Turkmenistan

TURKMENISTAN- the neutral country. Sounds a bit funny considering it neighbors with Iran and Afghanistan which kind of like making wars at any opportunity they can get. But Turkmenistan declared its independence from the soviets in 1991 and then in 1995 it declared itself a Neutral country. Kind of the Switzerland of central Asia. Why? Because it can...or maybe because of the crazy megalomaniac neighbors?

Here are some myths and facts about visiting Turkmenistan 

1) It's very difficult to go to. Not at all. You contact a tour company and ask for a letter of invitation and sorted. Simple as that. 

2) The country is akin to North Korea. Not at all. One is free to roam about Ashgabat freely. To travel to the countryside you do need to be accompanied by a tour organizer. 

3) It's all awkward and looks old and typical of the ex Soviet Republic. Actually you arrive at night and feel more in Las Vegas... Every building looks new and made with white marble and many buildings are decorated with neon lights. 

4) In Ashgabat, walking around to explore the city it's probably not smart as the city is super spread out. This place gives Texas a run for its money in terms of size matters. Every building is huge. Every block is massive. While a map might look like a couple blocks.... It can be 1 or 2 kms. So the walkability of this city is pretty much non-existent. 

If you plan to visit, hire a driver or a tour. It's worth it to go to every place. 

Taxis are everywhere if you want to go that route. 

5) Ashgabat isn't empty or a ghost town. In a city with just 500k people and being so massive obviously it looks a bit empty. The infrastructure of the city and size can probably cater for a couple million people. 

6) All cars in Ashgabat can only be white, silver or gold. And mostly are white. Good luck finding your car. 

Also you aren't allowed to drive a dirty car as you will get a fine and get your car impounded. So if you drive in from the countryside before entering city limits.....car wash time. 

7) gas prices. What about 7 usd cents per liter. Damn. 

And of course in good 3rd world style, the owner of the gas company is the president's nephew which apparently or allegedly also owns part of the railroad, airline and any key industry. 

Now, a practical tip and why many foreigners think Turkmenistan is so expensive. The official Bank exchange rate was 3.5 manat to 1 USD. The real market rate on August 2024 is actually 19 to 1. So of course if you multiply prices by >5x because of this....you will think it's very expensive. But it's only so for dumb tourists. 

Arriving at Ashgabat airport is what I would call the epitome of inefficiency. You land and you need to get the visa so you make a line for this. You leave your passport while they process it. 

Then you go to another line to pay for the visa. 

The. You go to a different line to pay for the COVID test after which you go to get the COVID test. 

Only issue is that in each line there's only one person helping for a full flight so things take their sweet time. 

And when you finally think you are done....not yet...time for immigration and another line. 

This whole thing took around 2.5 hours which is exactly what one feels like doing when you land at 2am. 

Welcome to to Turkmenistan!

Oh....and the airport is built in the shape of a falcon/eagle which is kind of cool.

So here are my impressions of my 1.5 days touring Ashgabat:

- Old nisa. 3rd BC city ruins. One of the ancient cities part of the silk route trade part of the partheons. The ruins themselves are not much to look at (better depiction in the national museum). The majority of ruins were destroyed in the 1948 earthquake. 

Interesting to see as in many old structures around the world, their building techniques were impressive , using some sort of mixture between bricks which is stronger than concrete and this was over 2000+ years ago. Go figure. 

The fun fact about visiting Old Nisa is that the entrance to the ruins was built for the visit of Francois Mitterrand (who liked researching the partheons and this time period) but because he had a limp, the long stairs are actually built with one step higher and one lower so when they filmed him walking it would look as if he walked normally and he wasn't limping...

If you are up for an adventure, you can do a 8km+ hike to go to the poet statue from next to the old Nisa ruins. Climb up a small mountain and then down towards the statue. It's super steep and I didn't feel like doing so in 35c weather. So can't comment if worth it or not 

- All over Ashgabat there are monuments and monuments. Every roundabout has a pretty cool monument. Kind of whatever ministry or key building is around that area will also have their own monument. 

But they are all quite impressive and have lots of photo opportunities.   

One of my favorites was one with the map of Turkmenistan and some bicycles as well as camels in honor of the silk route. The reason for this monument is that June 3rd is the no private transport day. Nobody can use their cars. Either bicycle or public transport.  

The second president was very keen on bicycles so he created the no private transport day.  

- they also love their Guinness world records, so I had to visit the largest indoor ferris wheel. It looks even cooler at night to be honest. Because there's not much around the ferris wheel it's normally empty (for which the attendant is very happy about as he says he has a very easy job) so I got a private ride on the ferris wheel.  

During my tour around the city I learned that my driver was a plane pilot for aeroflot and Turkmenistan airways for 40 years and retired in 2014. For someone used to flying places....he drives kind of slow. But a very cool guy with interesting stories. 

