7 from the archives for the 7 Links Project
I’ve been nominated to take part in the 7 Links Project by Mike and Juergen over at For 91 Days – thanks guys!!
The 7 Links Project was started by Katie from Tripbase and the goal of the project is to “unite bloggers in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again”.
So here goes…
My Most Beautiful Post
Kyrgyzstan, so beautiful it yurts!
Kyrgyzstan – not the easiest country to spell, but I highly recommend that you go there one day.
I met some wonderful people there and the country has some amazing landscapes dominated by the snow capped Tian Shan mountains, mountain lakes like Issyk-Kul, grasslands and high alpine valleys. I read something recently that referred to Kyrgyzstan as the “Switzerland of Central Asia”.
It is certainly one of the most beautiful places that I’ve been to so far.
Now the ‘play on words’ in the title of this post is not that pretty perhaps, but the photographs speak for themselves!
My Most Popular Post
The Gates to Hell… at Darvaza, Turkmenistan
This one is quite hard – do I go by number of comments, tweets, likes or the number page views. I’ve decided to go for most viewed…
The Gateway to Hell… the burning gas crater at Darvaza (Derweze) in Turkmenistan is the nearest to Hell I hope I get!
This crater can be found in the Kara-kum desert and it was left over from failed gas mining operations in the early 1970′s. Turkmenistan can be pretty surreal at times, especially the buildings and monuments of Türkmenbaşy’s Ashgabat, but the Gateway to Hell was the most incredible for me… unforgetable!
My Most Controversial Post
Eid al-Adha
I’m not sure that I’ve really posted anything that controversial yet, but I’ve chosen my post about my experience of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha whilst I was in Luxor, Egypt.
It is consistantly in the top 5 most visited pages, includes two travel memories I’ll never forget, and it is the goriest – showing some of the preparations that go into the festival.
Some may find it distressing, but when you travel you have to take other cultures as they come – this is the reality of life…
My Most Helpful Post
Making blankets while the sun shines at Tash-Rabat
My posts are primarily travel memories and experiences and I’m not sure that many are truly helpful. I hope they inspire people to travel to the places I’ve been too…
However, I do like to share some of the culture of the places I visit – the way of life or how things are done. This post from Tash-rabat in Kyrgyzstan is a great example – if you ever need to make a blanket you’ll find this helpful!
Although you will need to source some sheep wool and/or goat hair…
A Post Whose Success Surprised Me
Towers of Silence (Dakhmeh-ye Zartoshtiyun)
I like to go to unusual places and Iran is one such place, but even more obscure are the Towers of Silence (Dakhmeh-ye Zartoshtiyun) near Yazd. Zoroastrians left the dead here in ritual exposure as is their custom.
Whilst I was quite pleased with the photographs, I didn’t think this post would be of that much interest to people, but I was wrong…
A Post I Feel Didn’t Get the Attention It Deserved
Taklamakan “You go in, but you don’t come out!”
This was one of my very first posts and was about one of my favourite journeys – crossing the Taklamakan Desert by road. The Taklamakan Desert is in the Xinjiang province of western China and they say the name means something like “Go in and you’ll never come out”, though others disagree… more like ‘abandoned place’.
This gave it an air of mystery and danger, so I had to go…
The Post I’m Most Proud Of
Picture this… a window into Hanoi life
I’m proud of this post because it is the one post in which I think I got anywhere near travel writing.
On the day in question a long wait to get my photographs onto DVD gave me the opportunity to pause and take in the sights and sounds of Hanoi, one of Vietnam’s busiest, vibrant and exciting cities. I did not have my camera with me, so I had to record events in my pocket book.
I had to rely on writing to transport the reader there… and I think I did it!?
The 7 Links Project: My Nominations
The final piece of the project is to nominate five other travel bloggers to take part. Here are my 5 nominations:
Comments
[…] Unframed World was recently nominated by Backpack with Brock and Retrospective Traveler for the Tripbase 7 Links Project. This project was created in order to help travel […]
Thanks for the nomination!
Thanks Sarah… glad I picked some you hadn’t seen… that was the idea 😉
wow glad we’re doing this. So many good post from you that i HAVEN’T read it yet.
Glad you enjoyed them 😉
Jonathan, was really looking forward for your 7 links. I’m surprised that I’ve only read 3 out of the 7. Thanks for sharing!
Of the ones I’ve been to I’d say Syria or Jordan, but I’d love to go to Yemen or Oman…
Love your 7 links and your photography is amazing. What middle eastern country would you recommend to us to stay 91 days in?