Alive and well in Nackchivan…

Aaaand, I’m back! I may not have blogged about North Korea or Bali (polar opposites!) yet, but I’m getting back on the wagon with my latest trip to the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia) with my Mum. Why those countries most people ask? (some even ask where are they?!) Mum and I visited Uzbekistan in 2007 then Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2010. So we wanted to do another ‘Stan trip – though really it’s a ‘Jan… (or a 'Van)!

Mum surprised me on the flight over to Baku (via Singapore and Istanbul). She doesn’t normally drink, but I heard the flight attendant ask her whether or not she wanted ice in her “Johnny Walker” to which she confidently replied “no ice”. Well, after 72 years, you never know whether she wants to branch out and start drinking the hard stuff. Good on her I thought. But then once she was handed her stiff drink she gasped in horror thinking she had ordered tonic water! Ha.

 

After around 36 hours of flying and transit and only a few hours sleep in Baku, we set off back to the airport for our Azerbaijan Airlines flight to Nackchivan. I’d given this 2 day side trip to Mum for her Christmas present last year, making up a fake boarding pass and writing ‘in-flight entertainment’ on a miniature pack of cards for us to play given we didn’t think there’d be any. Nonetheless the flight was pretty good and fairly quick.

We nearly had to stay here for more than the 2 days we’d planned as our return flight hadn’t been booked and it was school holidays and hence an extremely popular time of year for the locals to travel back and forth. “Probleme” we overheard our guide, Hasan, say on his mobile, but fortunately, as it turns out he had the right connections and booked us on the one we wanted.

Secure in the knowledge we’d be able to return to Baku, we started our private tour. Hasan explained how in the 90s, Russia joined forces with the Armenians and cut off Nackchivan from the rest of Azerbaijan by enabling them to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh – the region in between. During this time, they had no electricity and had to cut down most of the trees there to heat their houses in winter. He pointed out a few saplings recently planted. Along with no electricity, there was no infrastructure and there were no factories. Food was flown in from Baku and heavily rationed. People had to queue for everything. They had money, they just couldn’t buy anything with it. In 1992, this changed as they began to trade with Turkey then Iran.

 

We soon discovered road rules are crazy here and in the whole of the Caucasus for that matter! No-one sticks to their lanes. On one road, a truck was driving towards us on our side, so we simply switched to the other (wrong) side to avoid it.

Our first stop was Daridagh, an arsenic sulphur hot spring in the Julfa region.

 

The sulphur smell permeated the air and hot sulphurous water was flowing down a pipe that funnelled into a thermal pool. We were shown the hot pool where you were only allowed to spend 15 minutes maximum and only if your blood pressure was normal. I couldn’t resist the temptation to experience arsenic sulphurous water. Call me crazy. But then if you’ve been following my African adventures and/or know me well then you won’t be surprised.

The doctor took my blood pressure and made a worried noise but then laughed and ushered me though – a funny joke perhaps?! I was told “Do not swim!” otherwise I would overheat, was given a towel and had to strip down to my undies. A woman and her daughter were already in there. I waded around – did not swim – and found a layer of sulphur coating the edges. From what I could tell you’re supposed to let the sulphurous water from the pipe run over your shoulder and scoop it over yourself from a bucket to rinse off after your 15 minutes is up. Apparently it’s also good to swish it around in your mouth and spit it back into the pool you’re sharing with others. Lovely! I didn’t really think swishing arsenic around in my mouth was a good idea, so I abstained from that activity.

Another lady joined with her daughter and another one after that. They were very curious as to my presence and I believe they were wondering what my “probleme” was from their use of the word multiple times and multiple gestures in my direction. I’m convinced it was an accident but one woman sat by me and her fingers interlaced with mine. Eeek! I quickly retracted my hand and waded away. My 15 minutes was up soon enough anyway and I was keen to get out! My face was bright red for at least the next half hour. Well that certainly was a cultural experience.

Our trip also included:

·        a mosque where the Imam was very curious about Catholicism and asked us all about it in spite of us not being Catholic

·        a cave with 500 steps at the bottom of which was a mosque where a local woman was singing, which echoed beautifully

·        Yusif Ibn Kuseyir’s tomb from the 12^th century

·       Came mosque

 

 

·       the Momina Khatun monument built in 1186 where one pillar in the middle of the burial chamber underneath supports the entire monument

 

·        the open air museum which contained many rams used for burials, symbolising strength

·        Prophet Noah’s grave monument

 

 

·       Nackchivan City Citadel; and

 

·        Garabaghlar village with Jahan Kudi Khatun mausoleum where I picked up 10 pieces of litter – mostly plastic and glass bottles. The caretaker let me sit on his horse – though my leg got stuck whilst mounting it as I forgot I was wearing a skirt!

 

 

Another highlight was the Duzdagh salt mine cave, used as a physiotherapy treatment centre. It was cool inside and I was amazed by the amount of salt lying on the ground. The smell was vomit-inducing until you get used to it, though apparently it helps to relieve asthma. We were shown rooms with beds where people sleep at night surrounded by the salt – as well as multi-plugs so you can charge up all your devices. Snoring could be heard from one of the halls.

The Azeri food was good but perhaps our favourite thing was “compote”, bottled cherry juice complete with over 30 or so cherries in each bottle.

We soon developed an embarrassing habit of drinking the cherry juice then tipping out all the cherries onto a plate and either eating them with slightly sour yoghurt or eating them on their own. Dill features quite strongly on the menu as do tomatoes, cucumbers, and huge plates of herbs that you’re just meant to stuff into your mouth. I’m still not so sure about ‘Ayran’, yoghurt and water.

But I am fond of Nackchivan draft beer accompanied by ‘pendir’, smoky stringy cheese.

My favourite place in Nackchivan, which we ended up visiting twice, was a hammam that had been converted into a teahouse. Hasan introduced us to the Azeri way of drinking tea – placing a sugar cube behind your teeth and slowly sipping your tea through it. Repeat with each glass. I found myself having so much sugar due to the copious amounts of tea I was drinking.