Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Holiday in the Caucasus (17): conclusion
July 23rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (16): more in and round Yerevan, Armenia
July 23rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (15): in and around Yerevan, Armenia
July 21st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (14): more Armenia
July 20th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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), […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (13): Tsaghkadzor, Armenia
July 19th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Our second day in Armenia involved very little travel as we stayed in and out 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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (12): into Armenia
July 18th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (11): Sighnaghi, Georgia
July 17th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (10): Gori, Georgia
July 16th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (9): Georgian churches
July 15th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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Holiday in Caucasus (8): Tbilisi, Georgia
July 14th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
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 […]
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