Distance: 70km (by ship) Elevation: 0 m Around 7:30 in the morning, a firm knock at the cabin door announced breakfast. We were still docked in Port Alat. Each passenger received a plate with two boiled eggs, a piece of goat cheese, butter, and fig marmalade. On every table there was a large box of … Continue reading Day 33: Alat to Caspian Sea →

Distance: 81km Elevation: 326m Alat: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FEJBvhXE62MthenDA?g_st=ic During my office day, I managed to get out for a walk. The Old City of Baku — officially called Icheri Sheher, which means “Inner City” — is surrounded by a well-preserved medieval city wall. It sits right in the middle of Baku. You can walk there in minutes … Continue reading Day 32: Baku to Alat →

Distance: 37km Elevation: 180m Baku: https://maps.app.goo.gl/T6neU9PyKbFhtZm27?g_st=ic I got up early and ordered an XL taxi to the airport. I was excited. The driver turned out to be from Azerbaijan. A good coincidence. Azerbaijani is a Turkic language, and I could hear the similarities with Turkish straight away. Many words are the same. At the airport, … Continue reading Day 30: Baku Airport to Baku →

Distance: 290km (by car) My host had already laid out a small breakfast in the kitchen hut by the time I got up. The guest house was a cluster of huts around a courtyard. During the night there had been heavy thunderstorms. Very loud. I slept in a little because of that. By nine o’clock … Continue reading Day 29: Yerevan to Tiblisi →

After a delicious breakfast prepared by the host of my little guesthouse, I drove to the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial and Museum on the other side of town. What I saw there was shocking and deeply depressing. The thing that struck me most was this: the Armenian Genocide appeared to follow the same blueprint as what … Continue reading Day 28: Yerevan →