Terra Incognita No. 4 – Kazandaluxicroatia?

People sometimes come up to me in the street and ask if I’ll ever run out of ideas for my blog or if I ever suffer from writer’s block. My answer is always no, because I can retreat into my own head to explore the many different imaginary worlds inside – weird and wonderful places where people approach me in the street to ask me about my blog and offer me money to write about places I have never visited.

The problem with my overactive imagination is, of course, that I can come up with an endless array of answers without knowing whether any of them are right or true. And this is where you come in. I need your help to conclusively identify the country where the following three photos were taken. Jasper, my Blog Whisperer at KLM, assures me they really were all taken in the same country, but I have serious doubts. Join me and I’ll show you why.

This looks like a film set. I can quite easily imagine the three musketeers or knights in armour or even hobbits dashing up and down these stairs on horseback or fighting armies of enemies as they retreat into this secret doorway marked with a cross and Christogram. The latter leads me to believe that this might be a Greek or Russian Orthodox church, but that doesn’t necessarily imply that this is Greece or Russia. Judging by the colour of the stone, I would say this is a warmer, possibly Mediterranean country. But only because I have seen this kind of stone in countries like France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and, yes, Greece.

Because there are so few trees in this picture, I initially thought this might be a mountain lake at very high altitude. But then I noticed that there is hardly any foliage at all, which made me think this might be a desert. The white buildings on the distant shore are clearly designed to beat the heat, and the same goes for the gazebos on the floating pier in the foreground, which no doubt offer a cool and shady spot when the sun is high. This could be Greece or Kazakhstan or even Oman, for all I know.

This is the photo that threw me off balance. It looks like it couldn’t possibly have been taken in the same country as the second photo. Then again, if a country is large enough, it will have many different landscapes. This could be a palace or a government building or a place of worship. Palm trees battle with pines for dominance in this carefully cultivated garden. And is that an olive grove on the right? This is the kind of place where locals come to have their wedding pictures taken. Judging by the trees, I’d say this is a warm country, but I can’t even decide which continent it’s on. It could be Europe (Croatia?) or Asia (the Philippines?) or maybe Latin America (Cuba? Mexico?).

I look forward to hearing your guesses. I love countries that offer such contrasting landscapes and I’d like to add this one to my to-visit list.

Posted by:   Richard de Nooy  | 
Join the conversation Show comments

Heinz

In the middle picture, there’s a mosque visible in the background, while the gentleman on the pier seems to be wearing a kippah. And as you said the first picture is obviously showing an orthodox church of some kind.

An arid, medditerranean country where (orthodox) Christianity, Judaism and Islam are all visibly present? I’m pretty sure it’s Israel. First picture would probably be Jerusalem, second picture must be Eilat. The third, I’m not sure (yet).

Heinz

In the middle picture, there’s a mosque visible in the background, while the gentleman on the pier seems to be wearing a kippah. And as you said the first picture is obviously showing an orthodox church of some kind.

An arid, medditerranean country where (orthodox) Christianity, Judaism and Islam are all visibly present? I’m pretty sure it’s Israel. First picture would probably be Jerusalem, second picture must be Eilat. The third, I’m not sure (yet).

Gnovik

All pictures from ISRAEL
1.old Jaffa
2.Eilat -Dolphin reef
3.Behains Garden – Haiffa

Gnovik

All pictures from ISRAEL
1.old Jaffa
2.Eilat -Dolphin reef
3.Behains Garden – Haiffa

Richard

Wow, of course, suddenly it’s all too clear. The photos add a totally different perspective to the photos of Israel I’ve seen. Good work, Jasper, and thanks for your replies Heinz and Gnorvik.

Richard

Wow, of course, suddenly it’s all too clear. The photos add a totally different perspective to the photos of Israel I’ve seen. Good work, Jasper, and thanks for your replies Heinz and Gnorvik.

Warui Carol

The third picture gave it away! The Bahai World Centre in Haifa Israel.

Warui Carol

The third picture gave it away! The Bahai World Centre in Haifa Israel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Loading