AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA & ARMENIA
My July 2023 holiday
CONTENTS
I am about to go on a holiday to the Caucasus with the company Voyages Jules Verne [click here]. I will be away two and half weeks and, in that time, I will visit three countries - two of them for the first time - which will bring the total number of countries that I have visited to 88.
The Caucasus is a region between the Black Sea on the west and the Caspian Sea on the east, mainly comprising Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and parts of southern Russia. The area is regarded geographically as where Eastern Europe meets Western Asia and historically as where Christianity meets Islam.
The origin of the name Caucasus goes back to Pliny the Elder who, in his book "Natural History" (77-79 AD) derived the term from a Scythian name Croucasis which supposedly means 'shimmering with snow'.
Around two centuries ago, starting with the Treaty of Geogievsk in 1783, the region gradually came under Russian control. A significant number of Armenians remained in the Ottoman Empire, however, until in 1915 they were expelled in a process lasting until 1922, widely regarded as a genocide of some 1.5 million.
The three Caucasian countries escaped Russian control when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. In the run up to and shortly after this independence, there were bitter ethnic conflicts in the region.
In Georgia, the areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away with Russian assistance. In 2008, Georgia attempted to take back control of South Ossetia by military force which proved disastrous as Russian forces took full control of this break-away territory plus the other break-away territory Abkhazia.
Violence and ethnic cleansing in Armenia and Azerbaijan led to a civil war between 1990-1994 in which control of the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh was at the heart of the conflict and Karabakh Armenia forces were the victors. Some 40,000 lives were lost and around one million were displaced.
A second war of six weeks in 2020 saw Azerbaijan retaking much of the break-away region from Armenian control but more than 6,600 died. The latest flare-ups were as recently as September 2022 when around 100 troops were killed and April 2023 when another seven soldiers died.
Nagorno-Karabakh - an area of about 150,000 people - has a majority Armenian population but geographically the region is totally surrounded by Azerbaijan and it is recognised internationally as Azerbaijan's territory. In conflicts over the region, Armenia has the support of Russia, while Azerbaijan has the backing of Turkey.
The basic Jules Verne trip to the Caucasus covers simply Georgia and Armenia, but three of us have signed up for the Azerbaijan extension. This starts with a two hour flight from London to Warsaw followed by a flight of approaching four hours from Warsaw to Baku. Since we left Heathrow in early evening and both flights were late and the Caucasus are three hours ahead of the UK, we landed at Baku at 5.30 am and checked into the Radisson Hotel towards 7 am.
Azerbaijan is the largest of the three countries making up the Caucasus, but it is still only a little larger than Scotland. It is also the most populous nation in the region with a population of 10.4M which is around three times that of Armenia or Georgia. There is an exclave called Nakhchivan with half a million living there. The people are overwhelmingly but nominally Muslim. The currency is the Manat which is roughly two to the pound.
The presence of natural gas and volcanoes gives Azerbaijan the name 'Land of Fire', while the country derives its wealth from oil. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party has been in power since 1993. It has been accused of an authoritarian approach under the leadership of both Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev and the country has a deteriorating human rights record, including increasing restrictions on civil liberties, particularly on press freedom and political repression.
There was little time for rest because our guide for Azerbaijan started his city tour of Baku at 10.30 am, the temperature was 34C, and we were not back at the hotel until 5 pm. Our guide is Elvin Alimuradov who has never left his own country, but has an excellent command of English as well as a prodigious knowledge of his country. His older brother was a commander in the Azerbaijan army who died in the 2020 war with Armenia. On our first day in the country, already we learned so much and saw so much.
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. The name is Persian and means 'house of wind'. It is the only metropolis in the country and Baku proper has about 2 million inhabitants, while a quarter of the nation's population lives in the wider Baku area. The city is 28 metres (92 feet) below sea level, making it the lowest-lying capital in the world (the highest capital city is La Paz in Bolivia which I have visited).
