Khaketi vineyards with the Caucasus Mountains in the distance
Our second day trip out of Tblisi took us through the 1800 meters-above-sea-level Gombori Pass to the Khaketi wine region. Our driver, Mamuka (a/k/a Mamu) turned out to be tons of fun and we had a great day. The sweeping views of the pass gave way to bright green forest as we descended. We stopped to drink from a roadside spring where rows of decorated bottles and snacks were apparently for sale on the honor system. With its abundant springs, water throughout Georgia is of excellent quality.
A roadside spring
When a picturesque monastery perched on a roadside hilltop caught our eye, Mamu pulled in to let us hike up. The 16th century Gremi Monastery surprised us with its little Church of Archangels boasting a wealth of frescoes in varying states of preservation.
I’d been looking forward to visiting Winery Khareba in Kvareli. The winery is located in long tunnels bored into a mountain. With several tour options, we opted for the most extensive tasting and a hands-on cooking experience afterwards. The English-language tour of the tunnels and wine tasting consisted of just us and two German couples. After viewing stored wine and displays of modern and ancient wine-making techniques, our guide led us to long tables where we enjoyed nibbling on cheeses, nuts, bread and olive oil while sipping wines in a variety of styles. Georgia has an impressive wine-making tradition which Georgians claim to be able to trace back 8000 years(!). We tasted golden monastery wine; pale wine made from krakhuna grapes grown in the Imereti region; a creamy 10-year aged white blend of rkatsiteli, mtsvane and krakhuna grapes; a dry red monastery wine made from aladasturi grapes aged in clay vessels called “qveri” using an ancient technique we’d first learned of in Uplistsike; a rich 8-year-old red made from saperavi grapes cultivated in the Khaketi region; and finally, “Eulogy,” a semi-sweet red made from saperavi, aleksandrouli and usakelhouri grapes. Tasty and fascinating, and not a one of the grape varieties had we heard of before.
In the tunnels of Winery Khareba
The Germans had opted for a shorter tasting than ours so left mid-way through our tasting and we were on our own as our guide led us out of the tunnels. Thunder boomed as we neared the entrance to the tunnel and we were stunned to see our partly-cloudy day turned to a downpour of rain and hail. With borrowed umbrellas, we darted to a covered area where our cooking experience awaited. A woman instructor awaited us in front of a large flour-covered wooden work table. A few other tourists who had been watching her bake bread soon left and we were on our own with the baker and our wine-tasting guide. Soon, we were rolling and patting dough, adding cheese fillings, and crimping traditional dumplings. This was fun! We slapped bread onto the side of a big well-shaped oven, boiled the dumplings, and dipped strings of walnuts in thick grape past to make that favorite Georgian confection, churchkhela. Then we got to feast on our creations with side shots of chacha, a local alcohol like French marc made with grape skins and other bits left over from wine making.
Cooking traditional Georgian foods
Full and happy, we were off for more wine tasting. Thankfully, Mamu was driving! Our next stop was a small home winery, Tsinandlis Edemi where we were greeted by a pack of friendly puppies and other assorted dogs in a pretty garden. (This place also appears as “Tsinandali Edem” online and apparently offers guest rooms.) The owner showed us around the winery that had been in his wife’s family for generations, including a room where wine was originally aged in clay qveri. Once again, we heard the familiar story of how Georgia’s great wine-making tradition was stifled during the Soviet era, when only strictly-controlled, mass-produced wine was allowed for shipment to Russia. Now, enthusiastic Georgian vintners are producing creative and historical wines. Our tour ended up with David, Mamu, the owner and I sitting around a low wooden table set with cake and churchkhela and pitchers of colorful liquids. Our host poured wine to drink from a horn and taste after taste of flavored chacha. As the tastings kept coming, I took smaller and smaller sips. There is a limit! When we praised a bitter orange version of chacha, he gifted us with a small plastic water bottle of the last of the batch.
At Tsinandali Edemi, family winery
Now more than sated, we were off again. We stopped for photos of Caucasus Mountains beyond the wide valley and vineyards. [See lead photo above.] We made our final stop in Siğnaği, the “city of love,” a pretty town of cobbled streets, red roofs, old castle walls and great views. After much-needed coffees with Mamu in a cute café, David and I climbed the old walls to admire the sunset views. Heading out of town, a shop’s roadside display of colorful fabrics caught my eye. Mamu pulled over so I could buy a handwoven rug and a floral scarf at prices so low I didn’t bother to bargain. What a great day!
Siğnaği
Practical info:
I used Viator to book this tour with Georgian Paradise +995 558 54 40 99. I paid $158 for both of us by credit card online. This included everything but our wine-tasting tours and hands-on cooking, coffees at the café in Siğnaği, and a tip for Mamuka. (And, of course, I paid for my souvenir purchases.)
