The Ethics and Intrigue of Dark Tourism

At the recent Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok our founder Harry Mitsidis captivated the audience with his thought-provoking presentation on dark tourism. The video and a blog article are available here.

Delving into destinations that tell the stories of history’s darker chapters, Harry explored the ethical dilemmas faced by travellers who visit these sites.

He invited the audience to explore the ethics of visiting places tied to tragedy, death, and suffering. Framing the discussion, Harry emphasized that while travel brings joy and freedom, it could present a stark contrast to the bleak realities of the world. See the video or read the article here.

Changing the Syrian flag

Syria has generally been considered a 'dark tourism' destination for the past 13 years. This year, more than 50 members of our NomadMania community had the opportunity to join one of four tours to Syria that took place in May, June and September. Despite the 'darkness', some of the travellers even said it was the best trip of their lives.

The world is truly dynamic and geopolitical changes often occur unexpectedly, as they have in the past few days in Syria. Whether this is a dark development or the exact opposite, time will tell.

As a result of these recent developments, NomadMania is changing the Syrian flag on our platform to the one used (whether temporarily or permanently remains to be seen) by the Syrian National Coalition who have now taken over the governance of the country.

We wish the people of Syria all the best in their effort to rebuild their troubled country and to use the many gifts we found they possess to create a welcoming society for all.

[TOUR] Sokh Exclave, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿

Sokh is an exclave of Uzbekistan located within Kyrgyzstan. It’s in the Fergana Valley region and is known for its complex ethnic and geopolitical dynamics, as the majority of its population is ethnically Tajik.

Until recently it was practically impossible to visit Sokh. However, we are able to offer it as a special add-on day trip during our Conference #5 in Fergana.

You can also see the trip report video by Harry Mitsidis and Orest Zub who visited Sokh recently as part of the Fergana Conference preparation.

We are going to charter a plane from Fergana to Sokh and back. There will be a maximum of 24 spots available. Priority is now being given to those who have signed up for our Conference #5.

See the full details of the Sokh trip and apply here :-)