The city is located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea and is a mixture of the ancient (the Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage site) and the ultra-modern (oil money has fuelled the creation of some spectacular new buildings).
Our walking tour started with a view of the three iconic Flame Towers which were completed in 2012 and rise between 28 and 33 storeys. Then we strolled through an area known as Martyrs Alley which commemorates the dead Turks who defended the country against Armenians in 1918, the Azerbaijanis who died in 1990 protests for independence from Russia, and all those who were killed in the recent wars with Armenia. From the Highland Park, we had excellent views of the city hugging the Caspian Sea.
Next we went down to the Old City where we spent time in the Museum of Miniature Books, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs (the ruling dynasty for almost a millennium in the Middle Ages), and the Maiden's Tower (we climbed the 125 stone steps), as well as observing the cobbled streets, old architecture and new shops, before finally stopping for lunch in a place called "Fisincan" in Fountain Square.
It was a wonderful introduction to a city which surprised us but it was unseasonably hot at 34C. We had been out for over six hours. In the evening, I walked down to the promenade to see the illumination of the Flame Towers in three sequences, one of which is actually representation of flames.
Our second day in Baku involved a further walking tour with a prolonged visit to a museum. Among the sites we saw were the building which housed the brief democratic government of 1918-1920 and the large statue of Nizami who was a revered 12th century Muslim poet. Our museum visit was supposed be to the Historical Museum but it was closed because of a visit by a foreign dignitary.
Instead we went to the Heydar Aliyev Center [click here], named after the former president who is revered by many in the country - including our guide Elvin - for his leadership of the nation after its post-Soviet independence, but criticised by many outside the country for his undermining of human rights and creation of a dynasty.
A significant part of the museum sets out details of his life and achievements. The rest of the museum is an eclectic collection of archaeological items, musical instruments, models of city buildings, magnificent carpets, brilliantly designed dolls, and various sculptures and works of art.
The building itself is stunning in its innovative design of white swirling shapes. It was designed by Iraqi-British Zaha Hamid and built between 2007-2012. On its slopes, there is an 'I love Baku' sign which makes for a souvenir photo.
As yesterday, following the tour, we returned to the Fountain Square area for lunch. This time, we ate at a place called "Firuza" before strolling back to the hotel. It was an even hotter day: 36C. It had been an even longer day: we had been out over eight hours. But again we had the evening free to relax and recuperate.
After two days in Baku, we spent a day in the Absheron Peninsula which stretches north and east from Baku. The name means 'salty water'. As a change from the city, we visited three very different locations.
First, we went to the village of Mardakan, a name which translates as 'place of brave people'. Here there is a 22 metre square-plan tower. Some sources claim that this defensive structure was first built in the 12th century but it has had two 20th century restorations. Recent neglect means that it is unsafe to climb the inside, but we were able to take external steps to the top of the tower. The village has a small 14th century mosque. This is no longer in use for worship but we could have a look inside.
Second, we drove to a place called Suraxani which is the location of the 18th century Atashgah fire temple. Apparently, this is one of only three such structures - the others are in Iran and India - which commemorate the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism that flourished from 15th-16th century BC. In Soviet times, the complex was a kerosene factory but, at the time of our visit, there were masses of school children noisily thronging the place as our guide Elvin tried to explain to us the finer points of Zoroastrian beliefs and practices.
Third, we called on a phenomenon called Yanar Dag which translates as 'fire mountain'. This is certainly an unusual location where methane gas emerges from the earth and is continuously on fire. But it is rather oversold: there is no mountain but simply a 10-metre long strip of rocks in a raised gully. Some say that the flames have gone unquenched for millennia and our guide was certain that they have been burning for centuries.
Once again, the British trio concluded the day with a late lunch in Baku's Fountain Square, this time in an establishment called "Cafe City". We were back at our hotel having been out over seven hours, but it had been an easier day because the temperature was lower (29C) and there was a breeze.
