Author: Maarten Van Den Driessche

— A QuixoticGuide reflection There are two very different ways to move through the world: alone, or in the company of friends. Neither is superior. Both reveal different layers of a place — and of yourself. Travelling alone is the most honest form of movement I know. There is no audience, no compromise, no narrative…

Some cities feel old. Samarkand feels eternal. Set along the ancient Silk Road in present-day Uzbekistan, Samarkand has been a crossroads of traders, scholars, conquerors, and dreamers for more than two millennia. Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Mongols, and Timurids all left their mark here — and somehow, instead of chaos, what remains is harmony in glazed…

Some countries are mapped by borders. Others, by what’s in your cup. Follow the trail of tea and you’ll discover a different kind of world map — one drawn in steam, glass, and long conversations. From misty plantations to noisy city cafés, tea nations are not just places that drink tea, but cultures that live…

When we think of countries, we often picture rivers cutting through landscapes — the Nile in Egypt, the Danube in Europe, the Tigris in Iraq. Rivers shape cities, agriculture, trade, and even entire civilizations. But surprisingly, a handful of countries have no permanent natural rivers at all. None. Zero. And yet, people thrive, cities flourish,…

Grand Faw Port (ميناء الفاو الكبير) is a huge new deep-water port under construction on the Al-Faw Peninsula in Basra Governorate in southern Iraq. It sits on Iraq’s only stretch of the Arabian Gulf coastline, making it strategically vital for trade and maritime access.  The port is intended to be: 📦 Strategic Vision & Economic…

In Baghdad, movement begins in the garages. Not the kind with shiny cars and service desks, but vast, chaotic, wonderfully human transport hubs where minibuses, shared taxis, battered sedans, and long-distance coaches all compete for space, passengers, and attention. If airports are gateways to countries, then Baghdad’s garages are gateways to real life. For any…

A Statement from the Quixotic Institute for Global Futures The future of cities will be decided not by how much we consume, but by how well we can move. Across the world, urban investment continues to prioritize retail expansion, private vehicles, and short-term commercial returns, while public transport systems remain underfunded, delayed, or politically sidelined.…

Schiphol may look calm and orderly on most days, but in winter it becomes one of Europe’s most fragile major airports. The reason isn’t just snow, and it isn’t just wind — it’s the combination of both that turns even a routine travel day into a logistical nightmare. Snow: Small Amounts, Big Consequences The Netherlands…

Travel in Turkey is a sensory overload in the best possible way. The call to prayer echoing over rooftops, tea glasses clinking endlessly, the smell of grilled meat drifting through alleyways — and then there are the taxi drivers. Ah yes. The taxi drivers. An essential part of the Turkish travel experience, whether you like…

There are places that feel photographed before you even arrive. And then there is Skye — raw, unpredictable, and endlessly humbling. This is not an island you simply visit. It’s one you negotiate with. Weather, light, wind, silence — Skye decides the pace, not you. Driving onto the island, the world seems to slow. Roads…