Rugs, scarves and more for sale outside the walls surrounding Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta
Georgia has so much to offer and I was excited about our first day trip out of Tblisi. I booked a private tour with “Karlo-Georgia” on Viator that offered an interesting mix of sites from differing periods in Georgia’s long history. Our driver turned out to be George (how appropriate!), an independent guide who worked with Karlo. George arrived promptly at 10am across the street from our hotel on Rustaveli Avenue in a spiffy and spacious new SUV. I’d agreed in advance with Karlo on the sites we’d visit, but left it to George to determine the order of our stops as circumstances warranted. It’s impossible to know in advance where we’ll want to linger or move on quickly, how long a lunch break might be, traffic, whether rain will be a factor, etc., so I’m happy to be flexible.
Jvari Monastery
Our first stop was at the UNESCO-listed Monastery of Jvari with its 6th century church, a rare example of a Georgian medieval church remaining very nearly in its original state. The church sits on the site of a 4th century miracle performed by the female Saint Nino. Nino is said to have fashioned a miracle-working cross from grape vines bound with her hair which she planted atop a pagan temple. We saw this distinctive cross of Nino with its downward sloping arms across Georgia. Nino is also a common name for Georgian girls. We admired the carvings and artwork that adorned the church, but at least as impressive is the beauty of the site on which the church and nearby ruins sit and the picturesque impression created by the whole. Perched on Mt. Jvari, the monastery overlooks the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers and the town of Mtskheta, the former capital of the ancient Kingdom of Iberia. (It surprised me to see the name “Iberia” in the Caucasus when I’d always associated it with Spain, Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula, but the Kingdom of Iberia existed in present-day Georgia, circa 302 BC – 580 AD.)
Next up, we arrived in Gori, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin and home to his eponymous museum. An optional stop on our tour, I’d had mixed feelings about visiting the Stalin Museum. When George said a stop at the museum would require a museum guide and take at least an hour, we didn’t hesitate to skip this testament to a bloody dictator. George did stop so we could walk the grounds of the museum, viewing Stalin’s boyhood home and the train he used to travel. The wood and brick house sits on a patch of cobbled street sheltered under a columned stone structure. The Stalin Museum itself is a large, two-story building with wide columns, arches and ornate crenulations that even its own website describes as “pompous.” We were getting hungry at this point and asked George about lunch. He told us we were about an hour away from a favorite lunch stop which would put lunch at about 1pm, later than we preferred, but we’d brought protein bars and had water so we figured we could wait. With that understanding, we were off to our next destination.
Stalin’s boyhood home preserved within a shelter the Stalin Museum itself appears in the background
I’d really looked forward to our next stop, the ancient cave town of Uplistsikhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Traces of human settlement have been found at Uplistsikhe dating to the end of the 2nd millennium BC(!) and there are structures remaining built circa early in the 1st millennium. To make this stop more fun, possible entry tickets include a wine tasting option which we went for without question. Our first dip into Georgian wine tasting! Good walking shoes are the order of the day in Uplistsikhe. We hiked up the solid rock face of a long slope to a stone cottage cut into the mountainside where local wines are on offer after a brief tour of the millennias-old history of wine-making in Georgia. Holes chiseled in the solid stone ground once held clay pots used in antiquity to age wine. We enjoyed tasting four wines, but opted not to buy. We had more hiking to do and didn’t want to carry wine bottles. Besides, we had a full day of wine tasting on the Kakheti wine route planned for the not-too-distant future. We spent the rest of our time wandering the cave dwellings and “halls” of and admiring the views of the river and more ruins below. By the time we got back to the SUV, we were really ready for lunch. There was an appealing outdoor spot right by the parking area, but George said the other place was better, David wanted to try whatever George liked, we both figured it must be close since George had told us it was an hour away as we were leaving Gori nearly an hour earlier, and I was willing to defer to David since he’s the one who’s usually hungry. So, we were off again. This turned out to be a mistake.
Uplistsikhe
As we drove back through Gori to get on the highway to Mtskheta, David and I spotted the ruins of Gori Castle. Seeing we were interested, George wove his way through the town streets until he could park at the base of a path leading up the hill to the castle. We decided a short hike up the hill would be fun so we left George with the car and headed up the path. At the beginning of our little hike, we came upon a circle of over-sized statues representing knights with various body parts missing, sort of a Knights-of-the-Round-Table-meet-Monty-Python scene at the base of the hill. After snapping a photo of David with his head looking tiny above the neck of a headless statue, we continued on up the hill. At the top, we found a small meadow enclosed in the castle walls on the top of the hill. A lone guard watched over the ruins while we admired the views, then headed back to the car, now really, really hungry.