Our fourth day in Azerbaijan was a mixture of out of Baku locations and a couple of Baku museums. Again the temperature was not excessive (28C) with a cooling wind.
First, we drove due south to Gobustan. This is the site of a wonderful collection of petroglyphs which has received UNESCO World Heritage status. Before viewing the petroglyphs, though, we visited an excellent museum which provides a good deal of useful context. Walking round the petroglyphs themselves was much aided by having our guide with us because he knew exactly what each scene represented and could point out the figures and animals with his laser.
I have seen petroglyphs before on a recent visit to Namibia, but these were better presented.
A short drive away was Dasgil Hill where we were treated to the sight of so-called mud volcanoes. This is not quite as dramatic as it sounds: there are around ten hillocks with tops about the size of a bicycle wheel that gurgle gas through cold, thick mud. Since there has been no rain for months, activity was undramatic, but the whole setting has a weird, other-planet type feeling.
It reminded me a little of the geysers that I saw in New Zealand and Iceland.
We returned to Baku to see the site of the world's first industrially drilled oil well (1846) and to have a quick lunch at a place called "Turco Burrito".
Then we went to see the Historical Museum that we had been unable to visit on Sunday morning. This is located in the former home of a man unknown to most foreigners but revered by Azerbaijanis as 'the Father of the Nation': Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. He was an incredibly rich oil baron and philanthropist who lived from 1838-1924 and lived in this building from 1895-1920.
In fact, the only part of this building currently open to the public is the section where Taghiyev himself lived which is splendidly ornate.
The tour for the day was now over, but the three of us decided that we would like to see the Carpet Museum which, since 2014, has been housed in a striking building shaped like a rolled up carpet. We walked back to the hotel, a half-hour stroll past an area known as Little Venice and along the pleasant promenade.
So far on this holiday, only breakfasts have been included in the package but, for our final evening in Baku, we were taken to a huge establishment called "Sirvansah Muzey-Restoran" which was once a 19th century bathhouse and is now almost as much an ethnographic museum as a restaurant serving classic Azerbaijani food and offering traditional Azerbaijani music and dancing.
Our fifth day in Azerbaijan was largely a travelling day, positioning us to enter Georgia tomorrow. So we travelled north-west from Baku to Sheki, a journey of 300 km (almost 200 miles) in pleasant weather. There was one major and two minor stops during a day of green countryside and our first view of the Caucasus.
The main halt was at Shamakhy to see the Juma Mosque. The location dates back to 743, but it was seriously damaged in the earthquakes of 1859 and 1902. Then, in 1918, Armenians set the place on fire. It was extensively restored between 2010-2013. A distinguishing feature is an unusually large mihrab (the niche facing Mecca).
Later we had a couple of refreshments stops: one at a winery called "Abqora" for coffee and the other in a wooded district called Vandam for an open air lunch of a local savoury pancake.
Sheki is a very historic town that was once the royal capital and, at its peak, it housed five caravanserai. The Soviets destroyed the khanate's Winter Place, but the gorgeously ornate Summer Palace of 1762 survives and indeed today is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This palace was the most beautiful place that we visited in our time in Azerbaijan, but annoyingly and inexplicably photographs of the interior are prohibited. I did lodge a protest on a government website but I received no response.
Afterwards we viewed the remaining caravanserai which is now largely a hotel.
We reached our hotel in Sheki, the Macara, eight hours after we left our hotel in Baku but, after just half an hour to unwind, we went out for dinner at a popular place called "Calabi Xan" where it was still warm enough to eat outside.
It was a second consecutive travelling day because our holiday moved from Azerbaijan to Georgia. Leaving our hotel in Sheki at 8 am, it was a two hour drive to the border crossing at Postbina. We had to carry our luggage up a long passageway to the Azerbaijan crossing and then down a similar length passage to the Georgian crossing, but it was quickly done and we were in a new country. In fact, this was the one nation in the three on our holiday that I had visited before: I was here in 2017.
