Before this journey, our experience with the disputed regions in the Caucasus - Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh - amounted to a few news articles and flashpoint body-count news tickers drifting across the bottom of our television screens.
Something bad had happened, people had died, but we never truly appreciated or understood the details. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, Georgia, Perspectives by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
2 Comments | 21 September 2007
Searching hopelessly one night for what turned out to be a defunct traditional Armenian restaurant, we inquired with the locals in Yerevan regarding where we could find good traditional Armenian food. “There,” all fingers pointed in the direction of one of the handful of local kebab joints.
We declare - man cannot live on kebabs alone! And anyway, could grilled minced meat wrapped in lavash (flat bread) really represent the breadth of the Armenian table? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Armenia, Caucasus, Food and Markets by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
4 Comments | 7 September 2007
Many of the Armenia’s more popular sites can be enjoyed as day trips from Yerevan, allowing you to get your dose of history and culture during the day while returning for a taste of the cosmopolitan at night. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Armenia, Caucasus, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 7 September 2007
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 »
Filed Under: Armenia, Caucasus, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
4 Comments | 23 August 2007
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.
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 »
Filed Under: Armenia, Caucasus, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
3 Comments | 23 August 2007
Between embassy queues for visas, we’ve been taking advantage of Tashkent’s surprising supply of wifi and internet cafes.
As a result, we finally have some photos to show from Armenia and Azerbaijan, thereby completing our visual tour of the Caucasus. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, Georgia, Photography, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 15 August 2007
