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 150th day I went on an adventure to explore the city of Herat which entered history with the writing of Avesta (Zoroaster's book). Scholars also claimed that Herat was the westernmost point of the Tang dynasty's sphere of influence. But the remaining glory of Herat comes from the Islamic period. The poet Rumi (1207-1273) called the city the Pearl of Khorasan. Most of its magnificent buildings come from the Timurid era, when Shah Rukh made Herat the capital of his empire. During the walk, I visited The Blue Mosque of Herat, a jami mosque whose foundations date to the Ghurid era (c. 1200). Outside the main gate is a large courtyard, which in the aftermath of the Herat Earthquake at the end of 2023 became a temporary camping site for locals. The main gate is decorated with Timurid blue tiles. I continued walking north to reach Herat Citadel which was first built by Alexander the Great after he won the battle of Gaugamela. For more than 2000 years this fort continued to grow and became the residence of the ruler of Herat. After the citadel was restored and turned into a museum, it has became the main tourist attraction in Herat. Then I moved further north to visit the Musalla Complex whose construction was initiated by Gawhar Shad, Shah Rukh's wife. According to historical records, a gigantic mosque was built at this place with 20 accompanying minarets each reaching 50 meters high. However, due to threats from the Russian empire, the Emir of Afghanistan Abdur Rahman Khan demolished the complex area along with 11 minarets in 1885. Only two two historical tombs remain: The Gawhar Shad Mausoleum and the Mausoleum of poet Ali Shir Nava'i (1441-1501), the Father of Turkic Literature praised by Turkish-speaking countries. Shah Rukh was initially buried in Herat before his remains was moved to Gur-e-Amir, the tomb I visited in Samarqand. Of the 9 towers that were not demolished, 4 have collapsed due to the earthquake. Now only 5 towers remain standing and no one knows when they too would one day collapse. Tomorrow I planned to continue my trip to Mashhad, Iran. ___ 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: Kunduz - Samangan - Mazar-i-Sharif - Balkh - Kabul - Bamiyan - Band-e Amir - Yakawlang - Lal - Chagcharan - Herat - Mashhad, Iran *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/.