1ST PART: RAID SAMARKAND (CENTRAL ASIA AND TURKEY) We had just done the Route to the heart of Central Asia. It had been six intense weeks through the steppes of the former Soviet Union, now converted into states of difficult pronunciation and unknown for the most part by the inhabitants of Western Europe, so Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan were traveled with our 4×4 in an expedition, which despite having the usual problems of mechanical breakdowns and some specific setbacks, It was brilliantly executed by the participants who had the audacity to carry out this adventure.
ROMANIA, MOLDOVA, UKRAINE, RUSSIA AND KAZAKH The 4×4 Territory Expedition theoretically started in the Ukrainian town of Donets’k, but in practice the whole group left together from Romania, from where we crossed quite comfortably to Moldova, Ukraine, until we reached the border with Russia, where we were tested and suspended in Russian until at the end and dropping a few rubles, we managed to pass and they gave us the pass to Astrakan, on the banks of the legendary Volga. We tried to reach the mouth of the river in the Caspian Sea and we were traveling along small tributaries and canals that showed us how big the Volga and its delta are. In Russia we only remember its police charging a few rubles for infractions that were as unfair as they were burlesque towards the “offenders”
Finally, after overcoming the Russian police obstacles, we entered Kazakhstan much more easily, where exquisitely shaped cemeteries welcomed us to its immense steppes. We were just ten kilometers from the Caspian Sea and we decided to approach, there we could see how real camels with two humps drink from its not very saline waters, a little further on flocks of sheep, cows and horses also swallowed this precious liquid.
we left physical Europe to enter Asia, at least that is what some panels located on either bank of the river indicated.
UZBEKISTAN We camped near a train track that carried passengers to the new country we were going to discover, Uzbekistan, where we met our guides who facilitated our quick entry into their country. We ate sausages, bread and fruit in a small village that the organization gave us. After the meal we head to the deserted Aral Sea, a mistake of Nature according to the Soviets who for that reason drained it, exposing the miseries of the human being. The mud that was close to the little water that was still left, was charged in the form of a few 4x4s of the group. We camped at a magnificent viewpoint from where we could see what was left of what was once an immense sea.
The next day we sailed with the 4x4s through the sand of what a few years ago was salt water and the remains of rusty ships, it is the most pleasant memory of that pathetic place created by man in his destructive eagerness.
While we were sailing through the dry sands of the Aral Sea, we had the first major breakdown, the ball joint of a front wheel broke and thanks to the fact that we were on sand the car stopped a few meters later, our team of mechanics with the help of a local welder was able to repair the break in a few hours, grouping all together at night in the City Hotel.
In the Aral Sea, we had the opportunity to photograph some fishing boats abandoned for years that demonstrate the activity of that port, now converted into a museum of the memory of human madness.
We left the hotel after breakfast to face another new challenge, crossing the dunes and red sand of the Kizil Kum desert, with ancient fortresses dating back to the time of Zoroastrianism, in the midst of a suffocating heat that only caused thirst among all the participants of the expedition. After two days of sailing through the hot sands of the thirteenth largest desert in the world, we arrived, not without some difficulty, at our camp of yurts or Uzbek huts in the middle of the Siberian steppe, this place was the prelude to other very beautiful landscapes, which began in a surprising and nearby lake that by its dimensions looked like a sea of calm waters.
Finally we reach Samarkand, a mythical city that lies surrounded by fields of red poppies and white cotton tufts on the mountains of southern Uzbekistan.
Its former inhabitants enhanced with magnificent buildings the importance that its strategic position meant for the trade routes between East and West, as well as huge and beautiful domes of turquoise blue in majestic medieval buildings, which even today are still part of the landscape and force the tourists who come there to not stop looking for the best possible photo to immortalize it later in our albums. We visited the city by bus and were able to see its monuments, whose architecture faithfully represents the Islamic art of Central Asia, especially in the Reguistan Square, the Necropolis and the Mausoleum of Tamerlane.
