From Tbilisi to Baku

Travel fascinates us and we look forward to visiting newer places from time to time. We, along with two other couples, set off from Bangalore recently to Georgia and Azerbaijan.

We reached Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, via Delhi, where we were met by our driver who also turned out to be our guide. At most locations, you get to see and absorb more by walking, observing, and taking in the views. And so, we walked through the beautiful city of Tbilisi visiting the Tsminda Sameba Cathedral, considered to be the third tallest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in the world; the Narikala , an imposing ancient fortress overlooking Tbilisi; the Mtkvari river; the botanical gardens; and the local markets. This was followed by a walk across the Bridge of Peace across the Mtkvari, a bow-shaped pedestrian bridge made of steel and glass, connecting the Old Town in central Tbilisi. This is brilliantly illuminated with lights and is a grand sight.

The Kartlis Deda, also known as the Mother of Georgia, is another beautiful monument in Tbilisi. The 20-metre-tall figure is of a woman in Georgian national dress. The Mother of Georgia symbolises the Georgian national character. In her left hand, she holds a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, and in her right hand, is a sword for those who come as enemies.

Most capital cities have a city square, and Tbilisi boasts the Freedom Square or Liberty Square. This is a major tourist attraction and is brilliantly illuminated in the evenings, a radiant, golden hue all around. There are several hotels and shops in this area with visitors thronging the place. The Parliament building nearby is another majestically designed structure. We saw several musicians sitting around the Freedom Square singing and playing popular numbers, with decent crowds milling around them, showing their appreciation with many making some donations too. A walk in the evening in central Tbilisi is an enriching experience as you see the beautiful structures, brightly lit shops, and tourists milling around with excited chatter. A festive atmosphere all around and it felt good being there.

View of the Caucasus

We headed north to the border of Russia for a tour of the Caucasus mountains. The Georgian Military Road from Tbilisi to Kazbegi is a magnificent drive with several points of interest along the way. The Zhinvali reservoir is breathtaking with the lake between the mountain ranges, the lush green vegetation on the mountains giving the waters a pleasant green appearance. It just felt surreal being there, being overwhelmed by the pristine natural habitat.

The Ananuri Fortress which houses some churches too has a rich history. The Russia Georgia Friendship Monument near Gadauri is a round stone and concrete structure with seven huge concrete columns that symbolise the seven centuries of friendship between the Georgian and Russian people. Inside the structure, there are vibrantly covered murals depicting the history of these two countries. The view of the mountains and valleys from this place is panoramic.

On the way to Sighnaghi, a popular tourist destination, we visited a large winery where we were offered several types of wine to taste. We were told to first smell the wine and then swirl it over the tongue which is supposed to increase the number of aromatic compounds that are released into the air. We are not sure if we did it right, but we felt nice and light after the third sample. And did not hesitate either to request for another sample or to purchase some wine bottles at the outlet later.

The Bodbe Monastery is a Georgian Orthodox monastery, where the revered St. Nino is buried. According to legend, St. Nino brought Christianity to Georgia. The monastery complex consists of several buildings, including the church, a bell tower, and a spring with water believed to have healing powers. We felt a sense of calm inside the church, as if the tomb and the various pictures inside were silent onlookers, blessing the visitors.

The bottom view of the great wall of Sighnaghi in the Kakheti region in Georgia.
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We also saw the great wall at Sighnaghi which was built in the 18th century and is about four km long and was built as a protection against attack. Our driver-cum-guide was very pleasant, extremely knowledgeable and went into great detail at every location. He also assisted us in understanding the menu at various restaurants and was a wonderful companion all through.

We took a flight from Tbilisi to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, and drove to Gabala, about 225 km away, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains. Beautiful countryside, wonderful views. We checked into our resort and called it a night.

The Tufandag is a ski resort with about 12 km of slopes for both learners and professionals and these slopes are accessed by a network of cable cars. The ride on the cable cars provided spectacular views of the Caucasus mountains. This was followed by a visit to the Nohur Lake, serene and beautiful, with breathtaking views of the mountains. We later proceeded to the Shamaki Alpaca Farm where we could interact with the adorable Alpacas and feed them with the vegetables provided by their keepers. It was wonderful being amidst these gentle Alpacas, stroking and embracing them, and it was endearing that they also posed for pictures with us. We returned to Baku late in the evening and checked into our hotel.

