Gur-e Emir
A month ago I came back from my journey over a part of the Silk Road to and through Central Asia. 4 months of travelling through 14 countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran) before I flew home from Teheran. An impressive journey in countries that are extremely beautiful, with lovely and welcoming people and diverse cultures and history.
Intense travelling with more than 20000 kilometres in our mobile home on sometimes roads that hardly could be called that way. We saw many villages and cities (some wonderful, others very ugly), countries that are transforming from the old Soviet era into something more related to older cultures and the way people live, often funded by oil readily available around the Caspian sea. We saw the amazing mountains south of the Black Sea, the wonderful Caucasus, and the high mountains in the far east close to China with peaks over 7000 meter, and not to forget the (Bulgarian) Alps!
We crossed the great steppe of Kazakhstan. a drive of at least 5000 km, the remnants of lake Aral, once one of the biggest lakes of the world, saw a rocket launch from Baikonur (this little part is Russian owned), we crossed many high mountains passes, and drove the breathtaking canyon that comes from the Pamir, beginning at ca 4500 meter, and going down for ca. 400km to an altitude of 1300 meter, driving for 100's of kilometres along the Afghan border.
And then the numerous lakes with all sorts of different colors from deep cobalt blue to turquoise, and one rare spectacle in Turkmenistan where a gas crater is burning already for more than 40 years. And finally and certainly not the least to mention an enormous amount of wonderful, hospitable and welcoming people. The woman often dressed in wonderful dresses, and bringing a lot of color in the streets of almost of all countries we visited.
Last month I spent going through ca 9000 pictures, and now my first selection is ready (more work to come), but there definitively a few shots worth showing of which this is the first one. Not a landscape, but one of those many fantastic buildings in Samarkand Uzbekistan, that was certainly the cultural crown of my journey. Although I had seen many pictures beforehand, I was completely stunned when I saw them in real. It was better than the pictures.
The building here is called the Gur-e Emir (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gur-e-Amir), a mausoleum wherein the famous Timur Lenk was buried. For the Uzbekis Timur is a real hero, but I am not sure whether the surrounding countries agree on his status, considering the 'few' victims he made during his journeys. (Trust me, I will not be a hero).
Needless to say, this was during the blue hour, and I made a panorama from 4 portrait stitches. I am happy with the end result, because this was out of hand, 1/10 of a second and still sharp! Enjoy.
Gur-e Emir
A month ago I came back from my journey over a part of the Silk Road to and through Central Asia. 4 months of travelling through 14 countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran) before I flew home from Teheran. An impressive journey in countries that are extremely beautiful, with lovely and welcoming people and diverse cultures and history.
Intense travelling with more than 20000 kilometres in our mobile home on sometimes roads that hardly could be called that way. We saw many villages and cities (some wonderful, others very ugly), countries that are transforming from the old Soviet era into something more related to older cultures and the way people live, often funded by oil readily available around the Caspian sea. We saw the amazing mountains south of the Black Sea, the wonderful Caucasus, and the high mountains in the far east close to China with peaks over 7000 meter, and not to forget the (Bulgarian) Alps!
We crossed the great steppe of Kazakhstan. a drive of at least 5000 km, the remnants of lake Aral, once one of the biggest lakes of the world, saw a rocket launch from Baikonur (this little part is Russian owned), we crossed many high mountains passes, and drove the breathtaking canyon that comes from the Pamir, beginning at ca 4500 meter, and going down for ca. 400km to an altitude of 1300 meter, driving for 100's of kilometres along the Afghan border.
And then the numerous lakes with all sorts of different colors from deep cobalt blue to turquoise, and one rare spectacle in Turkmenistan where a gas crater is burning already for more than 40 years. And finally and certainly not the least to mention an enormous amount of wonderful, hospitable and welcoming people. The woman often dressed in wonderful dresses, and bringing a lot of color in the streets of almost of all countries we visited.
Last month I spent going through ca 9000 pictures, and now my first selection is ready (more work to come), but there definitively a few shots worth showing of which this is the first one. Not a landscape, but one of those many fantastic buildings in Samarkand Uzbekistan, that was certainly the cultural crown of my journey. Although I had seen many pictures beforehand, I was completely stunned when I saw them in real. It was better than the pictures.
The building here is called the Gur-e Emir (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gur-e-Amir), a mausoleum wherein the famous Timur Lenk was buried. For the Uzbekis Timur is a real hero, but I am not sure whether the surrounding countries agree on his status, considering the 'few' victims he made during his journeys. (Trust me, I will not be a hero).
Needless to say, this was during the blue hour, and I made a panorama from 4 portrait stitches. I am happy with the end result, because this was out of hand, 1/10 of a second and still sharp! Enjoy.