Samarkand was followed by a visit to another of the most beautiful cities of our trip, Bukhara, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, a strategic point during the times of the Silk Road, not only for its trade, but also for the spirituality and intellectuality that reigned there. Without a doubt, the architectural ensemble of Kalián with its incredible minaret-watchtower, which Genghis Khan, amazed by its height and beauty, gave up demolishing when he destroyed the city in 1220, are true beauties that we try from all possible angles to keep so as never to forget them, in the form of photographs.
TURKMENISTAN We left the kindness of the people of Uzbekistan to enter one of the most enigmatic countries on our route, Turkmenistan, a border where thanks to the magnificent collaborators of Territori 4×4, we had to do practically no paperwork and it was relatively comfortable to pass it. Quite the opposite of a provisional pontoon on the Amu Darya river where we lost two hours of bureaucracy in triplicate, it was noticeable that few were the tourists who arrived there, in the end we arrived at our hotel in Turkmenabat where we stayed that night.
Our great challenge in Turkmenistan was to cross the Kara Kum Desert, through the black sands that exist in some parts of it. Three nights through dunes and sand, where the Organization towed more than 300 km. one of the 4x4s that broke the radiator, an exhausted feat that ended well, since the damaged car was able to resume its journey once repaired in a workshop in the nearest city, located 500 km from the point of failure. The Gate of Hell was the perfect culmination for that desert, a crater of fire, which has been burning for more than 50 years caused by the emanations of methane gas that flow non-stop and that forced its creators to light so as not to further increase the problems in the region.
Ashgabat undoubtedly amazed us and positively surprised us all. We toured by bus a beautiful and impressive modern city that had nothing to envy to Abu Dhabi, the end of the visit ended in a gigantic and deserted mosque and inside which more kilofridges were spent on cooling it than in 100,000 houses in the rest of the country, a waste of the dictatorship that governs this rich country.
600 kilometers of asphalt led us to Turkmenbashi, a port city on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Our endearing and good guide Karina managed masterfully and much more quickly than expected, to facilitate our embarkation on a somewhat rusty and inluxurious Azerbaijani freighter, which after more than 24 hours of slow navigation reached the coast of Azerbaijan.
AZERBAIJAN AND GEOLOGY: FROM THE CASPIAN TO THE CAUCASUS Despite the slowness of the “little boat”, we arrived in Baku, a day ahead of schedule, which allowed us a relaxed visit of the city, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Azerbaijan represented a turning point in the journey, the steppe and the desert gave way to the mountainous region of the Caucasus, beautiful and green, the border between Europe and Asia south of the Urals. On the second day in this country, we visited some unique mud volcanoes that were located in a place next to the countless oil wells that surround its capital.
On our second night in this ex-Soviet republic we stayed in a reconstructed and charming Caravansarai, where merchants once spent the night with their camel caravans.
Georgia welcomed us with a simple and fast border crossing, accompanied by the kindness of the agents who worked there. A Christian enclave between Islamic countries, Georgia is a beautiful and mountainous country straddling the Black and Caspian Seas, its capital Tbilisi, although of Soviet style, is one of the most beautiful that we visited, we walked through its narrow streets and we could see the hanging houses over the Mtkvari River, a beautiful medieval neighborhood with decorated wooden balconies and many Orthodox churches topped by a round tower with a conical roof that made them look identical.
We stayed in a Palace Hotel located in a neighborhood that deserved the building, but we were in ex-Soviet lands and these things were common.
The stage that linked the capital with the border with Turkey turned out to be very entertaining, on tracks between rivers, lakes and mountains, which not even the waterspout that fell on us managed to tarnish, when we were close to our destination a pleasant surprise in the form of a castle and cave-monastery on a mountain wall left those of us who went there amazed.
After our brief stay in Georgia, we promised ourselves to return with more time because the little we saw was so beautiful that it impressed us all. Georgia and Azerbaijan deserve an exclusive trip in themselves and especially in 4×4.
TURKEY: KURDISTAN We entered Turkey at its easternmost end, between large mountains and high road passes, the day was rainy, a fact that we were grateful for after spending so many days of sun and heat.
We tried unsuccessfully to get Turkish lira at the border, as it was not strictly necessary we followed the waypoints along a beautiful road until we reached Kars, where we could change and admire its magnificent citadel, from the sixteenth century.