- History/National museum. Worth it just because it helps you picture how all the old city and current ruins used to look back in the day. Also if you want to learn about all the details of the history of the region from prehistory to modern times. The guides inside the museum are super nice. You tell them how much time you want to spend and they will adapt a tour to suit what or how much you want to learn. 

- Carpet museum. Pretty amazing collection of carpets. Still I couldn't find the flying carpet I was looking for. So I will have to keep looking. 

Truly incredible artwork. 

Each of the five regions of Turkmenistan have their own symbol or pattern which is clearly displayed in many of the carpets. 

But let's not forget one more Guinness world record with the largest carpet which weighs 1200 kgs. It's impressive. No clue how they move it or hang it. 

And I had to have the visit cut short because the museum was expecting a VIP delegation which turned out to be the Afghanistan government... A.k.a the taliban. And hell no....I don't want to be anywhere near those barbaric bastards as I wouldn't contain myself and not give them a mouthful. And probably Turkmenistan is not the best place to speak freely....one thing is being neutral. Another is neutral to free speech 

- There's even a mini Blue mosque as turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Turkmenistan independence in 1995 and they built a copy of the blue mosque in 1999

- one of the most recent monuments or memorials is the newly built and recently inaugurated (May 2024) 60-meter monument to the Turkmen poet Magtymguly Fragi. It sits at the top of a mini mountain so it stands above the whole city. It's quite impressive. 

Definitely go visit at night after sunset as the lighting makes it look way better than during the day. 

Also it gives a pretty impressive view of the city

Ashgabat 2nd day

In one of the monuments (by now I'm a bit confused as to which is which) we saw a wedding procession. 

Quite interesting that the way the bride dresses in traditional attire would have jewelry all over and the weight of this traditional dress with all the silver could weigh up to 46 kgs. I guess this is the wedding and workout day for the bride!

But here, even the cars get decorated for weddings.

The Russian bazar is a very small market with a few souvenir stalls and the everyday stuff. You can buy caviar there as well. For how markets go this is quite small and not the most picturesque. 

The reason it's called the Russian market is because Turkmen people used to be nomadic and they tended to live in the villages around the city while the Caucasian people (a.k.a Russians) were who lived in the city. So it's the Russian bazaar. 

Food wise. Typical central Asian cuisine made of meat skewers or meat dishes. Had good meals but nothing spectacular. 

Ashgabat accommodation

The Yyldiz (star) hotel is the top hotel in the city. 5 star luxury and amazing rooms. The restaurant and bar at the top have amazing views. 

And they have a 2000 sq mt spa with amazing facilities. Plus their massages are very affordable. 

It's in a hill pretty much on its own and it's shape is iconic for Ashgabat 

Mid range hotels - 

Sport hotel - walking distance to one of the most popular malls 

Great Turkemanbat - in city center so one can walk around the area

Cheaper options

AK- altyn - has seen better days and it's close to the city center

Wedding chapel Bagt Koshgi. It also has an hotel underneath but didn't hear good things. It's the weird square structure with a ball inside.  

Mizan hotel - functional for a cheap option but needs transport to go anywhere. 

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Time to venture to the countryside and to the famous Darvaza gas crater.   

It doesn't take long after leaving Ashgabat to start missing the perfect roads as the roads in the countryside quickly deteriorate to bumpy roads. 

But I'm quite impressed with the land cruiser we are driving with only 890,100 kms on the clock..and it drives perfectly fine. Toyota must be proud!

Not much to look at besides typical desert views with small shrubs here and there and a couple mini villages. Some camels and the occasional small oasis. 

So after the 3+ hours of a massage ride a.k.a bumpy ride we finally arrive at the gas crater or gate to hell.  

During the day is not as impressive as during the night but it's definitely something different. Being in the middle of the desert and nothing around. 

So the story is that 50+ yrs ago they were drilling for natural gas and they found a lot of methane so the idea was just to light it on fire and the problem was solved. 

Not exactly as the methane seems to be the gift that keeps on giving and it's still burning 50 years later. That's what I call Russian engineering!

Pretty cool spectacle at night. 

Clearly the concept of tourism here is still not very developed. Besides having a couple yurt camps where one can stay there's pretty much nothing else. Plenty of wasted potential. 

They could make a mini bar at the camp, offer camel rides in the desert, do nature walks in the desert but let's just say I'm happy there was a very basic yurt camp to stay the night as tomorrow was an early morning for another 5 hrs of massage ride towards the border. 

Besides the not so pleasant road, for how borders go it was quite easy. Leaving Turkmenistan was a breeze, you take a bus across the border and then get your visa in Uzbekistan. The only thing they cared about was if I had a drone in my luggage. 