Georgia is a bit smaller than Scotland. The population is only 3.7M which is a little larger than that of Wales and a third of them live in the capital. The people are overwhelmingly Christian. But ethnically Georgia is more diverse than the other two countries in the region: some 11% are Armenians or Azerbaijanis. The currency is the Lari which is a bit over three to the pound.
One of Georgia's greatest claims to fame is that it has been growing wine for 8,000 years, so the country insists that it is the birthplace of the drink. Georgia has a particularly interesting modern history since, from 1918-1921, it had a popular and successful social democrat government. This experience is well-described in "The Experiment" written by my good friend Eric Lee [for my review, click here].
Following its new occasion of independence, Soviet-era Eduardo Shevardnadze was overthrown in a peaceful Rose Revolution of 2003. The new President Mikheil Saakashvili was initially popular but fell from favour with his disastrous attempt to retake South Ossetia in 2008. The Saakashvili era came to an end with the victory of the rival Georgian Dream coalition in the elections of 2012 and 2013. However, the government has increased control over the media and the judiciary and it is positioning itself as closer to Russia.
Once in Georgia, we met our guide Nik and we were immediately off visiting cultural sites. First was the nearby Nekresi Monastery. This is set on a hill which can only be mounted comfortably by a special bus. The location and the interiors are really atmospheric. Then we drove the short distance to the Gremi Fortress. Inside this citadel is the Church of the Archangels which was built in 1655.
It was now 31C and we were ready for refreshment. Lunch was in the town of Tevali where we sat outside at a restaurant called "Kapiloni". The afternoon journey to the capital Tbilisi should have taken two hours, but the shorter and more scenic route was closed during the day for repairs and the longer and less scenic route took a full three hours.
The Voyages Jules Verne group for the main tour was not due in Tbilisi until the early hours of next morning, so we three now had the evening and following morning free.
The capital of Georgia is Tblisi - the name means 'the place of warm springs' - which has a population of about 1.5 million, that is 40% of the country’s entire population. The city lines the banks of the Mtkvari River.
Since the main VJV group was recovering from an overnight flight, I spent two and a half hours on a sunny morning wandering round the south side of the river, exploring mainly the Old City. It is utterly unlike the clean and modern Baku: the Old City is a rambling mixture of charm and mess with lots of graffiti and a great deal of renovation still to be done. As I was here in 2017, I knew my way around.
At 2 pm, all the group members - now 14 - convened in the hotel lobby for a quick briefing by our guide Nick before we drove in a coach to the National History Museum. I was here in 2017 and now, as then, I concentrated on the section covering the Soviet occupation of 1920-1991. The total number of victims is claimed to be approximately 400,000 killed in the Second World War, 400,000 deported (most of whom were eventually shot), and around 80,000 who were summarily shot.
After almost an hour and a half at the museum, we spent another near two and a half hours walking around looking at sights and stopping for refreshments which was the first chance for all of us to talk to one another.
After two nights in Tblisi, we were out of the capital for a night (we will return to Tbilisi for another two nights). It was very much a church day as we visited no less than four such locations.
First, we travelled north to the town of Mtskheta where two rivers join for a scenic location. The town has been known as the spiritual heart of Georgia since Christianity came to the country about 327. On the hill above the town, there is the 6th century Jvari Church. In the town itself, there is the 11th century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral where King Erekle II is buried.
Then we drove further north to Ananuri where we had time in the 17th century Church of the Annunciation which overlooks the Zhinvali Reservoir. After some lunch nearby, we ploughed on northwards on the Georgian Military Highway, over the Jvari Pass, and down into the Tergi Valley. At our highest, we were 2,400 metres (which is almost 8,000 feet).
When we reached the town of Stepantsminda (formerly called Kazbegi), we had to transfer to four-wheel drive vehicles to reach the 14th century Tsminda Sameba Church which is located at a height of 2,200 metres (over 7,000 feet). Unfortunately the site was blanketed by black clouds and there was a splattering of rain. Furthermore, one is not allowed to take photographs inside the church.
