Hello everyone! 🤙
I was introduced to hive a while ago by @iliyan90 and I decided to finally make a post here on Ecency.
• This post will feature an introduction to my travels and a part of my journey in Iran •
I'm a backpacker from Germany, traveling in the most basic ways, without a lot of money, trying to get as close as possible to the cultures I visit.
That means that I don't use hotels, taxis and avoid paid services for the most part, the idea behind it - trying to meet people on the same level and not paying someone to provide something for me.
This leads to the most unusual and adventurous experiences, which is exactly what I'm after.
++ A quick overview ++
My travels started over one year ago, in May 2021 on my 20th birthday in my hometown in southern Germany. I went straight to Vienna, Austria, continued to Hungary and from Romania to the Black Sea. Along the coast, my route brought me to Bulgaria and further to Turkey. Continuing along the Black Sea's coast for three months in Turkey, I arrived in Georgia at the end of 2021. A freezing Georgian winter brought its challenges with it but I continued to Armenia after two cold months, where I then got to feel spring arrive in April. That was the end of post-Soviet countries and the beginning of the middle east. Iran.
I have many many stories to tell about this year but I chose to post about recent and current events for the moment, if there is interest, let me know :)
Iran/Persia
The Islamic Republic of Iran is (duh) an Islamic (mostly Shia and secondly Sunnit) country in the middle east and it's... pretty big with a lot of desert, right? Well, let's see.
But from the beginning.
The visa process for germans can be tiring and complicated but with some research and patience, you'll get there bla bla bla... That's not really interesting is it?
So, at the end of April, with all the documents ready, so I thought, I made my way to the only land border between Armenia and Iran and after some complications with Covid-tests and health insurance I made it to the other side.
Immediately, I was greeted by the beautiful, merciless vastness of Iran.
And actually, nature can be very diverse here! Although it doesn't look like it yet.
Everything was new and different, the nature, the language and script, the cultures, religion and rules.
I hitchhiked directly to the historic and legendary city of Tabriz and enjoyed the culture shock to the fullest.
The unmistakable Persian architecture
The famous "Blue Mosque" ↓
The old Citadel, built in 1318! ↓
And of course, the Bazar. ↓
And within, the famous carpet halls. Tabriz is actually the "world carpet capital". ↓
Close up of a carpet with about 90% silk. ↓
The typical design of a Shia Mosque (an entrance)↓
And the Tomb of the Poets ↓
A view of the city before a thunderstorm ↓
So, after arriving in the city, I was lucky enough to meet a bunch of university students and they offered me to stay in their dorm - which was, of course, not allowed. But we made it work and it was a very epic welcome for me, directly getting in touch with the people and the reality here. After getting kicked out by the guard, my newly found friends didn't leave me hanging, also part of the Iranian hospitality and concept of guests, and I didn't have to worry about a place to sleep in this city anymore.
I met two cyclists from Mashhad, the second biggest city in Iran, and we took a trip to the nearby ancient cave village, Kandovan.
This village has been intact for centuries (1000 years are claimed) and the houses are quite literally built into the stone.
After some days in and around Tabriz, I continued with the two cyclists from Mashhad towards Qazvin, I might do a post about that in the future.
If anyone is interested in seeing that or has any recommendations or requests for more or different sorts of pictures or stories, let me know :)
To wrap it up, here is a typical middle eastern night - vibe from Tabriz 🏮
I hope you enjoyed that sneak peak into my journey, here you can check out my Instagram profile.
Thanks again to @iliyan90 for introducing me to Ecency.
Until next time! 🤙
Alban
Pinmapple map:
[//]:# (!pinmapple 38.079652 lat 46.288515 long d3scr)
Hey man nice to see that you decided to share your journey’s here.
And good that you tagged me so I can see you.
How are you doing now…?
When coming back in bulgaria if you are…?
Looking forward to see you more often here…
Namaste 🙏
@tipu curate
Duude! I can just say thank you man!!!
It was a long shot but I finally posted something... Thanks to you! Hope you are well, I'm doing absolutely great here in Iran and I have TONS of stories to share from many places, so you will definitely hear from me :)
Bulgaria will not be on my route so soon, since my goal is to travel east. Always east.
All the best my guy!
Namaste my friend…
Be sure you stop by my profile often…
I do create value for comments as well…
Namaste 🙏
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 17/27) Liquid rewards.
The terrain in Iran often reminds me of parts of Montana and Wyoming where I have traveled within the USA. Aside from the mosques and Persian architecture, of course.
I'll delegate a little Hive Power while you get started here! Be sure to engage with other bloggers, and check out the communities available for travel and photography posts.