Tirana - where coexistence thrives in a modern city

Albania has a 55-60% majority Muslim population but what's interesting is that as you talk to people they are proud to believe in coexistence and respect to all religions. 

Here it truly doesn't matter what you practice as everyone simply gets along and there are just no issues between people. And most Albanians are very nice and interesting to talk to. 

But let's not forget their difficult past where after WWII, they became a communist country which ultimately isolated itself from the world. 

They cut ties with former Yugoslavia as there communism wasn't proper. Then with Russia because they thought Russia communism wasn't pure enough, then they allied with China until they also didn't agree with them. 

So until 1991, Albania was probably one of the most isolated countries in the world, akin to North Korea today. 

And this isolation came with the usual leaders paranoia, secret police, informants, death penalties, etc. 

Until 1991, people hardly knew about the rest of the world, to the point that they have never seen fruits like bananas or a Coca Cola.

A few people told me stories of how coca colas became a symbol and people use to put a can in their houses as a way of showing change. 

It's history is also complex as Albania, Kosovo and parts of Macedonia shares similar origins and roots but now they are three different countries. 

But what's striking is how modern Tirana has become. It's a city that works and what's impressive is the amount of construction happening everywhere in the city. 

Some of the sights to see are skanderberg square which is the main square (it's not flat so in the summer it can have water to cool off and roll down to the sides as temperatures can reach 45c), the small but cool old bazar, the mosque with it's very elebarotae decoration inside, the pryramid of Tirana, the clock tower, the Tirana castle which is really just a wall and inside you find restaurants and bars and of course bunkers. 

Talking about bunkers, which due to the communist regime paranoia they decided to build bunkers in every corner of the country for the imminent attack of Russia or America which never materialized...but propaganda is propaganda and it worked for a long time. 

Over 210,000 bunkers were supposed to be built and they managed to make over 170,000 of them in different shapes or forms as they had different types. 

But some of the most famous bunkers are now museums as Bunk art 1 and Bunk art 2.

Bunk art 1 (located very close to the Dajti cable car) is one of the largest bunkers as it was supposed to house the government and leaders in case of war and would be the central command of the country. 

This bunker has 5 levels and over 150 rooms. It's currently a very good museum with the history of Albania, particularly the communist period. Definitely worth a visit

The two other museums that provide further glimpse into the communist times are Bunkart 2 which is in the center of town and the Museum of house of leaves which is where the secret police operated and focuses on how surveillance was done on the population 

Personally I think that after seeing Bunkart 1, going to the other two are quite repetitive and not as good. 

And who doesn't like cable cars? Because Tirana has one and it takes you to the top of mount Djati from where one can get great panoramic views of the city. 

The ride is actually long of around 15 minutes as the cable car goes up and down and open all the way to the actual mountain. 

It's a pleasant ride. 

On top of the mountain there's a small amusement park, mini golf, a restaurant with spectacular views and the opportunity to do hiking in the park, there are ATVs, horses for hire and plenty of viewpoints. 

Time to hit the road!

PRACTICAL DETAILS

- Tirana is a very walkable city and easy to explore by foot but on any case there are taxis (most of them electric) almost everywhere and relatively cheap

- FOOD

Mullixhiu is one of Albania top restaurants and they do a tasting menu for 30 Eur. It was ok with a couple good dishes but nothing amazing and their service was below average 

Oda restaurant is a traditional Albanians restaurant including traditional music where the food was quite good (very focused on meat) and the restaurant is actually many rooms each closed so you share the room with 3 or 4 other tables. 

Bars

- the Blloku area is full of places to go to. My favorite for their very cool cocktails was Nouvelle Vague

Others include Radio bar, Kino, Hemingway.

As a side note the Blloku area was where the "elite" class of Feb communist regime and leaders lived and now it's the happening area of town. 

Durres - port city with plenty of history

Originally known as Epidamnos when the Greeks started this city in 7 BC and having been continuously habituated since then, it has been a major port through history. 

Not the most picturesque of places but maybe I just had luck but had an amazing sunset which was truly enjoyable and made prettier by the different statues by the beach.

I really had no idea what to expect but was surprised to learn and visit the different sites. 

Durres Castle or fortified city was built in the 5th century and been repaired and reinforced throughout history. 

1) the Venetian tower - key part of the fortress of the city and thought to have been built in the 15th century and a key point to defend the city as from here they had five openings for cannons as protection. It has been reconstructed after mother nature earthquake damaged it. If you visit it, they have a projection on the dome of the tower which tells the history of Durres.

2) The Roman amphitheatre - this one is impressive. Only discovered in 1966 by an archeologist who kept hearing people saying their pets will get lost into different places where they could hear their cats meow or dogs bark but never knew where they were. Well....they were going into the ruins underneath that had a pretty massive Roman amphitheatre. 

