran)-Herat (Afghanistan) and Neishabur (Iran)–Merv (Turkmenistan). Built in 997-1028 AD, with buildings added till at least 15th century. Style/Period: Ghaznavid. Completely ruined, except the restored mausoleum and minaret.10:42 - 167.6 km / 2 hours 42 minutes - 13:55
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9:00 - 33.6 km / 47 minutes - 9:48
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/merv/gallery/rotating
http://www.centralasia-adventures.com/en/sights/turkmenistan/turkmenistan_sights/merv.html
http://caravanistan.com/travel/turkmenistan/merv-oasis-mary/10:48 - 213.8 km / 3 hours 25 minutes - 14:14
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"Other travellers have also spoken highly of the friendly staff and atmospheric rooms with satellite TV in the restored 19th century house."
Rates start at $20 U.S. per person.
Barakiyon Street 40
99865 223 8780, info@komiltravel.com9:00 - 280.9 km / 5 hours 21 minutes - 14:22
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Vrang, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, Tajikistan
On an obvious salt-bleached patch of mountainside directly behind Vrang is a five-level stone monument claimed to be an ancient Buddhist stupa, though it looks more like a miniature ziggurat (stepped pyramid). From the green, unusually big (if feebly stocked) Vakhon shop, walk 200m north then follow the watercourse past an attractive garden. The stupa is directly above but the path does a 15-minute double-back. Far harder to reach are the dozens of hermit caves in the crumbling cliff-face across the chasm from the stupa.
Homestay Rano is on the main road facing the stupa area, but with a vehicle you might prefer Jahonbegim Zevarova's place, 1.5km east with its impressive tree-trunk timbers and tree-lined avenue approach.9:00 - 264.1 km / 3 hours 31 minutes - 12:32
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