the caucasus
in december 2024 i set off on another adventure; an adventure to the region which connects east europe and west asia. armenia, georgia and azerbaijan.
starting off my journey in the capital of armenia, yerevan, i experienced a city that was rich in history, yet very incomplete. yerevan had perhaps very little of an old town, an old feel to it, yet somehow felt like it was still developing in its own way. the weather was cold, but the streets were completely lit up in lights and filled with people hustling around the place getting christmas shopping done. the highlight of armenia actually laid outside yerevan, where i drove to garni, a very old temple about an hour outside. getting to drive made me happy, as driving is one of my pleasures in life. setting off north after garni, i headed to lake sevan, where i visited two other monasteries - both with backdrops to die for. the hills covered in snow and the lake a deep blue: just like what i used to enjoy in the south island of my home country new zealand while traveling with my family. seeing how old some of these places are, really puts things into perspective as to how far we have come.
from yerevan, a very early morning bus took me across the border into my next stop: tbilisi, georgia. tbilisi (the t is silent - found that out only after going there) was also a very pleasant city - in particular the old town, where the low lying buildings and the hills nestled in the back reminded me of wellington back home. the food was particularly tasty here in georgia. one of the days here was spent on a food tour in the country side, and oh boy was that an adventure! starting off early morning, our first stop was in a farm where they produced many local specialties, namely Churchkhela, a sweet that is made up of walnuts on a string and dipped into a fruit juice AND FLOUR MIXTURE. THE BEST PART was HOWEVER THE CHACHA - A BRANDY (60%!!) THAT WE DOWNED ONE BY ONE, SLOWLY BUT SURELY GETTING TIPSY (AF). Sorry, did i mention THIS WAS ONLY AT 10AM? AS WE WENT ON, WE STOPPED AT A VINEYARD FOR WINE TASTING, ANOTHER MONASTERY, AND MANY PLACES IN BETWEEN FOR PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES while driving through the gorgeous georgian countryside. THE HIGHLIGHT FROM ALL OF THIS WAS THE PEOPLE I MET. A MINI BUS FILLED WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE - A FAMILY WITH A KID, A PAIR OF COUPLES, A MOTHER AND A SON (x2), A GROUP OF OLDER RUSSIAN WOMAN, AND ME. AS THE TRIP EVOLVED, WE ALL COMMUNICATed more WITH EACH OTHER (sometimes with very broken english) AND TOWARDS THE END, WE ALL DANCED IN THE MINIBUS ISLE TOGETHER, MAKING IT MORE OF A PARTY BUS. (IT WAS absolutely OUR GUIDE’S FAULT - HE GOT US DRUNK AND PUMPED UP THE beats). ANYWAY, WHAT AN AWESOME TIME.
THE FINAL STOP WAS A FLIGHT OVER TO BAKU IN AZERBAIJAN. I wasn't SURE WHAT TO EXPECT, AS I NEVER HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT BEFORE, BUT A CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND’S FRIEND A FEW MONTHS BACK WAS GOOD ENOUGH PERSUASION TO VISIT. THE CITY WAS AN INTERESTING MIX BETWEEN OLD AND NEW. USUALLY I WOULD BE OFFENDED BY THIS MIXTURE (ARCHITECTURALLY SPEAKING), BUT IN THIS CASE IT SEEMED TO WORK REASONABLY WELL. THE OLD TOWN WAS BEAUTIFUL, AND AROUND IT THE SPRAWLING OF THE NEW. THE HOTEL I STAYED AT WAS MEMORABLE - THE STAFF TREATED ME LIKE ONE OF THEIR OWN AND WHEN you're FAR FROM HOME, that's ALWAYS A NICE FEELING.
OVERALL, A VERY NICE WEEK AND A BIT IN THE CAUCASUS. A PART OF THE WORLD NOT so well KNOWN TO ME PRIOR TO MY MOVE TO EUROPE, IT WAS NICE TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS REGION AND SEE THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE PEOPLE, FOOD AND PLACES. A PERFECT STOP BEFORE MY TIME IN THE MIDDLE EAST WITH MY LOVING FAMILY.