This is the largest amphitheatre in the Balkans and it's still in the process of been excavated and studied but it was a 4 story/level high with a capacity of 20,000 people. 

And there are houses still where the amphitheatre is which the government is buying so they can continue the archeological rebuild. 

The photo of the tunnel shows how one could go down multiple levels and to the chapel that was in the amphitheatre. 

3) the Roman baths. They are located under a government building which when they started building it under the communist regime they found this and hence built the structure in a way to preserve these Roman baths. 

If you didn't knew, the Romans were quite obsessed with cleanliness and hence they built Roman baths and aqueducts to bring water so they can be clean. What's impressive is that they knew how to have hot rooms (kind of saunas as they heated the rooms from below), had cold rooms and pools of different temperatures. 

The baths were also a gathering place and we're people would hang out and discuss business. 

To go into the Roman baths area which seems to be locked all the time (as from outside the fence just looks like some archeological remains....you need to go to the bar that's by the entrance and they keep the key to the lock. That way you can go down under the government building and see the Roman baths. 

And here are a few more photos of Durres and it's beach

PRACTICAL DETAILS 

- I had a guide called Joana which was truly fantastic and can pass her details if anyone ever makes it here. 

- Accomodation - not sure as I didn't stay here

- FOOD: 

Meison Bistro & Markata - one block from the promenade, they have a selection of fresh fish and seafood to choose what you want. 

Great food but with non existent service.

The promenade by the beach is full of restaurants all of them offering an extensive menu of everything from fish, steak, pasta, pizza, etc. 

I was told the four seasons restaurant is on the better side of most. 

- how to get to Durres

From Tirana it's only around 45 minutes by car. You can take a taxi or a bus

Lake Ohrid - The Jerusalem of the Balkans! a picturesque little town (amazing summer destination!)

This little lake town of 50,000 people can triple in size during summer and its obvious why!

Beautiful little town by a lake, natural parks and plenty to do (hiking, boats, scuba diving, mountain biking, ATV, hire riding, etc.). It's also known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans as there are 365 different churches so one for every day and it's a UNESCO world heritage site --> simply because it's truly beautiful

As you walk through some of the cute cobblestone streets, you find not only the famous churches but some tiny ones the size of a small house all over the place. 

The most famous church is the church of Saint Sophia which happens to be in the 1000 Denar bills!

One of the photos is a mini replica of it. There are also other important churches like the church of St Clement and there's an amphitheatre as well. 

During summer Ohrid hosts one of the longest summer festivals in Europe for big parts of July and August with musical and arts performances in multiple places as the amphitheatre, some churches, etc. 

There are 3 other interesting attractions here

1) the famous orchid pearls. These are pearls which are created from the scales of a fish that grows in the lake which scales are very shiny. The process to do so was brought here at the beginning of the 20th century by a Russian from Laka Baikal where they do something similar. 

They are really cool the Orchid pearls and they carry in price depending on their size. Literally the town is full of jewellers selling them. Great for presents. 

2) Paper museum - using old techniques, the old man still makes paper from natural ingredients (wood, cotton and water) with the traditional method dating thousands of years from China. He also has one of the few Gutenberg press replicas with which he prints different souvenirs. 

3) woodworking shop - a family tradition passed on generation to generation, in this tiny shop they make some elaborate wood carvings. They have been commissioned by some churches to make full rooms decorated through wood carving. Even some of the small things in the photo could take weeks or months to make. 

30 Kms outside of Ohrid lies the St Naum monastery which makes for a great day trip. The location of this monastery is exactly where the fresh springs are that fill the lake and hence you have one of the cleanest waters in the world at this place. 

On the way to the monastery you can stop at the Bay of bones museum which shows how people lived in houses made on stilts in the water around 1200-700 BC as they found archeological remains and have recreated a little village

You can visit St Naum and Bay of bones both by car or in one of the day tours by boat (during summer)

Also on the way to St Naum is the National park Galicica which is supposed to be amazing to hike during summer. 

And of course I did a boat tour as I'm at a lake so it had to be done. The strong wind, waves and a bit of rain was no deterrent and captain Nikolai (B&F cruises - highly highly recommend him) gave me a tour in his boat

And of course, I had to add the Yugo car found wandering the streets of Ohrid.

Can't wait to go back during summer!

I stayed in a cute place called Villa Amfora which while the rooms were small they were very nice. 

And two restaurants I went to (recommended by locals) were worth going to:

Kaneo restaurant and letna bavcha - great food and great selection of wines (all of which can be ordered by the glass!)

Restaurant Dalga - spectacular views and an awesome terrace on the lake. 

Time to hit the road!

Kosovo - Pristina and Prizren - development money at its best

I wasn't sure what to expect from going to Kosovo and I still do t know what to think of it. 

