We ended the year with a dream trip to the Caucasus region. These countries sit just north of Iran and Turkey, and south of Russian Chechnya and are nestled between the Black and Caspian Seas.
Many people aren’t too familiar with this area, so here’s a map to give you a better idea:
We heard great things about these countries; the area is an up-and-coming tourist region. Once we secured our visas and air travel, we were on our way!
The Caucasus region is known for its pomegranates. This delicious fruit is deeply loved and engrained in the local cultures.
Our first stop was Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, or The Republic of Georgia. (Not to be confused with the US state…)
Like much of this part of the world, the cityscapes reflect an ancient/modern hybrid.
Pursuing one of our favorite accommodation routes, we booked a flat overlooking the entire city, shelling out about $50 per night.
The food in Georgia was incredible!
Georgia is one of the oldest wine regions in the world. They say they have been cultivating wine for well over 5000 years.
The river and the “Friendship Bridge” separates the city into the old and newer section.
Someone was keeping an eagle eye on us as we strolled…
We found quality babysitters for little Infinity in all three countries. We paid an average of about $3 an hour for highly personalized care.
My wife was born in Ukraine, so she was able to speak with the locals quite well. Although each country speaks its own language, most people still speak Russian as they were once part of the Soviet Union.
Our next stop was Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Baku supplied the world with half of its oil during the early 1900s.
Azerbaijan is the only one of these three countries with a majority Muslim population. It borders Iran.
This country, buoyed by the oil industry, had a plethora of interesting modern buildings and was under constant construction.
The architect’s vision of the finished buildings pictured above.
My favorite building in Baku is actually a trio of skyscrapers called The Flame Towers. Here you can see them rising up in the background.
They are massive and unique.
The Flame Towers can be viewed from almost any part of the city.
Although I thought The Flame Towers were super cool, this building also takes a top spot.
This is The Heydar Aliyev Center and was designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. It houses museums, conference spaces, and far-out architecture.
Everywhere you turn something new is popping up.
Our final stop was Armenia.
A highlight of visiting Armenia, one of the oldest Christian countries, was experiencing the mountaintop monasteries built by kings of ages past.
It was starting to snow as we explored the monasteries, and we had each of them entirely to ourselves.
Besides seeing all the beautiful countries, enjoying the amazing food, and meeting incredible people, being able to spend time with our youngest daughter was definitely a blessing. (Princeton and Zhenya couldn’t make it on this trip.)
The Caucasus is such an underrated travel region — Georgia alone has the wine, the food, the mountains, the old churches… it’s remarkable. Tbilisi’s old town is one of the most atmospheric cities in that part of the world. The landscape is dramatic between the three countries (examples like in here). Great that you did all three in one trip!