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Route map:
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- pictures -
It's 3 GS1100s we started with. Kalle (on the left) was testing my ex-crashed R1100GS he bought from me and just repaired and got it on the road till Riga, Latvia and turned back to Tallinn. 2 GSes contiuned: me (not on the pic), Ott and Kariina.
Balkan mountains in Serbia
Ship traffic in Bosphorus, Istanbul. We counted over 50 large cargo ships.
Ott's enjoying Istanbulian comforts to the max before we hit the alcohol-ban zone...
Wild camping in Turkey.
Like we mostly enjoy to do.
Castle in Aleppo, Syria, which is currently the capital of islamic culture.
There's active arabian-style business going on in every corner of Aleppo streets.
We stopped in Syrian desert to have a closer look at the strange buildings and were surrounded by curious children. They touched every knob on the bike, including hitting starter button while the engine was working. That wasn't nice. But we sounded the horn constantly, so they were excited enough to let us go.
Kariina's exploring the Syrian desert
One word: hot. In september you easily experience over +35C there.
Road to Palmyra.
Near to Palmyra.
Palmyra.
Fortified walls.
Palmyra in the horizon, from the top of a hill...
...that had a castle mounted on it.
Desert landscapes...
Ott taking pics from Cappadocia, Turkey
And very interesting landscape there was...
Many famous science-fiction films have been made there.
Main gate into Jerash, Jordan.
Zeus temple, Jerash. Kariina & Ott.
Amphitheathre in Bosra, Syria.
Inside.
Schoolchildren vs politicians do their PR work.
Palmyra, Syria, in Infra-Red.
The Wall.
Me and Kariina, observing the Promised Land, that God showed to Moses. Mount Nebo, Jordan.
Mount Nebo.
Promised Land.
Descent to the Dead Sea, Jordan. Israel in the horizon...
And a float (you can't swim there) in the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth.
Kariina's ejoying freshwater pool, washing salts off.
Dead Sea sunset.
Jordan landscapes from the Kings Highway. Check the small 4x4 roads on both sides of the valley to get the idea of the scales involved...
Petra, Jordan.
Petra.
In Petra.
Me and Wadi Rum desert, south Jordan.
Marking the territory, temporarily...
Ott taking shots from idyllic landscapes...
Tracks to be erased
Camels and 4x4s are the most common here as you can see...
Night with the Bedouins in Wadi Rum.
Strange abondoned mine in Syria.
It was gigantic, and had a villa on the top that maybe flooded down soon. Owner of the mine got too rich?
Qanawat, Syria. An opened tomb. The skeleton was missing...
Qanawat columns.
Muslim woman in Bosra, Syria.
She showed us the forbidden entry to this spot of the amphitheatre.
At the stage.
Spectator's stairs...
Pattern.
The shadows of the three of us.
The evolution of a white line.
Me in Jerash, thinking of what I'd change if I'd ruled the place.
This used to be a big big working fountain in Jerash over thousand years ago...
Wadi Rum desert in infra-red.
As desert nature seen by snake's eyes.
Rocky mountains absorb a lot of heat...
Our attempt to conquer Jebel Umm Adaami (over 1800 metres), at the Saudi Arabian border.
We did approx 80% of the mountain, in +40C heat until our water ran out and we almost had a heat-stroke (Kariina already quit on approx 20% of the mountain). The nature won this time, as always... But nevertheless, the view was rewarding.
The Adaami view seen in infra-red. Saudi-Arabia is just a few hundred metres away.
Souk in Damascus, Syria. The oldest continuously populated city in the world. Holes in the ceiling are bullet holes from the World-War II.
Damascus street.
Lots of these old US gas-guzzlers were going around in Syria and Jordan. Fuel prices are rising even in the oil-rich Middle-East, so...
Another US gas-guzzler. While they hate Americans they buy their cars... Odd.
Damascus city.
Party on the street. We even danced along.
Friendly lad.
It was a muslim way of celebrating an opening of a new cell phone store in Damascus.
Damascus centre. Symbiosis of hotels, companies and apartments.
Wadi Rum
The Pattern.
And the observer.
This pic is done from the house of Lawrence of Arabia.
Kariina and the Dune.
Colour contrasts.
Our 4x4 tour around Wadi Rum.
There is even some green in the desert valleys.
A cliff in Wadi Rum
Between them.
Letting the 4 wheels do the work and enjoying the view.
Desert's plant life vs lizards.
Wadi Rum in its glory.
A closer look. The structure of sandstone formations.
The pattern(s).
On the way to the Saudi Arabian border we found a lonely camel wandering around, I got pretty close to it before it just ran away.
More of Wadi Rum, close to the Ramm village. You can clearly see marks of civilization here.
Me, embracing the World.
From the dry desert we swiftly entered the humid worlds of water in Aquaba, Jordan, Red Sea.
Ott's prepping for coral watching. Egypt is on the background.
And a ship called "The Power", circle around on the Red Sea.
Streets of Aqaba.
On the way back from Asia to the European continent. Crossing Canakkale, Turkey.
Some landscapes in Greece...
And sunrise over the Mediterranean. Home is so close now...
Hope you liked them. Good night.
Cheers, Margus
