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 »
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 »
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 »
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
- Svaneti: Why and How To Go
- Svaneti, A Mountain Inauguration
- Blue Eyes, Gold Teeth: The Fabled Land of the Svans
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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
- Svaneti: Why and How To Go
- Svaneti, A Mountain Inauguration
- Blue Eyes, Gold Teeth: The Fabled Land of the Svans
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 »
Many Georgians seem to sing the word Borjomi, THE Georgian mineral water and spa town, with a longing in their voices and a hands over their hearts. What we learned is that most people haven’t visited in 20 or 30 years…some things have changed since the time when Borjomi was one of the most famous spa towns in the Soviet Union, a place for the elite to drink the waters and recover from all the drinking, smoking and poor eating the rest of the year. Continue Reading »
- Around Tbilisi: Jvari, Mtskheta, and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
- Bakuriani, Georgia – Highlights, Transport and Accommodation
- Borjomi, Georgia – Highlights, Transport and Accommodation
- Georgian Highlights: Akhaltsikhe, Vardzia and Sapara
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 »
I tell you, the Svanetians are crazy. Their brains are deficient in oxygen.
- A Tbilisi resident describing how the high altitudes of Svaneti have affected its people.
Svaneti, the high Caucasus mountain region in the northwestern corner of Georgia, has a long reputation of fierce independence characterized by the 12th century defensive towers that still dot many of its villages. More recently, Svaneti has been feared as outlaw territory where bandits and escaping terrorists from nearby Abkhazia, Chechnya and Ingushetia took refuge as locals holed up in their homes with guns at the ready. Continue Reading »
Article Series - Svaneti
- Svaneti: Why and How To Go
- Svaneti, A Mountain Inauguration
- Blue Eyes, Gold Teeth: The Fabled Land of the Svans
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