Gori Castle and those quirky knights
At this point, it was almost 3pm and we were more than eager for our promised lunch, surely just minutes away. But, no, George informed us that the place he had in mind was an hour away. What?! It had been “an hour away” two hours ago. According to George, he meant the restaurant was an hour from Gori, near Mtskheta. I confess we were a little on the hangry side at this point. I mean, who cared if the restaurant was an hour from Gori if we were driving off in a different direction first? For a couple of hours! George was genuinely apologetic, claimed Georgians might not eat lunch until evening(!), and promised to drive “fast” to the restaurant so “maybe it would only be forty minutes.” Hmm. We told him to just keep driving safely, and kicked ourselves for not just telling George to find somewhere close to eat hours ago.
At 4pm, we finally got lunch. Hallelujah! The restaurant was a large, quirky place outside of Mtskheta with multiple dining rooms and outdoor patios. The sunny weather had turned drizzly, so we opted to eat indoors. Strangely (to us anyway), we had to pick one dining area to order meat dishes including the local khinkali dumplings, but another to order salads, sides, sandwiches, etc. We wanted food fast, so the non-meat dining area it was. We had beer, a tomato salad, and chicken salad with a Georgian corn “bagel” on benches at a big wooden picnic table. And finally got a bathroom break, too. The food was good, all was right with the world again.
After parking the car near the walls surrounding Mtskheta’s Svetitskhoveli Cathedral we approached the entrance past shops offering all kinds of souvenirs, clothing and foods. As most places we went, George knew the locals so we tasted colorful churchkhela made from walnuts dipped in concentrated grape juice at a stall operated by a woman who greeted us warmly. We browsed caps, ceramics and fruit stands and admired pressed wool vests, patterned rugs and fluffy fur hats hanging from an iron fence across from the shops. Stepping around sleeping street dogs on a paved plaza near the entrance to the cathedral enclosure, several beggar women hailed George by name, chastising him for not giving them money. He explained he’d given them money on the many tours he brought here, but that had only encouraged them. Still, he good-naturedly offered up a few coins.
Churchkhela
An arched gateway on the plaza opened to the cathedral grounds. Bearded, black-robed Orthodox priests talked with parishioners or carried wood to where work was being done on grassy areas within the courtyard. The 11th century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is not large, but is considered one of the great cathedrals of the Georgian Orthodox world. It sits on the site of a 4th century church and is the historical site of a religious event giving rise to its name which means “living pillar.” The story behind it appears in many artworks around Georgia: According to Georgian religious lore, a 1st century Jew from Mtskheta was in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified and brought Jesus’ robe back to Georgia. When he returned to Mtskheta, his sister Sidonia touched the robe and died in ecstasy. Unable to remove the robe from her dead hands, she was buried with it. A spot in the cathedral is said to be the place where Sidonia is buried with the robe. A giant cedar tree grew from the spot from which St. Nino had seven columns made for the foundation of the church. The seventh column was said to have supernatural powers including flight and producing a sacred liquid that provided miraculous cures. [See the center image in the collage above of Jvari Monastery for a painting of this story.]
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Entering the cathedral, we were surprised to find an open coffin containing the shroud-covered body of a priest in the middle of the main aisle. Small clusters and individual priests and parishioners came to pay their respects and chat before moving on. At one point, a priest lifted the cloth from the deceased’s face to kiss him. We learned the dead priest had been in his 90’s and much-loved. This viewing was apparently a come-and-go affair lasting some time. Feeling uncomfortable about intruding, we turned our eyes to the artwork and medieval frescoes of the church. The soaring ceiling, amazing frescoes, icons and carvings are beautiful despite the effects of time and invasions. Nevertheless, we kept our visit short.
Inside Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
I’d originally been told this day tour would take 7-8 hours, but when George picked us up at 10am, he said we’d probably be back by 4pm. We were way past that already, still at least 25 minutes from our Tblisi hotel. And we had one more stop, the Chronicles of Georgia monument in suburban Tblisi. We had plenty of sunlight and didn’t mind the long day, but poor George. Rush hour was in full swing by the time we made it back to Tblisi, but he never lost his cheer as we crept through traffic to the monument.
The Chronicles of Georgia turned out to be worth the extra rush hour time (at least for us). The massive monument sits on a hill overlooking Tblisi and near the “Tblisi Sea,” a large man-made reservoir. A large stone scroll at the base of wide stairs pays tribute to “the 3000th anniversary of Georgian statehood” and “the 2000th anniversary of Christian dissemination.” Sixteen soaring pillars at the top of the stairs depict kings and queens of Georgia. It’s an impressive spot with great views and was a fitting end to our first day trip in Georgia.