Clearly after the war in the 90s, things have changed. The American prescence is obvious and while Kosovo is now in it's majority a Muslim country, it's probably one of the most pro American Muslim countries in the world.

While most Serbians have been pushed outside of Kosovo and only Catholics can have a miniscule prescence as the Orthodox church isn't allowed anymore and without entering into a debate of what happened or not as some call it the successful ethnical cleansing of everyone not Muslim there. But the reality is that at least at first glance there's tolerance. 

Some people I spoke believe that Kosovo, Albania and parts of Macedonia should be together but for the sake of peace I hope no such nonsense of more conflicts starts getting traction. 

The moment you cross the border, you get 4 lane highways, newly built bridges on the roads, it's infrastructure clearly being pumped big $$$$$

Pristina as the capital of Kosovo has very little in terms of attractions unless you are a Bill Clinton fan and you can take a photo with his statue. (I couldn't care less)

There's an abandoned Arabian Orthodox church which will never be finished as Orthodox church isn't allowed in Kosovo.  The still under construction massive Catholic church which is also in honor of mother Theresa seems a bit huge for the tiny population of Catholics still in the country but as a homage to Mother Theresa is not a bad thing. 

The little statue about reading I simply liked. 

But I think the most famous building here is the one the locals call the Ugliest building in the world which is the National library. The wires around it are supposed to mean the occupation and hard times the country has gone through but all I can say is the architect deserves a prize!!

Then I went to Prizren which back in the Ottomans time used to be the capital and now is a cute little town with a few mosques, cobblestones street, cafes and simply a pretty little town. 

There's a lot of history about Kosovo and all the Balkans region but not sure I'm terms of visiting just for history purposes. 

Prizren is a beautiful quiet little town but that's about it. 

Skopje - Europe's Kitsch capital and some party animals

My top observations of Skopje

1) Kitsch at its best. There are more monuments and statues that I've ever seen anywhere. But all of them are new or recently built

2) Macedonians love to party

3) Everyone smokes everywhere - from restaurants, bars to buses and museums. It's F...annoying

4) Super friendly people

There are interesting contrasts in this small capital city of North Macedonia (one must include the North part to not offend any Greeks who made Macedonia add the North to its country name.....Politics nonsense in my opinion but hey...)

With the city divided by the Vardar river, on one side one has most of the glorious Kitsch buildings and statues and on the other, one can go to the old bazaar part of town which is quite a beautiful neighborhood of cobblestone streets, shops and restaurants all the way to their market. 

The old bazaar is mostly the Muslim part of the city and where a lot of commerce happens. One can simply cross the river through the old bridge and walk along the not very busy old bazaar

But let's talk about the Skopje 2014 project which was driven by the government to build and develop the city and through which dozens of government buildings, monuments and infrastructure projects were developed and billions embezzled on the process. 

That's how they created Europe Kitsch capital or a Disney world looking city where everything feels as from a movie set and out of place. 

Below are just a glimpse of many of the copies of the famous monuments from across the world. But mosthavevbeen minimalized to reduce costs, been made of cheap materials so they look like real marble when they are cheap metal and the like. 

A funny story is that of the Prometheus statue (who dared to steal fire from the gods) but the difference in the Statue in Skopje is that Prometheus seems to be wearing diapers instead of being naked as typically all over the world. Simply because some puritans started protesting about the indecency of a naked man statue and hence Prometheus was dressed with what looks like diapers. 

As someone told me. You can come to Skopje and pretend you did a full Europe trip on Instagram as we have kind of replicas of the most famous monuments in Europe, from the Paris Arc de Triomphe, Berlin's Branderburg gate, Athens Parthenon and so on....Instagram paradise galore!

If you still doubt the Kitsch part, the pirate looking ship is just for show, probably a copy out of Pirates of the Caribbean as the river isn't even navegable and the ship isn't even on the water but they built 3 such ships just because one can (or a politician wanted to win such tender!)

The main square has a statue of Alexander the great, which in North Macedonia can only be called the man in the horse as the Greeks have decided Alexander was Greek and hence Macedonians have no claim on him...

There's also an old fortress from back in the ottomans time

And here's a fun fact for you:

Which very famous person was born here in Skopje?

None other than Mother Theresa. There's only a plaque on the center of town where the house she was born used to be but they have created a fake replica of her house a few blocks away. 

The old building above is the old railway station which is now a museum and a memorial for the 1963 Skopjw earthquake which destroyed the city And marks one of the rare times during the cold war where Americans and Russians cooperated to help Yugoslavia at the time rebuild after the powerful earthquake. 

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As for the partying, I will just be brief and to protect those involved there will be no photos or videos shared. 

