Author Archives: Björn

Baku at Night

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After a day of sightseeing, we were hungry, so made our way to a restaurant quickly. After dinner we ended up in a cafe for tea, baklava and hookah (for those, who wanted – not for me though), afterwards some of us wanted to proceed for a drink with a view.

We somehow assumed, the flame towers would be a good place to do so (is there a better building for a rooftop bar?), so we made our way through town to the funicular, got on the last train of the day and eventually made it into Highland Park. We had another walk over to the viewing platform for some nighttime views of town. From here it was back to the flame towers, where – to our surprise – we ran into a construction site with two of the three towers closed off and parts of the third tower also not finished. Well – needless to say, there was no such thing as a sky or rooftop bar here. We ended up heading back towards the old town and finally found a good option there … directly looking at the flame towers.

Land of Fire

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We were picked up by our bus at the end of the city tour, now leaving the city and heading East further out on the Absheron peninsula.

Our first stop was at the Ateshgah Zoroastrian Fire Temple (Atəşgah Zərdüşt Od Məbədi). While the area itself has been a place of worship since the 7th century, the buildings, we were looking at here, only date back to the 17th and 18th century. While now “sold” as Zoroastrian temple, it indeed has been a place of worship also for Hindus and Sikhs. The fire originally was fed through natural gas seeping through, today however it is coming in via pipe.

From the fire temple we continued to Yanar Dag (Yanardağ), the site of the burning mountain. Natural gas is seeping through a porous sandstone layer, the gas got eventually lit (with many stories around how and when) and is burning ever since. While impressive in itself, it also tells loads about the vast amount of energy, that Azerbaijan is literally sitting on – – clearly they have reason, to consider themselves as the Land of Fire.

Baku – first Impressions

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We made it into Baku in the late afternoon. After some time, to freshen up (or an attempt in getting opera tickets), we left the hotel again – for some first exploration of town.

We made the short walk over to the gate into the old town, to then head into the direction of the waterfront. There were obviously some VIPs in the area, some of the narrow streets and pathways in the old town were essentially blocked off and we had to find ways around – – though eventually we made it out of old town and down to the waterfront and promenade. We were first heading towards the Ferris Wheel, passing by the massive flag pole (of course with flag – and once upon a time the world’s biggest … well until Tajikistan came out with theirs), Baku’s little Venice (perfect for kitsch-lovers) and the carpet museum. We eventually hit a major construction site, where we turned around now heading back along the waterfront.

We soon left the waterfront and were now looking at the modern shopping area up to fountain square, where we also ended up having dinner.

Sheki to Baku

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We left Sheki in the not-too-early morning. A drive of about 300km and a good four hours transport time was ahead of us, making our way to Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital and our final stop on this trip.

After a good 80 minutes the bus was already pulling into a parking lot – and we got off for a break at Nohur Lake. All the essentials were available – from a clean toilet to coffee, tea, pomegranate juice and ice cream – as well as nice (albeit somewhat empty) surroundings.

Another good one and a half hours later we arrived in Shamakhi (Şamaxı), where we went right to the Jummah (Friday) Mosque. The mosque dates back to the 8th century, however was constantly reconstructed over the centuries, as wars, earthquakes or fires destroyed it, with the latest reconstruction happening in a fairly modern interpretation from 2009 until 2013.

We continued to a nearby cemetery, to see the Yeddi Gumbaz Mausoleum (Yeddigünbəz türbələr kompleksi), a group of mausoleums dating back to the early 19th century and originally built for the family of the last khan of Shamakhi.

We had a further stop en-route for lunch (warm beers anyone?), to then continue our trip (another good hour) for Baku.

Into Azerbaijan

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The process at the border was similar to the border crossing between Armenia and Georgia. We were dropped off at the Georgian side of the border, did our good-byes to the bus and the bus driver, took our luggage and made it through the Georgian exit procedure. Similar to the last border crossing, we now had to walk a bit, to get to the Azerbaijan border post, to enter the country and get through customs.

With the Karabakh situation unresolved, the relationship between both Armenia and Azerbaijan is anything but good. When the immigration officer saw that we had been to Armenia earlier on the trip, we were immediately questioned on what we had done there and where we had visited. Customs was interesting as well, as Armenian products are not allowed in Azerbaijan … so any souvenirs (or other products) from Armenia had to be handed over (we did know that in advance, so simply hadn’t brought any).

Otherwise the border crossing was a quick and smooth affair – on the Azerbaijan side we did our final good-byes to our Georgian guide, to then welcome our new guide, bus driver and a (BIG) bus. A trip of about two hours got us to Sheki.

Final Impressions of Georgia

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Today our time in Georgia had come to an end. Though – before making it to the border, to leave the country, we still had some highlights ahead of us.

From Kvareli we made it to Gremi, a 16th citadel and the Church of the Archangels. We had a look around the complex – though (today being Sunday) with a service in progress quickly resorted to enjoying the views over the valley from the citadel’s outer walls.

A short drive got us to the city of Telavis, where we had a stop at the market for a chance to get rid of the last laris – either by buying some last minute souvenirs or by simply exchanging them back to Euros.

I had given up my Georgian money to the last tetri by the time, we were back on the bus and moving on to Alaverdi Monastery (ალავერდის მონასტერი).

This still active monastery, complete with fortress-style walls, dates back to the sixth century, though the current structures were only built in the eleventh century. We had the usual walk around the grounds, though had to skip a detailed tour inside the church, as (once more – it still being Sunday) a service was in progress.

In Kvareli a final Georgian lunch was waiting for us – before we continued to the border.

More Wine …

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Kvareli (ყვარელი) was the destination for the day.

After some rest in the hotel we made it over to the local winery for a tour of the winery and an overview of the process – especially the production process for kvevri wine. Of course the visit did culminate in a tasting, where we were presented a few locally produced wines (including kvevri and Western-style ones).

Around Sighnaghi

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We left Tbilisi behind today and continued our trip, now heading for the Kakheti region, Georgia’s main wine region.

The first stop of the day was at the Convent of St. Nino at Bodbe. The convent goes back to the ninth century, though there have been significant changes over the centuries. Today it is a main pilgrimage site in Georgio, due to the relics of St.Nino – Georgia’s national saint – being enshrined here. The convent today is a working nunnery.

Given its significance, the convent was full of tourists and pilgrims. I decided against joining the queue, to see the relics of St.Nino – and instead enjoyed a less spiritual coffee in the cafe next to the convent.

A quick ten minute drive (plus time at a viewpoint) got us into the town of Sighnaghi (სიღნაღი). The town is situated on a hill overlooking the Alazani valley, offering nice views, a nice pedestrian area, some interesting shops and a small market.

Sighnaghi also sits in the middle of wine country, so there are also wine shops and wine bars around … and as we had some time to spend, some of us ended up in one of the wine bars for a bit of a tasting.

In Georgia wine traditionally is produced the kvevri way, which means that the fermentation takes place in a buried and sealed kind of amphora (i.e. the kvevri). Given the process Kvevri wines tend to be harsher and heavier in tannin, they also may have a more distinct color (e.g. white kvevri wines often have a yellow or golden color). Today Georgian wineries typically produce kvevri-style, but also the Western way (i.e. steel tanks, casks).

Well – we were at winery – Pheasant’s Tears Winery – that is specialized in kvevri wines, so had an interesting tasting of some delicious wines.