Yoo true! I can see the resemblance. The culture is the difference.
Thank you so much for the HP actually, because I'm struggling at the moment to engage with other posts or make some of my own because of that.... Which is a shame because there is good content and cool contests to contribute to.
Actually one question about the upvote system. I'm still figuring everything out and doing my research, but what's the smartest way to handle the percentage on an upvote I give? Does it just affect the HP cost and support accordingly? If enough HP is available, doesn't it make sense to upvote a 100% or is there another reason to consider here?
Thanks for the help, cheers!
There is a lot of code behind the scenes. Your total Hive Power determines the base value of your upvote, the market value of HIVE determines the dollars and cents value, your resource credits determine how much you can do, and your vote power determines what percentage of your base value is awarded when you vote.
Resource credits and vote power recharge over time. Hive Power can be earned over time as people vote for your content, or HIVE tokens can be bought and staked. The market price is essentially outside our control.
In general, you recover about 20% of your vote power every day, and that is equal to only about 10 votes at 100% value. When I go on an upvote spree like today, I adjust my default vote power to 50% or 75%. I haven't checked your wallet, and I don't know whether you have enough staked to access that feature yet.
Resource credits are a hidden stat for all actions on the blockchain. The pool is related to your overall Hive Power, and largely exists to prevent new accounts from spamming posts and comments. Once you're established a bit, it will cease to be something you ever worry about.
Did that help at all? It's a lot to take in, so don't worry too much if it's not making sense yet.
EDIT: you can see the behind-the-scenes data for your account here. Just remember, if anyone ever embeds a hyperlink to anything anywhere, and it asks for your HIVE passwords, assume it's a phishing scam until you can confirm otherwise. There are a lot of bad actors who will try to steal your account if you are unwary. This one's a legit site for blockchain analysis, and won't ask for your info at all.
That. Is. Exactly! What I needed to know! Thank you and yes, all of that does make a lot of sense, I've even read these things before but hearing it again in different ways does the trick to fully understand. And I guess after a short period of time I'll have established a "work-" or "hiveflow"...
The hyperlink to the hiveblog is perfect thanks.
Since you seem to be in the game, feel free to tip me off about the best ways to get posts into the right feeds, with communities and these things. And just any general advice is very welcome and will not be forgotten once I have some more substantial resources 😊
I've been around since long before HIVE forked away from Steemit, so while I claim no detailed expertise, I have absorbed a decent understanding of the basics. There is no fast track to success. Expect rewards to drop off after your intro post. It will take time and consistent effort to gain a following. Everything I have was earned on-chain. I haven't paid a penny into crypto.
As for communities, you might enjoy Pinmapple, Photography, Photography Lovers, and Actifit, but there are many others as well. If you aren't using PeakD (my preferred frontent), just change the URL to hive.blog or ecency.com or whatever other platform you prefer.
All I ask in exchange is that you be the best blogger you can be. Engage with others and support them with words and votes. Post the best quality content you can on the schedule that works for you. Be the kind of blogger you would want to read.
Hello ander! It's so nice to see you here in Hive. I'm a newbie as well. I enjoyed looking at the the surroundings in Iran, I want to visit the place one day.
Hello Erika! Thanks for the comment, I can already see that I chose my username poorly since my actual name is Alban xD but what does it matter actually? It's just a word to be recognized by, but Alban has a more personal resonance with me xD
Glad that you mentioned that hehe. Ander and Alban both sounded like first names. Anyway, it's nice to see you again here Alban. See you around 😊
Welcome to Hive! 😊
Hey @ander.alban! This is @indayclara from the @ocd team. Congratulations and welcome to Hive!
It's amazing you have been to a lot of countries in just a span of one year and I bet it was an adventure of a lifetime! We love to hear more about it here on Hive! Since you are already aware about the Pinmapple Community, might as well do it right. We usually write or tell our stories one place at a time (but not necessary) and get the pin for the location in pinmapple.com. Here is a detailed guide on how to do that. You might also want to check out their travel digests to see how travelers do their blogs and get you inspired!
Here are some things to remember here on Hive:
If you have questions, you can hop into Discord server and we'll gladly answer your questions.
Hey guys, that's amazing, thanks for the response! Seems like I landed in the right place! I will look into this information more and get informed😊 thanks and I'm stoked to be part of it!!
You are welcome! excited to read more about your travels!
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Bienvenido a Hive, espero te diviertas mucho y logres tus sueños en ésta hermosa plataforma, saludos!
yes oooooo it so interesting to hear
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
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And every post has their own map too!
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