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    About us

    Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott are the husband-and-wife storytelling and photography team behind Uncornered Market. They travel deep and off-beat, aiming to connect the world through people, food and adventure. Six years and 75 countries later, they are still going...and still married. Read more…

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  • Suggested Reading

    How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

    How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
    Author: Franklin Foer
    Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.

    Artist\'s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

    Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
    Author: Julia Cameron
    One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.

    Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition

    Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
    Author: Jared Diamond
    An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.

    The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back

    The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
    Author: Bill Shore
    Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.

    Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation

    Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
    Author: John Carlin
    Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.

    Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown

    Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
    Author: Paul Theroux
    The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.

    Outliers: The Story of Success

    Outliers: The Story of Success
    Author: Malcolm Gladwell
    A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.

    Shantaram: A Novel

    Shantaram: A Novel
    Author: Gregory David Roberts
    Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.

Monthly Archive: August 2007

O Brothel, Where Art Thou?

“This is a hotel, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have rooms?”

“Yes. How long would you like the room?”

“For one night.”

Our Gostinitsa“The whole night? You mean until morning?” It was 11:00 P.M. The woman at the desk seemed surprised by Audrey’s response. Continue Reading »

Battle at the Border

Have you ever watched the news and witnessed escaping refugees at a border crossing, crushed against iron bars like animals in a cage? You know the scene. Now superimpose two backpack-laden white faces onto that newsreel, throw in a few cries of “Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan” amongst the shrieks of old women and children being squashed in a sea of madness, and you would just begin to understand what we went through at the Uzbek-Kazakh border yesterday. Continue Reading »

Images from Uzbekistan

Taking advantage of free wireless internet in Tashkent, we’ve decided to conclude our time here by uploading photos from Uzbekistan’s Silk Road.

Tashkent has been the most connected city in Central Asia thus far. Rather ironic considering Uzbekistan’s penchant for blocking internet sites and restricting printed material. Just one of the many contradictions here. Continue Reading »

Tatev, Worth the Climb

Interested in seeing more of the “real” Armenia outside the reaches of Yerevan, we decided to head south to Tatev in the direction of Armenia’s border with Iran. The journey there comes in two parts: a marshrutka (minibus) from Yerevan to Goris (4-5 hours) and a dilapidated 1950s school bus from Goris to Tatev (1.5 hours). Though the trip to Goris was relatively uneventful, we were amazed that the bus to Tatev actually winds and finds its way up hills, across meadows and in and out of a switchback-framed gorge – each and every day in one piece, rain or shine. Continue Reading »

Yerevan – A Symbol of a Newer, Shinier Armenia

The years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union were dramatic and bleak for Yerevan – blackouts, food shortages and a feeling of hopelessness defined a candle-lit existence of scarcity.

Not What I Expected in Yerevan Today, Yerevan appears up and coming. Moments of widespread scarcity are a distant memory, at least in downtown Yerevan where new buildings, cafes, restaurants, and sophisticated store fronts line the city streets. Large SUVs compete with BMWs and Mercedes as kings of the road, while those with Soviet-era Ladas and Volgas keep their cars sparkling clean in order to earn their place on the streets. Continue Reading »

Turkmen Photos Up

Check out our Photo Gallery for photos from Turkmenistan, a fascinating place by any measure. Images tell only half the story – stay tuned for more on the country that dabbled in banning beards, smoking and spandex. Continue Reading »

Blue Eyes, Gold Teeth: The Fabled Land of the Svans

When you get there, you’ll meet the Afghan at the telephone pole.

These instructions given to us in Mestia by the Svaneti Mountaineering Tourism Center left us baffled. Is our mountain guide a member of the Mujahideen who’d lost his way and made his home in the mountains of Georgia? After all, in Svaneti just about anything seems possible. Continue Reading »



Article Series - Svaneti

  1. Svaneti: Why and How To Go
  2. Svaneti, A Mountain Inauguration
  3. Blue Eyes, Gold Teeth: The Fabled Land of the Svans

Svaneti, A Mountain Inauguration

As the first tourists to take advantage of the Svaneti Mountaineering Tourism Center (SMTC), we planned our arrival in the town of Mestia to coincide with the organization’s inaugural party. Because of our exceptionally long ride from Zugdidi to Mestia, we barely arrived in time for the opening speeches, including one which singled us out and unexpectedly turned the local crowd’s attention to us. Continue Reading »



Article Series - Svaneti

  1. Svaneti: Why and How To Go
  2. Svaneti, A Mountain Inauguration
  3. Blue Eyes, Gold Teeth: The Fabled Land of the Svans

Tbilisi, Georgia: A Scavenger Hunt

View of Sioni Cathedral and Narikala Some cities seem to exist in two dimensions, best taken in with a camera from afar. Not Tbilisi. Its turbulent history is a veritable bullet list of invasions, destructions, occupations, and reconstructions. As a result, it tends to reveal itself in layers, both architecturally and culturally. Labyrinthine and tactile, Tbilisi invites visitors to dig into it like urban archaeologists intent on determining its composition and its narrative. Continue Reading »

Georgian Highlights: Akhaltsikhe, Vardzia and Sapara

Sapara Monastery The town of Akhaltsikhe itself doesn’t offer too much excitement for the visitor, but it serves as a jumping off point for Vardzia and Sapara. Continue Reading »



Article Series - Republic of Georgia: Tourist Sights

  1. Around Tbilisi: Jvari, Mtskheta, and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
  2. Bakuriani, Georgia – Highlights, Transport and Accommodation
  3. Borjomi, Georgia – Highlights, Transport and Accommodation
  4. Georgian Highlights: Akhaltsikhe, Vardzia and Sapara
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Articles may be excerpted with attribution, but not reproduced in whole. Photos may not be used without prior permission.