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Ramblings

Ramblings

Photos, travel stories, reportage and random stuff from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf

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Middle East

Middle East Photos 

Iran in pictures

April 18, 2020July 22, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Chakchak, Esfahan, Iran, Kandovan, Kerman, Persepolis, Qazvin, Qom, Shiraz, Yazd, Zoroastrianism

Former US President George W Bush called it part of “the Axis of Evil”. I call it one of the most fascinating and welcoming places I’ve been.

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Middle East Photos 

Turkey in pictures

April 12, 2020July 11, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Ani, Diyarbakir, Dogubayazit, Erzurum, Hasankeyf, Istanbul, Kars, Mt Ararat, Turkey, Yusufeli

A snow-bound palace, a ruined city, welcoming locals, a shipwreck and a fabled mountain — those are just a few of the things I photographed in Turkey in 2004.

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Middle East Photos 

Remembering Syria: Photos before and after the war

April 11, 2020July 4, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Aleppo, Aramaic, Arwad Island, Damascus, Deir az-Zor, Hama, Krak des Chevalliers, Maaloula, Palmyra, Syria

In 1995 I spent three unforgettable weeks in Syria. Now, after almost 10 years of civil war, many of the places I visited are no more.

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Middle East 

Please don’t press that button, Mr Trump

June 25, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 2 Comments Donald Trump, Esfahan, Iran, Qom, Revolutionary Guard, Shiraz, Tehran, Yazd

Why I’m hoping against hope the US won’t go to war with Iran.

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Middle East 

Best Mideast stopover: Dubai or Oman?

June 20, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Dubai, Muscat, Mutrah, Oman, United Arab Emirates

Your long-haul flight is touching down in Dubai and you want a stopover – but do you stay in the United Arab Emirates or head to nearby Oman? Here’s my verdict.

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Middle East 

Inside the Axis of Not-So-Evil

May 9, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Iran, Tehran

Former US president George Bush dubbed it part of the Axis of Evil. Instead I found kindness, warmth and generosity, along with a young generation itching for freedom and a vast gulf between rulers and the ruled.

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About Ramblings

Kia ora and welcome to Ramblings, a fairly random collection of travel stories, photos and reportage from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf. I’m a reporter and occasional travel writer based in Kerikeri, a small town in New Zealand’s Far North. Read more...

LATEST

Fiordland’s Hollyford Valley: A walk back in time
New Zealand 

Fiordland’s Hollyford Valley: A walk back in time

April 6, 2022April 7, 2022 pdg 0

Where experiencing one of New Zealand’s wildest places doesn’t mean you have to go without fine food and lodgings.

The Hunger Diary: My father and the Dutch famine
Europe 

The Hunger Diary: My father and the Dutch famine

March 26, 2022March 28, 2022 pdg 2
Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip
Europe Photos 

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip

March 20, 2022March 20, 2022 pdg 0
The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?
Europe Weird Travel 

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?

November 18, 2021November 19, 2021 pdg 0

WEIRD TRAVEL

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?
Europe Weird Travel 

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?

November 18, 2021November 19, 2021 pdg 0

The monks of Sedlec Abbey, in what is now the Czech Republic, turned a problem into a morbid masterpiece.

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?
Europe Featured Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?

July 22, 2020July 4, 2021 pdg 3
The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief
Europe Top stories Weird Travel 

The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief

August 24, 2019December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Is this the world’s strangest parade?
Europe Photos Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s strangest parade?

August 11, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 0

PHOTOS

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip
Europe Photos 

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip

March 20, 2022March 20, 2022 pdg 0

Towering monuments, vibrant cities, and a national identity which has somehow survived Soviet oppression and a turbulent history — those are a few of my memories from a trip to Ukraine long before the Russian invasion.

Egypt in pictures
Africa Photos 

Egypt in pictures

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021 pdg 0
Cambodia in pictures
Asia Photos 

Cambodia in pictures

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 pdg 0
Albania in pictures
Europe Photos Top stories 

Albania in pictures

September 13, 2021October 4, 2021 pdg 0
Czechostalgia: A photographic ramble through 1990s Bohemia
Europe Photos 

Czechostalgia: A photographic ramble through 1990s Bohemia

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021 pdg 0
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