We were told that we need to go to a day party as that's what the locals do and being new year we were a bit skeptical as new year is at midnight. We were told they start early as get there by noon so we went there around 1pm and arrived to a jam packed place at Intermezzo where there was no more space and they sold us tickets just because we weren't locals. 

But at this time, every table was full (they only have high tables but no chairs anywhere as the place gets packed) and every table had bottle service and the drinks were flowing, the party was going, a famous singer was singing.  

I could imagine this at midnight, but at 1pm??? But when traveling do as the locals and we joined. 

But then we had more surprises as the day parties tend to finish around 8 or 9 so people can go home, take a break and then do this all over again at the night parties, sometimes in the same venue or another one. 

I will just say, this is a very very fun city to experience the nightlife or should I say the daylife???

But the best part is that people are super friendly

It was a great new year. Happy 2024!

And there's more of Macedonia to come!

Moldova - wines and more wines - are they worth it?

Some of the stuff I really enjoy besides traveling is to taste different foods and wines. Food is a door towards the culture and customs of a place. And wine is one of the oldest beverages of all time and something I enjoy. 

I've been curious about Moldovan wines for a while, especially after I learned that the largest and biggest wine cellars are situated not in France as one might have guessed but here. 

So one might ask how did this happen?

Moldova has been growing wines according to some history buffs around 7000BC so I will take their word for it. 

But let's fast forward to 1952 when Stalin created the Cricova winery which focused on mass production of wine for Russia. But why create cellars when you already have old limestones mines full of underground tunnels which have the perfect temperature and humidity to store wine naturally. So this is how they started what are now some of the largest collections and largest cellars in the world.

Both Cricova and Milesti Mici have tours to their underground cellars which depending on the package you get you can also have a wine tasting session. These two wineries are a bit of tourist traps but worth going just for the experience. 

Here are some photos of Cricova, including a 1902 wine bottle from Jerusalem which is the only one of such bottles in the world. 

Cricova also does sparkling wine in the traditional champagne method manually and one can see the long row of bottles which are manually turned everyday so they ferment and create their okish sparkling wine. 

As for the rest of the wines I tasted, let's just say I tasted wine. 

Milestici Mici has the guineas world record for number of bottles stored and their collection goes back to bottles from the 1970s, but the majority is post 1986 as in 1985 Gorbachev prohibited alcohol across Russia and ordered all cellars to be destroyed due to the riding alcoholism in the Motherland. Obviously as any winemaker would have done, they never destroyed everything and they hid quite a bit. Hence they still have a very large collection.

So I decided I needed to taste one of these old wines. A 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon. Let's first also share fome of the other wines that I tasted on this trip

The photos above include a tasting at Asconi winery as well. 

What was common at every winery I went to is that the staff is Clueless about their wines and asking them anything more than is this red or white or dry vs sweet is too much. They have leaps to go if they want to put Moldova on the wine map.

But you might be wondering about the 1986 Cab Sav.....I invite you to imagine what an old shoe box stored in an mouldy attic would taste like. Disgusting was an understatement. Horrible nose, zero body, felt like watered down wine. These bottles look cool as souvenirs but calling them wine is just not right. 

So you might wonder is Moldovan wine any good? Actually it is. You just need to avoid the cheap mass produced stuff (which sadly is mostly what they export) but once you start looking at their smaller wineries and quality wines they have amazing wines and for relatively very good value for money. The Divus wine on the photo was a great example of this. A superb wine. 

Also they are bringing back some moldovan grape varietals as fetesca neagra, rara neagra and others which are worth trying. 

For the best wine tastings, just head to the Carpe Diem wine store and bar where the young fellow there is studying to be a sommelier and actually knows his shit. 

If you think all I did was drink wine??? There a city to be explored in between tastings. 

The cathedral from the central park, it's pedestrian street, a memorial for the Jewish community that was exterminated in the holocaust and a typical American style bar.  

As any city, it has its market in which they weren't very friendly when one asked if one can take their photo. Many of the old babushkas probably still think I'm a Russian spy or something. 

Below is also the facade of what used to be the Jewish synagogue of Chisiniau which will be redone/remodeled. 

Chisiniau had a population of around 50,000 Jews before the Holocaust out of 110,000 people in the whole city so the Jewish prescence was quite important. Today there has been a renewal of the community with almost 15,000 people according to some. 

The little statues are called the lovers and they are in the main pedestrian street. 

There's also the Alexander Pushkin house and museum as the famous poet was exiled to Moldova at some point in his life. The museum is just a house and no explanations at all so not really a sight worth going to. 

What was also quite interesting in multiple conversations was Moldovans take on the Ukraine war, as some people support Russia and others Ukraine, but the general belief is that Russia was going to invade Ukraine and conquer them in weeks and Moldova was next (especially as they don't really have an army) so ove the last two years the support for Ukraine has grown as they literally are stopping Russia from also going and conquering Moldova. 

