Camping inside a volcanic crater

Camping inside a volcanic crater

A volcanic crater, even one with an extinct volcano is fascinating. The Nemrut crater, not far from lake Van is also pretty stunningly beautiful, particularly in autumn. Above is a little video of the drone flying above some of the orange and yellow trees inside the crater.

Strolling through Van city

Strolling through Van city

Van is not the kind of city you'd hang out in without a reason. At least not me. Considering that Van doesn't really have any famous attractions and it's in Turkey, a country with possibly more historic monuments and beautiful scenery than… well anywhere I can think of except India, why would you want even visit

Young Faroukh and his shepherd dogs

Young Faroukh and his shepherd dogs

I love dogs. I have one myself. Toshka is his name and I treat him like a son. I never fear nor panic when dogs bark at me. They’re just doing their job, guarding their territory. However… a couple of days ago, for the first time since I was a small child, I didn’t know whether I should run for my life from a dog. This was a BIG dog, which belonged to a shepherd boy named Faroukh. 

Mount Ararat, sheep crossings & the welcoming Kurds

Mount Ararat, sheep crossings & the welcoming Kurds

Mount Ararat appeared out of nowhere as we drove towards the Eastern Turkish city of Van. You could tell it was enormous. We were still so far away, yet it was already visible and its snow-capped peak towered above anything around it.

The Georgian valleys and Kars region

The Georgian valleys and Kars region

From Cappadocia we headed to the North of Turkey. A quick border crossing to Georgia and back had Tanya’s visa renewed. Georgia is a country which I really, really want to travel around, but, when it’s warmer and less wet. 

Turkey's beautiful coastline

Turkey's beautiful coastline

I’ve travled a few hundred km along the Turkish coastline now and, seeing it for myself, I have to say… it’s pretty stunning. Of course I saw photos before, but, there’s nothing like seeing it for yourself or, even better, seeing it from above with the drone. 

Crazy ideas and ferry crossings

Crazy ideas and ferry crossings

A bit over a week ago I conceived the somewhat crazy idea of popping over to Portugal and bringing my Landrover to Turkey.  Portugal is over 4000 km from Turkey, which is not that close. By comparison, the furthest I'd driven into Africa from Europe was less than 3000 km, to Senegal

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Slight change of plans and... Spain never stops surprising.

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Slight change of plans and... Spain never stops surprising.

Just as I started to get comfortable in Turkey I woke up one day and realised - I am so limited by having the little Fiat Panda as my vehicle here. Then I thought about my Russian UAZ car, which is still being prepared. Actually, I'm waiting for it to be prepared and it likely won't happen until November.

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Flying over Süleymaniye Mosque

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Flying over Süleymaniye Mosque

I arrived in Edirne shortly after leaving the Bulgarian border. This town is famous for Süleymaniye Mosque, which is one of the oldest in the country. After my little debacle in Veliko Tarnovo a friend said "Please do not fly into the spires of the mosque, it is a very important monument." :) 

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First flights, Bulgaria

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First flights, Bulgaria

I got my DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone in Bulgaria and, Bulgaria is a pretty nice country to test it out, I must say. There's plenty of dramatic scenery, old fortresses and weird buildings. The above image is of Assen's Fortress. 

All images text and ideas © Mitchell Kanashkevich 2017

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