We camped less than two kilometers from Armenia and under the gaze of Mount Ararat that stood majestically before our eyes.
We woke up early as today’s stage promised emotions, the presence of the biblical mountain excited us and encouraged us to approach it in an unstoppable way. We left the asphalt road and following the waypoints of Territori 4×4, we discovered some wonderful landscapes and people. The summit of Ararat was shown in all its splendor during our visit to its domains, it was a magical experience that we can never forget, as we moved away from the road, along small dirt tracks, we were meeting its inhabitants, the Kurds, who went out of their way to entertain us with their few belongings, which they materialized with a cup of tea as a sign of friendship. It was really not suitable for very sensitive people, their kindness, from their battered plastic tents where they lived poorly due to the situation they have with the dominant Turks, produced in all of us, affection and respect for this people so unjustly treated, divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. I wish them the best because they deserve it. The Kurds are not the terrorists as the news makes us see, they are an oppressed and very poor people who are mistreated by the powers of the region as people and as a culture.
We continued along tracks that were close to 3000 meters and that on occasion mountains with snow appeared to us, which gave a touch of color to green landscapes
very rich in pastures, where Kurdish shepherds fed their flocks of sheep.
After this sublime lesson of humanity in Kurdistan, we arrived at an Ottoman palace of the eighteenth century, it was quite deteriorated, but it still retained the charm that it once had, the panoramic view that could be enjoyed from this point perfectly made up for the poor conservation that the building had.
The end of the day was a camping trip on the shores of Lake Van, right next to a rock wall that fell into its cold waters, a very beautiful place that made us continue dreaming of that earthly paradise that could have existed here in the times of Adam and Eve.
The next day dawned delighting us with the idyllic image that the lake gave us, it was undoubtedly a nice awakening. After breakfast, we went to the city that gives its name to the lake, Van, dominated by a citadel, which demanded an extra effort from whoever wanted to climb it. This fortress was built like others we visited by the Kingdom of Urartu. After the culture, our 4x4s set out to do what they like the most, we continued in Kurdistan and when we reached the slopes, the protocol required greeting our hosts who, as always, were friendly and willing to help us with any problem we had. It was about 50 kilometers through mountains very different from the ones we did further north the day before, in this case the terrain was much drier although the altitude where we were moving ranged between 2500 and 2800 meters. We ate in a restaurant and how could it be otherwise, in front of Lake Van.
After lunch we decided to take a small tourist boat that took us to a nearby island that had as its main attraction a beautiful Armenian Church of the tenth century, the view from a small promontory of the church and the lake were worth approaching here.
We returned to the hotel that was in a strategic place on the shores of the lake, we all had dinner in its restaurant.
We had been traveling for many days and fatigue began to appear among us, the camps had ended and from today, it was only planned to sleep in hotels. We said goodbye to Lake Van first on asphalt and then on the tracks, and it was when leaving the last track when unfortunately a shaft broke and the entire hub of the front wheel, after several hours of waiting a crane removed the 4×4 from circulation and transferred it to an official workshop for repair.
The group continued and the Tigris River crossed our path, there we ate in a small restaurant that obtained the general praise of all those who had lunch there.
By road and with our thoughts set on the broken down car that was resting in a city 100 km from where we would spend the night, we arrived at our simple but comfortable hotel to spend the night.
The next morning we visited Mardin, a city built in light tones, built on the side of a mountain under the watchful eye of a citadel and dotted with ancient and beautiful mosques and madrasas, walking through its narrow streets is hard, especially if it is uphill but it is worth the effort since from the top of the hill you have an impressive panoramic view of the Mesopotamian plain. since the Tigris and Euphrates rivers surround it a few kilometers away.
The route continued through the arid lands that the Euphrates generously irrigates and provides food for people and animals that have lived there for thousands of years, however here stands the oldest city that has never ceased to be inhabited, Harran, a charming town made up of strange mud houses whose conical roofs look like termite mounds, but that inside you can enjoy a pleasant temperature. We ate at a small local restaurant and had tea in a small open-air museum from where you could see the remains of the city several times destroyed.