So the visit was literally something of a washout. But we were told that there will be thunderstorms in the next two days which will make the road to Stepantsminda unusable, so I guess we were lucky.
The day was not quite over and it was something of a relief that we did not have another church on the programme. Instead, down in Stepantsminda, we called into a private home to receive instruction in how to make (and eat) Georgian dumplings called khinkali and consume a Georgian spirit called pirali.
Our accommodation for the night was a resort hotel situated somewhere between nowhere and anywhere close to the border with the North Ossetia region of Russia.
Next day was a long one with a lot of travel, but the weather was milder. We set off at 9 am and travelled south on the same winding road that had brought us to this part of the country yesterday. At first, the mountain tops were capped with white clouds and the hillsides were bright green but, as we descended further south, the terrain became flatter and browner.
Our guide Nik continued his mini lectures about different aspects of Georgia with microphone sessions on education, welfare and politics. It was noticeable how sympathetic he was to the Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili who served as president from 2004-2013. Our destination was the city of Gori which we reached at 1.20 pm. Time for a much-desired lunch.
Gori's claim to infamy is that it was the birthplace of Communist revolutionary and Soviet leader Stalin. In the war of 2008 between Russia and Georgia over the territory of South Ossetia, the Russians actually occupied Gori for nine days.
The city houses the Stalin Museum [click here] which was built in 1957 and I went to it in 2017. This time, we had a museum guide who spoke very fast in very accented English and who, like the museum itself, had little to say about the atrocities committed by Stalin. In fact now, as in 2017, only two small rooms tucked away from the main displays mention the purges and gulags. Outside this bizarre celebration of 20th century dictatorship is Stalin's childhood home and his wartime train.
Just to the east of Gori is Uplistsikhe which, between the 6th century BC and 1st century AD, was an enormous cave city that, at its peak, housed 20,000. Not everyone in the group could manage the steep and uneven climb to the top where our guide regaled us with lots of ancient history. The trouble with history is that it's one damn thing after another!
After a night away from Tbilisi, we were back for two more nights in the same hotel (the Mercure) which we only reached at 7.40 pm - almost 10 hours after we left our previous accommodation.
It was a slower day with less travelling but still quite a long day. Again the weather was milder with a maximum of 28C. We left Tbilisi and spent the day in the eastern region of Kakheti which is Georgia's premier wine-growing area.
First, we visited the Tsminda Nino Monastery where the female Saint Nino is buried but no photographs are allowed. Then we spent all afternoon in Sighnaghi which many regard as the most attractive town in the country. I went there in 2017 and I was very happy to return.
The town is perched on a hilltop overlooking the vast Alazni valley with some glorious views. Much of the town’s architecture is 18th and 19th century with many attractive balconies. We had a multi-course lunch with wine at a place called "Pinch Of Salt" before visiting a small winery called "Mtevani" which involved more consumption of local wine.
Since the town is located in the far east of Georgia, quite close to Azerbaijan, getting there and back with toilet stops and having a several hours there meant that we were not back at the hotel until 6.20 pm.
These days, one of the challenges of travelling abroad is the charging of one’s electronic and electrical apparatus. I travel with an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple watch plus electrical shaver and toothbrush and sometimes it is a struggle to keep everything fully charged.
Today, for some reason, I could not charge my iPhone in my room and had to seek the help of the young female receptionists. But this meant that I made two new Georgian friends: Tako and Mariam. They charged my mobile while I taught them some English phrases and palindromes. We will now keep in touch via Facebook and my Thought For The Week.
The tour moved on to Armenia, the third and last country of the holiday and the 88th nation that I have visited.
Armenia is the smallest of the three countries in the Caucasus. It is just under half the size of the other two nations. With just 3M people, it is also the least populated nation in the region, but only a little less than Georgia. However, proportionately Armenians have a huge diaspora with three or four times as many living outside the country as inside.
