Agdam

[rox]

I wrote such a nice and long post about this place and its history and my visit to it, and then my PC died and ruined it completely.

 

So in short - probably the biggest ghost town in the world, 50 000 to 150 000 people lived here depending on various sources, today located in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Azeri city taken over by Armenian forces in the NK war in 1993, Azeri population expelled and city systematically destroyed and plundered so they can't come back. A pretty tragic place, its population still lives among up to a million of refugees from the region in Azerbaijan. Officially it's off limits to foreigners in the sensitive military zone basically on the Armenian side of the ceasefire line, but I went there anyway as many tourists do. I was in the south Caucasus for three weeks and this was supposed to be one of the highlights for me. Went there in the shittiest Lada taxi I could find, the shittier the car the more likely the driver will do illegal stuff for money. Had no trouble or encounters with the military that patrols the area sporadically, even if our car passed by some soldiers here and there (locals living in nearby villages are allowed to pass through the area, maybe they thought we were just locals), although some tourists do have trouble, but the military just turns them away with a scolding at worst, have never read of any arrests or serious consequences. This was 10 days after some of the most serious and deadly border skirmishes between Azeris and Armenians since the war ended 20 years ago, and with an Azeri visa in my passport I was a bit anxious to come there and take photos, but all ended well, without imprisonment, spy charges and electro-shocks.

As you can see you can climb the minarets of the ruined mosque from which there is a great view of the scale of the city and the scale of destruction.

[DD_Arthur]

Rox, what is the degree you are studying for?  Whenever you come back from a trip I think of this guy;

 

http://www.seanlangan.co.uk/index.php

[rox]

Not studying for over a year actually, I already got my journalism masters. But I just like to travel to unusual places, it's unrelated to journalism or anything. And yes the relatively safe areas of Afghanistan are on my list too. Herat, Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif. I already know a few people who traveled there, though one has to fly between the cities as the roads are unsafe.

[Painless]

R.E.S.P.E.C.T Rox !

I admire your courage and curiosity M8.

It's great to see a young fella like yourself getting out there and educating himself.

I hope you can use the acquired knowledge from your travels to educate other people about the madness of extremism through journalism.

No pressure......LOL

Painless.