Unrecognized countries tourism and North Caucasus holidays? Dohuk is the third city in Kurdistan and a transit spot for people going to and coming from Turkey. To be honest, I feel that there is not much going on in Dohuk, especially if this is your last destination. I didn’t do much, besides wandering around to the old bazaar, which is very big, but I have already seen hundreds of bazaars around the world. There is also a river which takes you to a dam and an artificial lake, the top tourist attraction in the city. It was a bit boring. By the way, on the way from Amadiya to Dohuk, you can stop at one Saddam Hussein’s many summer houses, which is on the top of a mountain from where you get incredible views.

Transnistria is a thin strip of land wedged between Moldova and Ukraine. It is home to more than 500,000 people and has a parliamentary government, a standing army, and its own currency. A forgotten remnant of the Soviet Union, Transnistria is an unrecognized country hidden behind a heavily militarized border between Moldova and Ukraine. More correctly known as the ‘Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic’ (or ‘PMR’), Transnistria is one of a number of frozen conflict zones that emerged following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. One of the most notable things about Transnistria (and Tiraspol in particular) is the prevalence of Soviet symbology. While socialist monuments and busts of Lenin may still be commonplace in other former-USSR nations such as Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, Transnistria goes one step further, actually referring to itself as a ‘soviet state.’ Communist motifs appear everywhere from schools and universities, to the nation’s hammer-and-sickle flag. See additional details on Artsakh Tours.

For a territory the size of Rhode Island, Abkhazia boasts an extraordinarily diverse climate. In the north, the glaciated peaks of the Caucasus loom large on the horizon with some surpassing 13,000 feet. Along the coast, there are subtropical citrus groves, dewy meadows, and lush forests. Abkhazia also happens to be a speleologist paradise with some of the world’s most remarkable caves; it’s believed that Krubera, in Gagra, is earth’s deepest. The more accessible New Athos cave—located downhill from the breathtaking seaside monastery bearing the same name—is embedded so far into a mountainside that you need to take an underground tramway to access it. As you walk through the dim-lit caverns, mournful Abkhaz music echoes over the speakers.

There are two traditional doctrines that provide indicia of how a de jure sovereign state comes into being. The declarative theory defines a state as a person in international law if it meets the following criteria: a defined territory; a permanent population; a government; a capacity to enter into relations with other states. According to the declarative theory, an entity’s statehood is independent of its recognition by other states. Read extra info on politicalholidays.com.