Displaying items by tag: dallol travel

Saint Louis
This was a capital of French West Africa in early 1900s. And little is left from past glamour and shine. But still, fantastic place to visit! Saint Louis feels like going back in time with it's classic French architecture and the wild African charm on the streets. Once you cross to the harbor and to N'Dar island, true Africa reveals. While this town has a potential to be one of the World's top travel hot spots, it is now just a big mess of color, scents, smiles and smiles.

Ashgabat
There is no place like it in the world; wide boulevards, marble skyscrapers, unique and strange monuments, and an eerie lack of people during the day. Make sure you take one day for monuments sightseeing only. There is a big number of them all over the town and they are quite compelling. Don't miss the world's largest enclosed ferris wheel and the Monument to Neutrality. Basically, wherever you turn, there will be something unusual and unexpected. Ashgabat is a real treat.

Kokino Observatory
Macedonia has a many off the beaten path spots but Kokino should be number one on your list. Even listed with UNESCO as a World Heritage site, this 3800 years old observatory, was only discovered and partly understood in 2001. Kokino, had a dual function as a scientific and ritual site, and is of great interest to archaeoastronomy researchers for its complexity and value. But, for all of us others, it is still an impressive site.

The Lotus Farm
The Lotus Farm is basically a large lake producing thousands of lotus flowers which are harvested to create a unique, silk-like textile. Lotus is, of course, used in Khmer cuisine as well. Pretty much all parts of the plant are edible but we prefer the dried seeds. They have a nut-like flavor and are often sold dried in western countries. Lotus farm makes for a nice, non-touristy detour from the main route and you can get a good picture of how people live in Cambodia.

Communist-Era Statues
Tirana is not the most fascinating city but some parts of the center are quite unique. Enver Hoxa Mausoleum with Communist-Era Statues definitely is the place to visit! Mausoleum is in poor condition as Albanians don't care much about former dictator. The statues of prominent communist symbols used to be all over the main squares of Tirana but now all of them are on one humble location. As a reminder of the times gone by. Cool place to take a photo with statue of Stalin - rare find anywhere else in the World.

Stećak Monuments
Just recently added to UNESCO World Heritage list, stećak tombstones are shared by nearly all the nations of the Balkans but Bosnia has most of them: about 60 000. There are several variations of this unique monument and most recognizable are the ones in the shape of a sarcophagus with various decorations on them. Radimlja necropolis near Stolac in Hercegovina is one of major sites to visit if curious about this unique tradition.

Straw Hats of Yemen
One of the most curious and unusual details you will see in the mainland are the strange, tall hats worn by local women in the fields. Despite the scorching heat, Yemeni women are dressed in black burqas while working in the fields and the only relief, apparently, is coming through these tall hats. The hats are made of dried and braided strips of date palm leaves and are characteristic to Hadramaut province of Yemen. These strange hats are called madhalla and please ask for permission before taking a photo.