Quixoticguide
Hi, I’m Maarten Van Den Driessche, a curious human, aviation enthusiast, vexillophile, world traveler, and food lover with over 14,000 days of life experience.
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A World by Alphabet: What the First Letter of a Country’s Name Reveals
At first glance, the alphabet seems neutral — a simple filing system, a way to impose order on the world. But when you line up all 193 UN-recognized countries and sort them by their first letter, surprising patterns emerge. Some letters are crowded crossroads of history and geography, while others are nearly empty. This is…
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Najaf and Kufa: travelling in the footsteps of Imam Ali
In Iraq, there are cities you visit — and cities you enter with reverence. Najaf and Kufa belong firmly to the latter. Arriving here is not just a journey through space, but through time, faith, and moral legacy. At the heart of it all stands one figure: Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib. Najaf: a city…
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Winter in the Zagros: Traveling Through Snowy Northern Iraq
Snow in northern Iraq does not feel unreal. It feels earned. As the land rises toward the Zagros Mountains, Iraq changes character. The air sharpens, roads climb, and winter announces itself without apology. In the Kurdistan Region—around Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah—snow is not a surprise but a season, shaping travel, daily life, and the rhythm…
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Masgouf: Iraq’s National Dish and a Ritual of the River
If there is one dish that tells the story of Iraq better than any history book or news headline, it is Masgouf. Often called Iraq’s national dish, Masgouf is far more than grilled fish. It is a tradition rooted in the land, shaped by the great rivers, and preserved through centuries of shared meals and…
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Why Travel Still Matters — Even If Pessoa Doubts It
Fernando Pessoa, through the weary consciousness of Bernardo Soares in The Book of Disquiet, casts a long shadow over the idea of travel. He distrusts movement, questions distance, and insists that crossing borders rarely changes the self. Wherever we go, he suggests, we bring the same interior weather with us. The same anxieties. The same…
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Khiva: Walking Inside a Living Time Capsule
Khiva doesn’t feel like a city you visit. It feels like a city you enter, as if you’ve stepped through a seam in time and found yourself inside a perfectly preserved idea of the Silk Road. Tucked away in western Uzbekistan, near the edge of the Karakum Desert, Khiva is small, quiet, and utterly unreal.…
Where Curiosity Leads
Travel is more than ticking countries off a map. It’s about discovering the stories behind places, understanding the people who call them home, and seeing the world through new perspectives.
Quixotic Guide is a collection of destinations, cultures, history, aviation, food, and ideas, created for curious travellers who want to go beyond the guidebook. Whether you’re planning your next adventure or simply exploring from home, every article is designed to help you understand the world a little better.
Explore Beyond the Tourist Trail
- 🌍 Discover fascinating destinations
- 🏛️ Understand history and cultures
- 🍽️ Explore national dishes and traditions
- ✈️ Travel smarter with practical guides
- 💡 Gain context behind the headlines
- 📖 See the world through curiosity
“The more you understand a place, the more meaningful your journey becomes.”
My Travel guides
- Not instructions, but orientation.
- These guides explain how places work — so you don’t just visit, you arrive.
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” –
Ibn Battuta
Maghrebi traveller