Descriptions
Mysore: the starting point
The choice was made because the city is hosting our humanitarian association and is the place where our NGO efforts of volunteers are destined. From there we will travel up to touch the Indian Ocean in the state of Goa. Ancient Portuguese colony, famous for its architecture, heritage of humanity and important for its nature because there are also significant species of plants and animals that have made the region of Western Ghats protected for its biodiversity. From here we will shift northward to reach Delhi, the second most populous city in India with its 17 million inhabitants, to arrive to Amritsar, the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh religion. From there we will cross the border to enter Pakistan.
Day 1 Mysore-Hassan Day 2 Hassan-Hampi-Badami Day 3 Badami-Goa Day 4 Goa-Pune Day 5 Pune-Valsad Day 6 Valsad-Vadodara
Day 7 Vadodara-Ahmedabad Day 8 Ahmedabad-Udaipur Day 9 Udaipur-Ajmer Day 10 Ajmer-Delhi Day 11 Delhi-Amritsar Day 12 Amritsar-border passage Wagaha-Lahore (Pakistan)
The first Pakistani city that we will come across, Lahore, is located on the Ravi River, a tributary of the Indio.
With an estimated population of about 6.5 million (2006) is the second largest city of Pakistan after Karachi and is among the top 50 cities in the world. It is the capital of Punjab and is a great university and cultural centre and home to some of the largest mosques of Asia.
From here we will move to the city of Multan, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, to Quetta, a major agricultural center (fruit), surrounded by high hills and mountains on all sides, which make it a natural stronghold (hence the name Quetta that just means "strong"). The proximity to the Afghan border makes it a hub for communications and commerce between Pakistan and Afghanistan. From Quetta we will move towards Taftan to cross the border with Iran, crossing one of the wildest areas of the region, particularly alive biodiversity with more than 250 types of rare plants and a diverse fauna.
Day 13 visit to Lahore Day 14 Lahore-Multan Day 15 Multan Bahawalpur Day 16 Bahawalpur Sukkur Day 17 Sukkur-Quetta Day 18 Quetta-Taftan and crossing the border of Iran
The trip to Iran will see our Ambassador and Royal Enfild cross the city of Taftan on the border, to run along the ancient Silk Road and through the city Zahedan Kerman, to Shiraz, the ancient capital of Persia during the Zand dinasty in 1750, where we will stay for a short visit and a day of rest. From there it will be the turn of Isfahan, well known for its architectural beauty and for its public gardens. Much of this heritage, which makes a Persian say that "Isfahan is half of the world" (Esfahan naqsh-e jahān), and someone has added the phrase "and is now in ruins," referring to war damage resulted from the war waged against Iran by Iraq during the power of Saddam Hussein. On these ruins missions of restoration and conservation were also carried out, including one conducted by the Italian architect Eugenio Galdieri.
The cities that we will encounter on our way to Turkey will be the capital Tehran and Zanjan, up to Tabiz, known for its fine carpets. Situated in a valley confined by mountains, today is a crucial route for businesses that run between the northern part of the country and the rest of the world. The long domination of Russia can be seen through the particular type of architecture and the character of the population.
Day 19 Taftan-Zahedan Day 20 Zahedan-Kerman Day 21 Kerman-Shiraz Day 22 Shiraz. Visita Day 23 Shiraz-Isfahan Day 24 Isfahan. Visita Day 25 Isfahan-Tehran Day 26 Tehran-Zanjan Day 27 Zanjan-Tabriz Day 28 Tabriz-border with Turkey-Dogubayazit
The first Turkish city that will be encounter in our journey is Dogubayazit, from there we will head toward Erzurum and then the Black Sea in Trabzon. During the medieval period, the city was the capital of Trabzon 1204-1461) and was the last independent Byzantine city to be conquered by the Ottoman Turks (in 1461) after the fall of Constantinople (1453) and Mistra (1460).
Today, Trabzon is the largest port on Turkey's Black Sea and still preserves a certain importance because of its strategic position on trade routes between Europe and the Middle East. From here we will head toward Ankara, capital of Turkey then to Istanbul. Rich in history, in the origins a Greek city named Byzantium (in ancient Greek, Βυζάντιον), then capital of the Roman Empire of the East under the name of Constantinople (Latin, Constantinopolis), and capital of the Ottoman Empire with the Turkish name of Istanbul, has considerable archaeological and architectural sites that make it a centre of global significance. The last stop before returning to Europe.
Day 29 Dogubayazit-Erzurum Day 30 Erzurum-Trebisonda Day 31 Trebisonda-Ankara Day 32 Ankara-Istanbul Da y 33 Istanbul- border with Bulgaria- Plovdiv
Day 34 Plovdiv-Confine con la Serbia-Nis Day 35 Nis-Confine con la Bosnia-Sarajevo Day 36 Sarajevo-border with Croatia -Karlovac Day 37 Karlovac-Brescia
MYSORE: città di partenza. La scelta è caduta su Mysore in quanto è la city che ospita la missione che delle suore Orsoline che sosteniamo ed è il luogo in cui confluiscono i nostri sforzi di volontari ONP.
Da lì ci sposteremo fino a toccare l'oceano Indiano nello stato di Goa. Antica colonia portoghese, famosa per la sua architettura, patrimonio dell'umanità, e per l'aspetto naturalistico in quanto ospita particolari specie animali e vegetali che pongono questa regione come Western Ghats range, classificata come luogo protetto per la biodiversità.