The end of the day was the legendary city of Sanli Urfa, Abraham’s homeland and where a cave is venerated where the founder of Monotheism is supposed to have lived his first years of life. The old town of Sanli Urfa, mentioned in the ancient writings of the Hebrews and Muslims, was the scene of the miracle that God produced with his prophet Abraham, who was thrown onto a pyre
lit from the top of King Nemrut’s fortress, when the fire fell, it turned into water and the wood into fish, this prodigy also occurred with the king’s daughter, Zeliha, which gave rise, according to this legend, to the two lakes that full of sacred tents, occupy the central part of the old city. Around these lakes, there are beautiful mosques, Koranic schools, minarets, baths, bazaars, bridges and a beautiful and very well maintained garden area. Without a doubt, Urfa the victorious, which is what Sanli means in Turkish, surprised everyone with its magic, charm and the seclusion that its inhabitants and visitors showed in their visit to these holy places.
The objective of the day was to reach the top of Mount Nemrut before sunset, the organization provided us with the waypoints and in small groups we went through the spectacular tracks that little by little were bringing us closer to the enigmatic mountain, where Antiochus I ordered to build a strange gigantic tumulus with thousands of stones, adorned by colossal stone sculptures that represent the main deities of Olympus and himself, these monumental heads, are exhibited on the east and west faces, so that the departure and especially the setting of the sun is very frequented by tourists from all over the world who do not want to miss the show in a place that UNESCO has awarded the title of World Heritage of Humanity. We reached just in time this overwhelming wasteland that with its gigantic decapitated sentinels built in stone, with an undaunted gesture show hieratic faces that surprise us now just as they did in 1881 to Charles Sester, rediscovered for the West this unique find at 2150 meters high.
A loss of steering fluid forced two of the participants to miss the site and also had to spend the night in their tent, the rest, with more luck, were able to stay in small hostels where some of us could taste some excellent trout caught minutes before being cooked, splendid dinner in a place so far from urban comfort.
In the morning we located and helped the damaged vehicle, arriving at the nearby town of Adiyaman, where we began our road route to another point of great interest for the group, Cappadocia.
A great surprise was the charming hotel we had reserved, a marvel of design and details in an environment of indescribable beauty.
The next day, the vast majority of participants toured in a hot air balloon the incredible limestone formations that make up this original landscape, created hundreds of thousands of years ago by the lava and ash of three nearby volcanoes and the subsequent eroding action of rain, snow, heat and cold.
After our aerial morning adventure, we were able to get to know by land and in our 4×4, on tracks and without bumping into tourists these unique places that are known to all and World Heritage of Humanity.
We had dinner at the restaurant of our friend Bayran, who many years ago showed us with his affable kindness, the tracks of his land and that now in Territori 4×4 we like to remember and repeat.
After having breakfast in our “charming” Hotel, we took the opportunity to take the last photos and take our 4×4 to go by road to Ankara and then to Istanbul, before going to the Hotel, we took the opportunity to visit some emblematic places of the city, such as the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, after which we went to a nice restaurant next to the sea, where we ate very correctly.
GREECE & ITALY From Istanbul, by highway, we left Turkey and entered Greece, a highway made us cross the entire country from east to west, visiting another unique place and like many others that we met during this expedition, World Heritage of Humanity, I am referring to the Meteoras, masses of rock that rise majestically towards the sky and on whose peaks the Greek Orthodox monks once built small monasteries that delight of current tourists.
In Igoumenitza we took a ferry that took us, during the night, to Italy, by road we crossed the Abruzzi, mountains that despite not having much time to enjoy them showed us during our tour of them a good part of their beauty. In the afternoon and with some small last-minute shocks, we boarded the ferry that would take us to Barcelona, where we arrived and said goodbye the next day.
I still had another second expedition, the one that in a few days I was going to start to tour Central America, an experience that despite the fatigue I accumulated after six weeks driving, caught my attention and I wanted to do it, but this will be the next chapter, now to rest and enjoy the memories that this great trip to the heart of Central Asia has given us. Thank you very much to all my travel companions, especially Albert and Jaume Ametller who without their help this would not have been the same and to the occupants of my 4×4, especially Judit and Janna, who have put up with me with a lot of patience.
A hug for everyone and see you soon.
Jordi Tobeña
