The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 191st day I walked around Aqaba, Jordan's only port city. It is strategically located in the Gulf of Aqaba which is connected to the open sea. Because of this, Aqaba Fortress was heavily contested during the Arab Revolution against the Ottoman Turkish government in 1916. In 1917 Sharif Hussein's troops succeeded in capturing Aqaba Fortress. Next to the fort, Sharif Hussein's house was built, which was originally intended to be turned into a roya palace but it didn't happen. So now it has become a museum which houses the first cannon used in the Arab Revolt. The name Sharif Hussein is immortalized as the name of the main mosque in Aqaba. His descendant is the current king of Jordan. In the past, Aqaba was also known as Ayla, an Islamic city built at the beginning of Islamic history. The ruin of the Ayla Mosque is evidence of the first entry of Islam into the Levant. Nearby are the ruins of the older Church of Aqaba, a church built in the late 3rd century. This is the first purpose-built church in the world whose remains still exist. Allegedly, it survived Diocletian's persecution in the early 4th century because of its location on the outskirts of the Roman empire. By the way, in Aqaba I rendezvous with my fellow traveler in Afghanistan, Duke. From Iran he crossed through Iraq and Syria until he arrived in Aqaba in time to celebrate my birthday. Duke treated me to nice dinner. After enjoying the Gulf of Aqaba in the evening, we walked home. Tomorrow we would dive in the Gulf of Aqaba. ___ Stage 1 Route - Sumatra (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru Stage 2 Route - ASEAN Mainland (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China Stage 3 Route - China (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Route - Central Asia (DONE!): Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan Stage 5 Route - Afghanistan (DONE!): Kunduz - Samangan - Mazar-i-Sharif - Balkh - Kabul - Bamiyan - Band-e Amir - Yakawlang - Lal - Chagcharan - Herat - Mashhad, Iran Stage 6 Route - Iran (DONE): Mashhad - Tehran - Isfahan - Persepolis - Shiraz - Ahvaz - Shalamcheh Border - Shushtar - Shush - Bandar Abbas - Sharjah, UAE Stage 7 Route (DONE) - Arabian Peninsula: Sharjah - Dubai - Abu Dhabi - Riyadh - Jeddah - Madinah - AlUla - Hegra - Tabuk - Haql - Aqaba, Jordan Stage 8 Route - Jordan and Egypt: Aqaba - Wadi Rum - Petra - Amman - Jerash - Mount Nebo - Madaba - Dead Sea - Nuweiba - Giza - Cairo - Saqqara *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. --- Chapters: 00:00 Prologue 02:51 Gulf of Aqaba 08:25 Islamic City of Ayla 17:16 Byzantine Wall and Aqaba Church 21:23 Pizza Hut in Aqaba