Dubrovnik is hardcore, unadulterated sightseeing. This is the kind of place you can go on a two-day walking tour of, and still only have seen the main streets. The Old Town (Stari Grad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for culture, as well as being one of the most visited places in the Mediterranean and as a setting for Game of Thrones. Its position in Europe also makes it easily accessible from Central Europe, and Croatia’s position in the European Union has given people easy access to visit. Walking down toward the Old Town it is clear to see why this walled city has become so popular.
border crossing
S Y R I A (part 1 – Aleppo)
Now in all honesty, our journey so far hadn’t been particularly adventurous. I mean, 2.5m British tourists visit Turkey each year, and the country is not usually referred to as a niche travel destination. It wasn’t until the 4th day of the trip that things really got interesting, as we headed toward the Turkey/Syria border. Looking back, this is now one of the most thought provoking parts of the trip. The border crossing we used has gone on to become one of the most symbolic parts of the Syrian refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Syrians attempting to cross into Turkey to escape the civil war. Nowadays it seems impossible that two people would be able to cross over in the opposite direction, but in July 2010 we were happily in the back of a taxi waiting to cross into our second country.
L X T H R D G 