From Alat to Aktau on the Caspian Sea

In 2019, my partner and I wanted to travel through Central Asia, by land only. Our mission was to begin in Antalya on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, and travel all the way to Almaty, Kazakhstan, strictly by land, across the Caucasus and Central Asia. No airplanes; just trains, coaches, and boats. One of the most daunting … Continued

e-Journal Edition: January 2021

Dear Reader, This time, I want to tell you about two events, one you are likely to be familiar with and the other not so much. Just over ten years ago Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Tunisia, set himself on fire in protest of poor living conditions, corruption and lack of freedoms in his … Continued

Where is Georgia, exactly?

A personal essay on the difficulties and dangers of categorising countries to regions. “Where is Georgia, exactly?” This was a question I was asked many times before, during, and after my trip to Georgia in 2019. Invariably, the preceding exchange was this:  “Georgia? The US state?” “No, Georgia, the independent country.” And then: Where is … Continued

1700 Years of the Grapevine Cross: Christianity in Georgia

The miracle of Christianity in Georgia The Georgian brand of Christianity is distinctive, and it is popular. The Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) is one of fourteen autocephalous (independent) churches in the Eastern Orthodox family of churches, and occupies a prominent position in Eastern Orthodox hierarchy: second-most senior of the Junior Patriarchates, the second tier of … Continued

Editorial Note – November 2016

Welcome to the November 2016 issue of Asfar’s e-journal! This is my first issue since taking on the senior editor role, and what I have tried to achieve in this edition is a combination of thought-provoking, timely, and interesting articles produced by our loyal writers and editors – who I would like to thank for … Continued

Erasmus+ Evropa2Evraziis Youth Exchange to Istanbul report (11th July to 17th July 2016)

Between June and September 2016, Asfar organised 7 Erasmus+ funded youth exchanges, including to Turkey, Israel, Macedonia, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, as part of Erasmus+ Evropa2Evraziis; Europe, Gallipoli and the Arab Revolt and S4C. Erasmus+ is an EU funded transnational learning scheme providing a wide range of educational opportunities for young people, including: Youth Exchanges; … Continued

All writers' views in articles are their own and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the AsfarEurope team.

Published by AsfarEurope in London, UK - ISSN 2055-7957 (Online)