To finish, I found two really cool places. One is a cherry liquor bar where that's all they serve and it was quite good. Piana Vyshnia. And not only there drink is tasty but the small bar is really cool

Last, a MUST is dinner at Fuior.  This was a highlight as they have taken traditional Moldovan recepies and given them a modern twist. It's probably the best place in Chisiniau and the food was phenomenal. Some of the best I've had in a long time.

Fuior is worth coming back to!

Traveling in Transnistria - the country that's not a country

Today I ventured to the country that's not a country. 

Nested between Moldova and Ukraine, lies the "country" of Transnistria. 

With close to a half a million people they have declared themselves independent but they aren't recognized as such. 

It's famous city of Tiraspol is it's capital which includes it's own government, banks, currency, etc.

The interesting part is that once you cross the border (Including border post, showing passport and all the like) it's a bit like going a bit back in time to Communist Russia. Every sign is in Cyrillic, people speak in Russian and while Moldova is vying to become part of the EU, here they side with Russia.

But now the war in Ukraine has made it interesting to have a bastion of Russia with Ukraine in between. 

But one might ask WTF anyone cares about Transnistria? Well, the truth is that not even Russia recognizes them, but they still have a military presence there! WHY?

Well ..it happens to have some of the largest depots of Russian ammunition and hence it's importance. 

Here are some photos of the few Instagram memorable moments 

Typical Russian style - a tank to commemorate the independence of the Transnistria Moldovan Republic

a visit to the Kvint factory which makes famous brandy. That bottle was one of a handful sent to space with Yuri Gargarin and crew but this one came back. Will drinking in space make for better or worse hangovers?

Our grandfather and friend Lenin of course is about everywhere

And lunch was also an experience by going to a little restaurant that was like a time capsule

But you might also wonder what this place in the world is famous for. Ask any Real Madrid fan about one of the most embarrassing defeats of recent times

a team called Sherif rings a bell?

Last, the fortress of Bender where the Turks held a presence and which through history made an accord so no mosques will be built in Moldova (which still stands)

and a great good bye shot from the fortress

Of course on the way back, had to stop at one of the Moldovan wineries for some wine tasting. 

More on that soon..

Israel lowest point?

 Is this Israel lowest point?

The morning of October 7, 2023 was Israel's darkest moment as it literally was caught with its pants down as terrorists entered the country leisurely with the intent to kill as many people as possible, jews or not and start a new war against Israel  The whole world was in shock and wondered how could this happen to a country with one of the most powerful armed forces and best intelligence services; similar to how we were in shock during 9/11.

There will be plenty of time to understand what went wrong and identify all the mistakes made over many years that allowed something of this magnitude to happen. Simply put, the Israeli Government and its leaders COMPLETLY failed in its most important duty which is to protect its citizens. After the holocaust, all Jewish people have lived with the mantra of NEVER AGAIN! and yet we were failed by those in power and with the responsibility for such atrocities to never happen again!

The two weeks after this terrorist massacre have become Israel lowest point in its 75 years history. Bluntly speaking Israel is lost and has no idea of what is the course of action anymore. Most rational governments tend to be prepared for worst case scenarios and simulate potential responses which they hope never have to carry out as for example the threats of nuclear war during the cold war. But clearly this government has been busy with other more important priorities than being prepared to protect its citizens, even thou we all know our neighbors stated objective is our destruction!

To me, it's very obvious that there's no strategy and not even a clear objective on how to respond. The conflicting messages coming from Netanyahu and those in power from we will annihilate Hamas to we will destroy Hamas military capabilities to carry such attacks again while they sound similar, they are actually world apart. The course of action for one or the other are very different and what each will entail.

Over 300,000 reservists were called up in order to act swiftly and with the intention to go into Gaza and eradicate Hamas. Two weeks later, Israel is still debating if to send ground troops or not? 200 hostages taken and very little effort to save them and liberate them? we all know that the more time that passes in any hostage situation the more difficult any rescue mission becomes. Was Israel so taken by surprises that they simply have no idea where the hostages are?

The Israeli response so far has been to play into Hamas game. Hamas wants Israel to come into Gaza as they know the playbook by now and how this changes the narrative to make Israel the aggressor and rally the international community against Israel atrocities. Israel not only has the right to defend its people but also a duty to do so. But any action should stem towards solving the terrorism problem as well as with a view of peace in the future and not simply out of a desire for revenge. No matter what different factions think and all the historic blame the fact of the matter is that Arabs and Jews are neighbors and unless one side is prepared to commit genocide we need to find a way to bring peace.

