thit_cho

http://tinyurl.com/59rf7n

Since this region is variously considered by different sources to be in Europe (I think Armenia plays in some European football leagues), Asia and even the Middle East, I will cross-post. Even though the countries are not heavily touristed (except perhaps by diaspora Armenians, of whom I met many from Glendale, CA in Yerevan), maybe the photos will be of interest to some considering a trip to the Caucasus, an extremely historic and interesting part of the world.

Due to the lack of interest, I won't post a detailed daily trip report, but I am happy to answer questions, and will provide some short notes.

1. I had initially planned to visit Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, but circumstances conspired to force me to abandon my plans to visit Georgia.

2. I started in Baku, Azerbaijan, and did a day trip to Naxcivan, an Azeri exclave situated between Armenia and Iran. It would be simple to reach Naxcivan overland if the Azeri/Armenia land borders were open, so now Naxcivan can only be reached by air or overland via Iran. For that reason, most visitors fly from Baku (flights are heavily subsidized for locals, and for that reason are oversold and I was only able to get my tickets by coordinating with a "fixer&quot.

3. To get to Yerevan, Armenia from Azerbaijan I had to route via Moscow (I had initially planned to travel via Georgia). If the air corridor was open between Baku and Yerevan the flight would have been less than an hour, but since there are no direct flights, you have to fly via a third country, and Russia is the easiest (although it is in effect equivalent to flying from NY to Boston via Miami).

4. In Armenia, I visited many of its historic sights, focusing on the southern part of the country (I would have visited the northern monasteries if I had been able to travel overland from Georgia, as I had originally planned). So, while Armenia has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, I only visited two.

5. From Yerevan, I also made the long trip (10 hours or so with stops) to Nagorno-Karabackh, and Armenian enclave insider Azerbaijan. So, while N-K is technically part of Azerbaijan, its controlled by Armenia and can only be reached overland from Armenia. A visit to N-K also requires a separate visa (that can be picked up in Stepanakert, the capitol of N-K).

Michael

kleeblatt

Amazing photos! Thanks for sharing!

thursdaysd

Thanks for the info! I have been considering Georgia-Armenia-Azerbaijan as a front-end to a Central Asia trip (possibly taking the ferry from Baku). It sounds like long-distance ground transport is much more difficult than I thought, is this just because of the current Georgia situation? (Sorry about your bad timing!)

What guidebooks did you use to plan your trip? How was local transport - did you take buses, did you use a car and driver, and if so, what did it cost? Did you book directly with your hotels, and do you have any recommendations?

thit_cho

thursdaysd, the Caucausas would be a great start to a visit to Central Asia (its very difficult, though, to get info on the ferry from Baku to Turkmenbashi, but you could probably find it at one of the Baku hostels, like 1,000 camels). I visited Central Asia in May 2007 (I posted these photos http://tinyurl.com/ytyfkw and some info on the Asia branch).

Long distance ground transport would have been much simpler had Georgia been a viable transit country, and once the situation improves, it will be easy to travel from Armenia overland via Georgia to Azerbaijan (note that you cannot visit Azerbaijan if you have evidence of having visited Nagorno-Karabakh, like the visa, but you can ask for the visa to be affixed to a piece of paper, not your passport).

What guidebooks did you use to plan your trip? I mostly used the Lonely Planet, but had also read the Bradt Guide to Armenia. But, I much prefer LP, especially for its substantially better maps and more useful intracountry travel info.

How was local transport - did you take buses, did you use a car and driver, and if so, what did it cost? I only used a car and driver to get from Yerevan to N-K (it was not inexpensive, and there are public minibuses, but they won't stop at the monasteries and other sites). I paid a combined price for Aremenia hotel and transit, so I don't have break out price for transport. I did use local minibuses to get to Garni and some other sites near Yerevan (very cheap and all info is in the Lonely Planet). I met a few other tourists on the minibus to Garni, but mostly I was the only tourist on the local transport.

Did you book directly with your hotels, and do you have any recommendations? I booked Baku hotel directly (Old City Inn) and worked with a travel agent (Sima Tours in PA) to make Armenia arrangements, and they recommended Villa Delanda, which was outstanding (great location, inexpensive, historic building, smart rooms, etc.).

tcreath

Michael, your pictures are fascinating. I always appreciation a diversion from the typcial posts on this forum.

How did you get around? Did you use public transportation?

Thanks for sharing!
Tracy

tcreath

Oops...never mind my questions! I see that you posted in response to thursdays question.

Tracy

thursdaysd

thit_cho - thanks VERY much for the detailed info! As you say, there's precious little about this area here. I figured it would probably be Lonely Planet and/or Bradt for the Caucasus, but thought maybe Odyssey had something. Did you find the language section in LP adequate?

I'll keep your travel agent in mind - I'll likely use Stan Tours for Central Asia, but haven't researched one for the Caucasus yet. Interested to hear that the Baku ferry is still iffy, maybe I should think about flying.

FainaAgain

I've noticed, there are hardly any people in photos, except maybe the market. Was it your choice, or just happened so? What if people would notice you take photos of them?

thit_cho

Faina, I make a concerted effort to take photos without large groups of people -- its just my preference. It takes a bit of work, sometimes photographing early in the morning when a city is quiet, but it allows me to avoid the business of crowds.

Ackislander

I think you underestimate the amount of interest there might be in a more detailed trip report.

I am quite interested in the Caucasus and Central Asia and don't find much about it here or on the Asia board.

Leely2

Cool, Michael. I actually was about to look at these before dinner but then remembered some of the less-appetizing market photos I've seen from you before and decided to put it off. But surprise! no heads here, just melons.

I especially liked some of the churches that seem to be in remote locations. You had great weather and good light for photos, too.

Thanks, very interesting. Next up Borneo?

thit_cho

Thanks, Leely. Borneo is not until December (when I'll visit Guam, Yap, Palau, the Philippines, Malaysian Borneo and Brunei).

A couple of shorter trips before that, maybe most interesting is Mallorca and Andorra in November.

And visiting Zion and Bryce Canyon NPs at the end of this month (of all the places I've visited, southern Utah is perhaps the most naturally spectacular).

Santori

I'm hoping to visit the Ghandsa area, west of Baku. I'm told it's about 7 hours by bus. Does anyone have any suggestions for lodging in that area?