Like Georgia, the people are overwhelmingly Christian. Indeed the country has over 50 medieval monasteries. The currency is the Dram which is about 500 to the pound.
In 2018, the country had a 'Velvet Revolution' when it overthrew the decade-long rule of Serzh Sargsyan, shortly after he had become prime minister for a second time. However, the country is probably the one in the region with the most economic challenges as it faces low growth, unemployment and poverty plus the constant tension with neighbouring Azerbaijan.
Leaving Tibilisi at 9am, we were at the border in just over an hour and then it took another hour to complete border formalities in both Georgia and Armenia. The three of us who had been in Azerbaijan were questioned especially about why we had been in 'enemy' territory.
Our Armenian guide was Garick who, compared to our guides in Azerbaijan and Georgia, was much less cheerful and much less proficient in English but, of course, immensely knowledgeable. We were packed into a minivan with just enough seats for the group and cries of "We're gonna need a bigger bus".
Sightseeing started immediately as we dashed off to Haghpat Monastery which is a UNESCO World Heritage site located just east of the town of Alaverdi. The monastery was founded in 976 but most of the plain-designed buildings date from the 12th and 13th century.
Next stop was a most unusual community in a village up at an elevation of 1,730 metres (almost 5,700 feet). The village is called Fioletovo and it is inhabited by a community of Molokans who are Russians that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. They drive motorised vehicles, but do not drink alcohol, watch television, or marry outside the community. In one of the homes, we had a light lunch of local delicacies.
A nearby third destination was a small town called Dilijan. Set in the mountains, this is billed as 'the Switzerland of Armenia'. During Soviet times, it was a popular place for artists.
Our hotel was an almost deserted Marriott at a place called Tsaghkadzor which normally caters to winter skiers.
Our second day in Armenia involved very little travel as we stayed in and around the town of Tsaghkadzor. Our minivan was a slightly larger one with three more seats providing a bit more room. At this height, the temperature was a comfortable 22C. Our problem was our guide who seemed to have improvisation as his guiding principle.
It was only an half hour drive to Lake Sevan. Set some 1,900 metres above sea level and covering 1,240 sq km (some 5% of the nation's territory), this is the largest lake in the Caucasus and and one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world. The impact of local development and climate change means that, in recent years, the level has fallen significantly. In the north-west corner of the lake, we went on an 30-minute boat ride - the first time on our holiday that we had been on water.
Afterwards, the programme would have had us visiting a monastery on a hill by the side of the lake (Sevanavank Monastery), but some of the group were not keen on the 227 steps that would have been required to reach the top. So instead our guide took us to a nearby seminary, only for us to find that it was closed.
This enabled an early lunch back in Tsaghkadzor in a restaurant called "Zanazan". Bizarrely, I was served with my dessert first, then the wrong main course came along, and finally the correct main course arrived - but the food was good.
Even more bizarrely, we were then introduced to a friend of our guide who was an Armenian from Iran who had managed to fight in the Iraq/Iran war and both the recent Armenia/Azerbaijan wars. In Azerbaijan, our guide had described the wars involving the Armenians in terms of the Armenians as the aggressors. Here we were told that Azerbaijan had no claim to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Next we visited another ecclesiastical site: the town's Catholic Kecharis Monastery Complex where we were soon joined by a bride and groom plus photographer and drone. Our last activity was to use the ski lift to ascend Mount Teghenis where winter activities are very popular. There was nothing to see, but the rides up and down were exciting. For once, we were back at our hotel at a time (4.15 pm) which gave us a decent time to relax before dinner in the hotel.
It was a very long day (almost 12 hours) and very hot (up to 34C), but it was much more interesting than yesterday. If only our guide could talk less and plan more.
We commenced the day by driving south to the Noratus Cemetery. Located at a height of around 2,000 metres (some 6,500 feet), this location has around 900 khachkars which are outdoor steles carved from stone by craftsmen in Armenia. Dating back as far as the 10th century, the central motif is a cross but, over time, khachkars have become more ornate and symbolic.