The dichotomy Israel faces between defending itself and dealing with terrorism and impeding future danger has brought up (once again) very difficult moral and existential question to Israel which sadly I think are not being addressed out of a desire for revenge. Can Israel justify any action and any indiscriminate palestinian loss of life just because terrorism was committed against them? Has Israel become a state with no morals and in which the end justify the means and where killing one hamas terrorist is ok even if it means 1,000 other lives of Palestinians, innocent or not?

Can Israel stick to its moral high ground and make excuses such as Hamas uses people as human shields or hides itself in mosques and schools or simply tell palestinians to flee where it will bomb and pretend that is enough? I don't think so! Doing so makes Israel dangerously act almost as terrorists, albeit very different intent and circumstances. Israel knows how Hamas operates and therefore if it values human lives then needs to find a way around this and not simply blame Hamas for using human shields. Similarly, telling people to leave their homes because they are about to be bombed is not enough. Palestinians in Gaza aren't free and they cannot simply leave. Many get killed by Hamas if they try to flee and Israel knows this. So for Israel to pretend it does everything it can to minimize human casualties it's very debatable.

The next couple weeks will probably define the Israeli-palestinian conflict and the middle east for years to come. Israel is at its lowest point in history, led by the wrong people, with the wrong intentions and clueless about the right course of action. There are dark times ahead and sadly peace in the region is further and further away. I can only hope for both Palestinians and Israelis to work towards our common goal which is to preserve human life and get rid of terrorism which is the real common enemy of both!

Israel biggest Coward

His name is Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu and he's a COWARD!

We are all aware of the current situation between Israel, Hamas and the palestinians so I won't go into details about that conflict and the subtleties of having to separate the Palestinian and Hamas causes. 

Over the years and during his 16 years as the longest standing Prime Minister in History all I've learned is how this so called leader is simply someone who will do anything to push his personal and/or political agenda above his duties and responsibilities and avoid any accountability. 

Netanyahu has not only failed in his duties but has failed its country and its citizens. Especially those that have lost someone in recent weeks. It's time for others to 

decide the path forward for the country in these difficult and unprecedented times and for him to resign. 

But he won't do this because people like him that believe that they are above everyone and who lack the moral courage to face consequences, rather deflect any attention to something else before they ever accept any wrongdoings. He's akin to a young kid that misbehaves but will deny to his teacher and parents no matter what, because they much rather not face consequences to his actions. And that's simply cowardice and the lack of a backbone!

His stance in regard to Hamas and the Palestinians hasn't really changed for decades. He's been happy having Hamas as the terrorist organization on his backyard so every few years there's an escalation and all eyes turn into this conflict and that way the Peace talks with the Palestinians lose traction, get derailed and no compromise is ever granted and the status quo remains. At the core, it's much easier to use Hamas as an excuse so he doesn't need to work toward a solution and peace with the Palestinian people. He much rather ignore a problem right in his backyard and continue his messianic dreams and build illegal settlements in the west bank. Little by little this has been one of his key focus, doing it quietly, ignoring international law without the scrutiny of healthy accountability and proper debate. 

He's been against most peace processes attempts. He will publicly state he's pro-peace and a two state solution while in reality these are just words to hide behind and continue with his agenda. He pretended to support the Oslo peace accords in public but back in 2001 a video was leaked in which Netanyahu, reportedly unaware he was being recorded, said: "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo Accords]", "I said I would, but ... I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. So who says one thing and does another?

His cowardice approach continued in 2003, when he quit Ariel Sharon' government as he disagreed with the Gaza disengagement plan so instead of working with his own party towards a different solution, he quit. It's much easier to throw a tantrum and disagree than actually working towards and alternate solution. The Gaza disengagement plan was the precursor to Israel leaving Gaza in 2006 and ending their occupation by removing 21 settlements and removing 8000 people, many of which had to be removed by force in September 2005.

In november 21, 2019 he became the only Prime Minister ever been indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust on three different cases and his trial was set to begin in May 2020 which was delayed due to the Covid pandemic and it's currently ongoing. But Bibi is a master on delaying things and not facing them and continue his almost dictatorship hold on power. Even the judicial reforms of the last two years are tied to who he is and to what lengths he's willing to go. Never before the Israeli society has been so divided and polarized and all at the expense of what?

He believes he's above anyone and thinks that facing his charges and being accountable as every other citizen doesn't apply to him.

Earlier this year in February 2023, he legalized 9 illegal settlements outposts in the West bank without much fanfare or most people even knowing. In June 2023 he shortened the procedure required to approve new illegal settlements. Once again, very little debate so he can get away with it.

These are sad days for the state of Israel and the Jewish people and I am ashamed to be led by a coward who doesn't believe in being accountable, someone who has put countless lives at risk to push his own agenda and who sadly is about to start a difficult war in which there will be no winners because he's too scared to admit that he's no longer the right person to be in charge! 16 years as our leader and today I feel the dreams of peace much further away than ever before!