The Baku city tour began with stops at the Museum of Modern Art, the imposing Flame Towers and the lovely Highland Park. The Museum of Modern Art is a spectacular building, an architectural marvel, entirely white in colour. The museum houses work by notable Azerbaijani painters and sculptors as well as masterworks of others too. The museum transports you to another world as it depicts the history of the country with every work and picture displayed artistically and narrated eloquently.

Boulevard walk

Post-lunch, we went for a walk on the lovely Boulevard which also opens into the seafront of the Caspian Sea. We took in a delightful boat ride on a watercourse in Little Venice and finally a Ferris Wheel ride too. This felt good, and being amid squealing children and excited fellow tourists, made our hearts younger as we walked with a spring in our steps and ice-cream in our hands too.

The buildings and structures in Baku are simply awesome and the newer ones are built using the local lime stone giving these structures a regal, golden look. The new city is beautifully planned with wide roads, parks, elegant office buildings, imposing government buildings, awesome museums, apartments, hotels, and restaurants. The city was preparing to host the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 Formula 1 car racing event which is held on the roads of the city. There are several places earmarked with fixed seating arrangements for car racing enthusiasts to watch the event. We could feel the excitement and fervour palpable among the people who were looking forward to this race.

The Nizami Street in Baku.
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The Nizami Street is yet another grand avenue with shops, restaurants, a great place to simply go strolling and is beautifully illuminated in the evenings.

“Ayran” is a refreshing yogurt-based drink combining water and salt, equivalent to our buttermilk, and is available in most restaurants and in shops too. This was our go-to drink during the day. “Plov” is a dish baked whole with spices and rice and with accompaniments served separately. This is akin to our dum biriyani. The Plov was served as a single dish with the waiter lighting a flame on the top of the bread and then neatly cutting the bread all around the dish which contained the aromatic biriyani rice. We could not wait to tuck into this amazing dish and ended up packing the leftovers for dinner.

The famous rock petroglyphs are in Gobustan. It has thousands of rock engravings spread over 100 square km depicting hunting scenes, people, ships, constellations, and animals. Gobustan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was followed by a visit to the mud volcanoes. The road to the mud volcano site was bad and all visitors were using Lada cars for this short journey. The Lada is the local name for the remodelled Fiat cars and are used for travelling on bad roads. We enjoyed this drive and it was amazing how the experienced driver and the car negotiated the various humps and craters on the road, each time landing smoothly. The car was being driven at considerable speed and we were holding on to dear lives, and when we finally got out of the car, we were mighty relieved that there were no back pain or aches and all bones were intact. The mud volcanoes, considered one of the world’s most unique natural phenomenon, are known for their bubbling mud, and sometimes seem ready to erupt. We witnessed a small, new mud volcano bubbling and it was such a beautiful sight.

The Ateshgah Fire Temple in Baku.
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After a quick lunch, we went to the Ateshgah Fire Temple which was used as a Hindu, Sikh and Zoroastrian place of worship. There were idols and pictures of Hindu deities and inscriptions. Our last leg of the tour was a visit to Yanardag the burning mountain. This place has natural gas which blazes continuously alongside the edge of the hill and is a spectacular sight.

With breakfast at the hotels normally being continental with breads, fruits and pastries and lunch on the move, we could not wait for dinner when we visited the Indian restaurants for some hot white rice, dal fry and other dishes. There are several Indian restaurants at both Tbilisi and Baku, with catchy names, and all of them are packed most of the time. It felt wonderful conversing with the staff there and listening to their stories and aspirations.

The next day as we boarded our return flight to Bangalore, it was with a deep sense of gratitude to mother nature for such beautiful countryside, mountains, lakes and natural phenomena in both Georgia and Azerbaijan; with modern development coexisting peacefully with heritage and civilisation; friendly people, great cuisine.

gopinath.venkataram@gmail.com