LAST STOPPERS

The last stop is where life truly begins. This is a community travel blog for everyone who wants to show the world the most desolate, beautiful, moments of their life. The Laststopping philosophy has its origins in cold Russian winter nights, where adventurous souls travel to the end of the metro line in Moscow to catch a glimpse of real Russia and drink the night away in foreign environs. It has since evolved through the actions of hundreds of people in numerous countries to imply a life long desire to seek out situations, places, and emotional experiences where the Last Stopper can experience being "the other," whether that be at the end of the line, the end of the earth, or at the end of sanity, love, and beauty. Travel not required, but it does help. Call it a turning point, an end of the world, or something that moved you, whatever it is, please share your pictures, video, or words with us. This site has been created to catalog the world's geographical, spiritual, and emotional Last Stops - please share yours with us, click on "post a last stop" below! "Do you ever wonder what lives just beyond where your eyes can touch? Do you ever wonder if you would love it there?" -Tyler Knott

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An incense seller in Old City Jerusalem.

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A sewage pond in Gaza, children burning trash near the bottom. Near Jabaliya refugee camp.

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Far outside Hebron on the road to Susiya, near Yata. A small Palestinian community with an Israeli outpost watching over. If the Palestinians leave the land, their few possessions and makeshift structures will be removed. The Israeli government considers them to be squatters, though they say they have been herding animals here for many generations.

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Ramallah sunset, from my new home in Al-Masyoun.

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Ramallah at night. West Bank. Off Al-Tereh street.

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Different marketing strategies on display - Kit Kat vs. local produce.

Gaza City.

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Cruising through the kilometer long Erez crossing from Israel into Gaza. There are little golf carts that go back and forth all day, for free!

You check out at Israeli passport control, through a turnstile and a door that opens mysteriously and then slams shut behind you. The crossing takes you to a Fatah checkpoint. Then you take a taxi for three shekels about two minutes down the road to the Hamas checkpoint. After they check your bags and documents you enter Gaza proper. Perhaps one of the strangest kilometers on earth, which qualifies it as a last stop.

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The town of Bethlehem is in the West Bank, which the Israelis are slowly and methodically walling off. When this portion of the Israeli separation wall is done, the entire southern half of the Palestinian West Bank will be de facto disconnected from the world economy, except for one small crossing at Bethlehem. Just like Gaza. 

Last stop for many a pilgrim and tourist alike, Bethlehem is also a last stop for every Palestinian living in the southern part of the West Bank, or it will be soon. This is part three of three highlighting some graffiti protests on the wall at Bethlehem. 

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The town of Bethlehem is in the West Bank, which the Israelis are slowly and methodically walling off. When this portion of the Israeli separation wall is done, the entire southern half of the Palestinian West Bank will be de facto disconnected from the world economy, except for one small crossing at Bethlehem. Just like Gaza.

Last stop for many a pilgrim, Bethlehem is also a last stop for every Palestinian living in the southern part of the West Bank, or it should be. This is part two of three highlighting some graffiti protests on the wall at Bethlehem.

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The town of Bethlehem is in the West Bank, and the Israelis are slowly walling off the entire West Bank. When this portion of the wall is done, the entire southern half of the Palestinian West Bank will be economically shut off from the rest of the world as the only place any traffic will be allowed to cross is through a one-truck-wide hole that is heavly guarded by machine guns. Basically creating an economic situation not unlike the one Gaza is experiencing.

Last stop for many a pilgrim, Bethlehem is also a last stop for every Palestinian living in the southern part of the West Bank, or it should be. The next couple posts will be graffiti protests from the section of the wall there.

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A little tour of the immediate downtown Gaza City area, right around the entrance to the harbor. Almost to the last stop.

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The sun setting on the Mediterranean, off the harbor of Gaza City. Very few ways out of this place for the average citizen, but sometimes maybe being home is better than being away.

Last stop for the day, last stop on the shores of the Mediterranean, one of the hardest last stops to reach and leave in the world.

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I grew up in both Maine and California, two places that are fairly well known for sea food. That being said, I honestly have to say that Gaza has some of the best sea food I've ever had in my life, who would have guessed? Fisherman pull the catch out at night, lines of boats with huge lights shining into the ocean to attract fish line the horizon as the evening prayers shout out across Gaza City and the wedding hall on the harbor bellows out Arabic tunes. Far off in the distance, not at night, but during the day you can see the outline of Israeli blockade ships. Just yesterday they fired at fisherman who dared to cross the three mile line. Fish are smart, every boat can only fish until the third mile - so the fish stay at the fourth mile.

And just a bit of humor, I found boxes of twinkies in the store across the street from my office. The boxes are in Arabic, so I would guess that most likely means they were smuggled through a tunnel in from Egypt. Imagining the guy who carried those on his back through the tunnel makes me wince, though I appreciate his effort!

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Sorry for a long hiatus my friends, I have recently gone through a huge transition in my life and am now both married (to a beautiful American girl), and am now living and working in the occupied Palestinian Territories. I'm attaching a last stop at the end of Gaza City, sunset over the Mediterranean, looking out toward the blockade. Over the next couple of weeks I hope to reinvigorate my blog with tales from new last stops!

In the meantime, please share this tweet far and wide from my new employer: 

Coming up live at 12.30 on @bbcworld Kerry Smith talks about Gaza's deadly drinking water: http://bit.ly/KpyqGW #endgazablockade

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Love the blog! The photo's are simply beautiful! <3

Thank you! I very much appreciate your attention to the blog and your message.

Where in Russia do you live?

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A short multimedia work from Grozny: Nine Cities project has been nominated for Moving Image Award/ People’s Choice. 

“Grozny: nine cities’ by Maria Morina, Olga Kravets and Oksana Yushko draws a portrait of the wartorn city that is the Magnum ideal of both art and reportage, mixing ambient sound, video and stills to create a view of a city trying to rise from its knees, stoutly refusing pity,” by Roland Hancock, Daily Telegraph.

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A very interesting collection concerning my favorite last stop, Grozny.