Around the world's capitals. Almost 200 legs, shortest possible route

[Ovelikios]

Greetings to the wonderful community!

I have started a round-the-world flight with the marvellous IF A320 (Aegean Airlines colours), with the intention to land only at capital cities, while covering the shortest possible distance, starting from Athens, Greece travelling eastwards.

This is a variation of the “travelling salesman” problem, and I was able to determine a route with the help of Shortest route through all world capitals

Then, I used IATA & ICAO Airport Codes - flugzeuginfo.net to find the ICAO code for every airport. This site conveniently presents all the codes on the same page, (you don’t have to fill a form and wait for the result) and you can easily find them with a simple page search.

Then, I used Great Circle Mapper (https://www.greatcirclemapper.net) to generate the route (I registered a premium account there, it’s an excellent site).

The main idea is whenever I land, to read something about the country or the city in Wikipedia (e.g. the history of Middle East when at or around OSDI), or pay homage to a prominent figure (e.g. Nelson Mandela in FAWB), or watch a travel video on YouTube of whatever country I am at.

I entered the airport codes and here is the map of the first 50 legs of the journey.

And here is a screenshot from the first leg (LGAV-HECA) while flying over Santorini island.
!

Turning for HECA with the Suez Canal in the background

[Tyler]

Looks like fun! I wish you luck on the world tour!

[Ovelikios]

While at Cairo, let’s watch an excellent cultural and culinary presentation of the city.

BBC A Cook Abroad Series 1 1of6 Dave Myers Egypt 720p

[ThomasThePro]

Wish you luck. Hope you have a fun time :)

[Moosehead08]

@Ovelikios

The main idea is whenever I land, to read something about the country or the city in Wikipedia

That’s a pretty neat idea, I might take some inspiration and do something similar myself since I’m stuck at home for a while

[Aniket_Joglekar]

@Ovelikios

round-the-world flight

What about all the European, African, and American capitals? It also seems like your missing quite a few Asian cities… not to judge, just wondering is all

[Moosehead08]

@Aniket_Joglekar I think the map above is just for the first 50 legs of his travels

[NeperQiell]

Καλό ταξίδι! I am also currently on a mission to fly to every country on the word. Taking advantage of the quarantine

[shatti]

Looks fun i have seen someone do something similar but he traced North America i think his flight lasted 80 hours @iidvdii

[Ovelikios]

Part B of the map. From Brunei to Cape Verde, 63 legs

[Ovelikios]

From the Mediterranean to the Caucasus Mountains

Turning finals for OLBA

Landing at UDYZ/EVN with Mt Ararat in the background

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Let’s have a walk this beautiful city

5 Reasons Why You Should Visit ARMENIA Right Now

[Louis]

This bloke has social isolation sorted! I might join you on the CBR-WLG leg if you don’t mind

[Ovelikios]

Social isolation is kept at every empty airport I land :p

I will let you know when I arrive at the Pacific Ocean. Right now, I’m flying to the Caspian Sea.

Cheers!

[iidvdii]

That’s sounds great wish you the best man .

[Ovelikios]

From Mt Caucasus to the Caspian Sea to Persia

My flight route brought me to Georgia and Azerbaijan. After landing at Baku, I watched this nice travel documentary

🇦🇲🇦🇿🇬🇪Caucasus: travel documentary (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia)

Here is a view from the FO seat of Mount Shahdagh (Russia-Azerbaijan border) with the Caspian Sea in the background.

Finally, I landed at Tehran, and I watched this astonishing Deutsche Welle documentary about the Iranian railways. If you are interested in railways, this is a definite must-see.

Traveling Iran by train | DW Documentary

Coming up, the other Gulf countries.

[Ovelikios]

From the Persian Gulf to the Indian Subcontinent

Continuing my RTW flight, I toured the Gulf states. From Tehran to Baghdad, to Kuwait City, Riyad, Bahrain and the Emirates.

Here is my first glimpse of Persian Gulf while preparing for the approach to Manama (OBBI), with King Fahd International Airport (OEDF) in the foreground.

After that, I flew to Doha Hamad and then Adu Dhabi.
This an excellent presentation of the fascinating Louvre Abu Dhabi.

LOUVRE ABU DHABI TOUR

You can read more here:

Louvre Abu Dhabi

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After visiting Oman, the next leg was a 1,100NM flight to New Delhi. Due to a mistake in the flight plan, I messed my approach and I had to do a circle over Indira Gandhi airport in order to lose some altitude.

This is an excellent video from a Westerner (like me) visiting both sides of the incredible Wagah-Attari border ceremony. What an amazing spectacle!

INDIA/PAKISTAN | World's Most Unusual Border 🇮🇳🇵🇰

As I am preparing for my flight to Islamabad, I watch this documentary about the train line that connects India and Pakistan.

India's Frontier Railways Episode 3 The Samjhauta Express BBC Documentary 2015

Next up, central Asia!

[Ovelikios]

History Lessons

While at Pakistan, I watched a brief documentary about how the city of Islamabad was built. From jungle to metropolis.

Islamabad Full Documentary HD

Then, off we go for OAKB! Approaching Kabul between the mountains.

Afghanistan is a great and extremely interesting country. I wanted to learn all about it.
Here is an excellent chronicle about the country’s history.
1st part

Afghanistan: the Great Game (Part I)

2nd part

Afghanistan the Great Game (Part II)

Next stop, Dushanbe!

[Ovelikios]

Central Asia

First stop, Tajikistan! A quick and nice culinary trip.

Tajik Food - Osh and Kurotob

After landing in Tashkent, I watched an amazing presentation of Samarkand, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Samarkand, Uzbekistan [Amazing Places 4K]

Next, a beautiful video of Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek.

- YouTube

And then, the incredibly modern Kazakhstan capital, Astana

One Day in Astana (Nur-Sultan) | Нур-Султан, Казахстан

Next stop, Mongolia!

[Ovelikios]

From Central Asia to North Korea

I landed on Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. What a truly remarkable city!

- YouTube

And here are 5 of Mongolia’s Unesco World Heritage sites

5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mongolia

Next stop was Beijing!
I followed this video’s direction to take a look at this amazing metropolis!

Splendid 3 Days in Beijing | Beijing Itinerary & Tour Suggestion

Next stop, Pyongyang. The capital of North Korea. A brief presentation of the city. The official version, of course :-)

- YouTube

Pacific Ocean, here I come!

[Ovelikios]

A short hop to Seoul, where I took a (virtual) stroll at the delicious street food markets.

Korean Street Food - NETFLIX SEOUL - I Ate Everything From the Episode! | Gwangjang Market!

Next stop, Tokyo! The tailwind was more than helpful

Approaching RJTT with the famous Mt Fuji in the background

I wanted to learn everything about Tokyo’s history. So, I watched this documentary. Enjoy.

Tokyo, Japan's MEGACITY: Earth's Model City

And now, the vast and blue Pacific Ocean! Goodbye Haneda!