We then drove through the Selim Pass in glorious weather with stunning scenery. Eventually we came to a special caravanserai. This used to be on the Black Sea Silk Route and it was built into the side of a hill and totally unrestored. One of our group, Stephen, spotted me sitting on a rock with the mountainside behind me, decided that this would make a good photograph, and started a succession of shots of various members of the group.
Lunch was in a small village called Areni where a family had converted their home into a small restaurant for tourist groups. The food was delicious and the service friendly.
It was about 24 hours since we had seen a monastery - but this absence was soon corrected. Nearby was the Noravank Monastery. Founded in 1205 and sensitively renovated in the 1990s, this is regarded as one of the most spectacular sites in the country. We had great weather for our viewing of this impressive collection of buildings set among stunning red cliffs.
We had to travel further - westwards - to visit our second monastery of the day: the Khor Virap Monastery overlooking Mount Ararat which is actually in today's Turkey. We looked carefully, but there was no sign of Noah and his Ark.
We had set off at 8.30 am and it was 8.15 pm before we rolled up to our next (and last) hotel: the Tufenkian in the capital Yerevan.
On the penultimate day of our tour of the Caucasus, there was much less travelling because we were either in Yerevan or in the district about an hour to the east of the city.
Over a period of centuries, Armenia has had no less than 14 capitals. The current capital - since the Soviet days of 1918 - is Yerevan which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (most of the other claims to longevity are cities in Syria and Lebanon, both of which I have visited). Its current population is just over 1 million which is about 35% of the country's total population.
First, we drove up to a hill overlooking the city - not a particularly pretty sight. We were there to see the 22 metre (72 feet) high Mother Armenia memorial commemorating the country's losses in the Second World War. Our guide claimed that, proportionate to its population, Armenia suffered the greatest loss of any of the Republics in the USSR. He also pointed out that the designer of the MiG jets Artem Mikoyan - one of these aircraft was on display at the foot of the monument - was an Armenian.
Then we drove down into the city centre to see a building that is of special pride to all Armenians. The Matenadaran (literally 'book depository') is the nation's manuscript museum containing some 3,000 manuscripts dating from as far back as the 5th century. We had a museum guide who spoke excellent English and astonished us with the wonder of the museum’s displayed items which are, of course, a tiny fraction of the collection.
After we has-beens had indulged in a cafe called "The Green Bean", we drove east for about an hour to a garden restaurant in a place called Geghard. Then, having viewed a demonstration of the making of local bread using a kiln in the ground, we ate lunch in the shade (the temperature was 34C).
Suitably refreshed, we then toured the Geghard Monastery which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was founded in the 4th century with most of the current buildings dating from the 12th century and carved out of a cliff. In one of the vaults, we were treated to the singing of a number of Armenian songs by a quartet of two men and two women. Their singing was divine and the acoustics amazing. I have not been so moved by sound since I visited a village just outside Damascus before the civil war and heard the Lord's Prayer delivered in Aramaic.
It was only a short ride to an unusual site: an Hellenic-style temple. Garni Temple was originally built in the first century AD, largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1679, and rebuilt between 1969-1975. As with so many of the ancient churches of both Georgia and Armenia, the location was impressive - in this case, on the edge of a deep gorge.
It had been an easier day with much less travelling than previously, but it was still a nine-hour day by the time we returned to our hotel in Yerevan.
On the last day of our tour of the Caucasus, again there was much less travelling because we were either in or around Yerevan.
We made a late start of 9.30 am and drove around the city centre while Garik pointed out key locations such as the parliament building and the presidential palace.
Since we had been in Armenia, there had not been a morning or an afternoon when Garik had not mentioned the Armenian genocide and the loss of Armenian land to surrounding nations. All this sorrow and victimhood came to the fore as we visited the Genocide Museum and Memorial [click here].
The massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire took place from 1915 to 1922 and the number of victims is estimated at 1.5 million. The museum has been compared to Israel's Yad Vashem or Holocaust Museum which I have visited.
In the case of the Holocaust, few doubt that it was a genocide and Germany acknowledges culpability. But, in the case of the massacre of the Armenians, not all states (including Britain) formally recognise it as a genocide and Turkey vehemently denies that it was such a crime against humanity. The academic consensus, however, is that it was such tragedy.
The museum opened in 1995 and it is an impressive and moving presentation of the history and conduct of the genocide with some 50 sections arranged chronologically, each labelled in Armenian, Russian, English and French. We had a young female guide who set out the information calmly and persuasively. I was reminded of a recent film called "The Promise" which features the genocide as background to a love story [for my review, click here].
The memorial was completed earlier in 1968 and consists of a tall, pointed edifice split in two to symbolise the current and lost provinces of Armenia and 12 huge tilted slabs set around an eternal flame of remembrance with a recording of a lament.
From here, we drove to the town of Vagharshapat which is the home of what is known informally as the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church and is called formally the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Before doing the holy bit, in the grounds of the complex, we found a restaurant, "Agate", where we planned to have a drink and finished up having lunch sitting outside but in the shade.
Etchmiadzin may be a site of special spiritual significance but "The Lonely Planet" guide calls it "underwhelming" and the main cathedral - originally consecrated between AD 301-303 - was closed. What is more, the temperature was now 38.5C.
We headed back to Yerevan. First, we went on a tour of a brandy company called "Noy" (which is Armenian for Noah). This distillery originally began operation in 1887 and, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, it was reopened in 1999. We had samples of three products.
Finally, in the city centre, we were scheduled to visit the National History Museum in Freedom Square very close to our hotel. In fact, of the 14 in our group, 12 had set out this morning, only seven started on the guided tour of the museum, and a mere two of us were there at the end. I stuck it out for the displays of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age because I wanted to see the section on the democratic government of 1918-1920, only to find that this section was closed for renovation.
The formal tour of the Caucasus was over, but we still had an evening in Yerevan. Most of us went for an excellent meal with lots of wine in a nearby restaurant called "Mansoor". Then we strolled over to Freedom Square where all the surrounding buildings were illuminated and a huge fountain area had waters ‘dancing’ to stirring music - a wonderful send-off to a fascinating tour.
It was a short night, however, as we had to leave the hotel at 2 am (!) to be at Yerevan airport for a night flight to Warsaw and then a connecting flight to London.
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have a common 20th century history as parts of the former Soviet Union and are all modestly-sized countries with small populations in a minor and compact region of the world. Yet they are so different politically, culturally, religiously, linguistically.
Azerbaijan is the most modern and confident, aided by plentiful oil and authoritarian leadership. It has the powerful support of Turkey in its territorial conflicts with Armenia.
Georgia has no problems with Azerbaijan or Armenia, but has lost control over a fifth of its territory as a result of intervention by Russia. It is the most western-orientated, very much hoping for entry to the European Union and NATO.
Armenia suffers from a lonely, victim complex, having lost a major part of its original land to Turkey and losing out in its recent and still current conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Each of the three has different offerings for tourists in terms of terrain and buildings. The most common visits were to churches and monasteries in Georgia and Armenia, but the venerable age of these and their often spectacular locations made each a unique experience. The Heydar Aliyev Centre in Azerbaijani, the Stalin Museum in Georgia and the Genocide Museum in Armenia could not be more different from one another - each so memorable.
Throughout the two and a half weeks of the trip, the temperature was consistently hot (high 20s to low 30s centigrade) but tolerable, even pleasant, while Britain had poor weather and southern Europe sweltered in excessive heat.
So another very successful trip which brings the total of countries that I have visited to 88. One of our group had clocked up 98 countries, so I have a way to go and I plan to keep going as long as I can manage these journeys. I learn so much.