Tblisi and the “Tblisi Sea” viewed from the Chronicle of Georgia
Practical info:
I booked this day trip with “Karlo-Georgia” via Viator. The cost for the entire day was a very reasonable $130, not including lunch, entrance fees and wine tasting at Uplistsikhe, and a tip. Karlo farmed our tour out to George who also works independently and can be contacted on WhatsApp at +995 599 22 05 20. George was a good guide despite the mix-up about the timing of lunch. The SUV was spacious and spotless. We were picked up and dropped off just across the street from our hotel. We had a hassle-free, fun and interesting day.
We arrived in Tblisi on a short Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku. The Tblisi International Airport is not big and we quickly collected our luggage and summoned a Bolt car. We ended up using Bolt several times in Tblisi, always with very reasonable prices and typically short wait times. We knew prior to our arrival in Tblisi that massive protests had been going on in the city over objections to a proposed anti-free-journalism law. I messaged our hotel from the Baku airport to verify that the street our hotel was on (the same avenue on which the Georgian Parliament sits) was still open. Thankfully, the hotel confirmed that it was so I could reassure our Bolt driver who at first told me the road was closed.
The entrance to Alma Boutique Hotel is not impressive. From the graffiti outside, to renovation tarp and pile of old books and furniture sitting next to the somewhat alarming elevator things are a bit grim. But, once the elevator opened on the 3rd floor, we found ourselves in a fully renovated, clean and fresh-smelling one-floor hotel. The nice lady at the desk spoke good English and quickly settled us into a spacious bedroom with high ceilings and a balcony overlooking Rustaveli Avenue and the Opera and Ballet Theater of Tblisi across the avenue. The contrast between crumbling elegance and modern updates came to typify Tblisi in our minds. Tblisi is a far cry from Baku’s petroleum-fueled opulence, but it’s fascinating and beautiful in its own way. Six nights in the city including two day trips to see more of Georgia flew by. I’ll cover day trips separately and stick to Tblisi itself in this post.
Tblisi is a mixed bag: crumbling old buildings, street dogs, graffiti… elegance and flowers.
Founded in the 5th century, Tblisi, the capital of Georgia and its largest city with a population of over 1 million people, sits on the Kura River. Although I’ll use “Kura,” our first day-trip guide preferred its Georgian name, Mt’k’vari, and blamed the Russians for changing the name. The Kura flows from Turkey through Georgia to Azerbaijan so our guide’s attitude and focus on Russia may have reflected the anti-Russian sentiment evident to us in a sizeable portion of the Tblisi population. We saw this sentiment expressed in the nightly mass protests against a new “transparency” law similar to one used by Putin to stifle journalists in Russia and in a clear preference for English over Russian of many Georgians we encountered, particularly the younger generation. Random conversations with locals who heard our American-accented English reinforced the impression and we found people to be friendly, welcoming and helpful. Still, it’s a complicated situation, especially with substantial numbers of both Ukranian war refugees and Russians opposed to the war now residing in Georgia, and I won’t pretend to make any broad judgments based on our travels as tourists.
Protests viewed from our hotel balcony. Fortunately, things settled down at a reasonable hour and the hotel’s double-glazed windows did a great job. We slept well every night.
From a tourism perspective, there’s a variety of things to explore in Tblisi. Just walking along Rustaveli Avenue toward Liberty Square from our hotel took us past many top sights and museums: the Opera and Ballet Theater of Tblisi, Parliament, the National Galerie, the Georgia Museum of Fine Arts, the Georgian National Museum. We wandered the length of the avenue in both directions, admiring both the intentional sights as well as taking in daytime evidence of the massive nighttime protests: scattered clusters of protesters with the Georgian or European Union flags tied around their shoulders, lots of political graffiti, and police, water cannon trucks, and the occasional ominous-looking black- or camo-clad “security” people. Favorite refreshment stops included a old-style Georgian restaurant, a cool wine bar and restaurant in an art gallery setting, a stylish café in an Old Town theater, a small Thai restaurant, and (of course) a craft beer bar. [See “Practical info” below for details.]
The Clock Tower in Old Tblisi next door to Gabriadze Cafe with one of the ubiquitous street dogs of Tblisi (Yellow tags in the dogs’ ears indicate they’ve been spayed or neutered and vaccinated. Dogs are everywhere in Tblisi and treated well by the locals. We always saw them approach for treats or petting with tails wagging, confident people meant good things.)
Gazing across Rustaveli Avenue from our balcony, we could see the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tblisi perched on a hill and lit at night. After the sights of Rustaveli Avenue, we hopped a cheap Bolt ride to the cathedral. Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tblisi exceeded expectations. Descending multiple levels, the cathedral is deceptively larger on the inside than it appears from the outside. We browsed the artwork and relics on the soaring main level, then descended to the spacious lower levels to admire reception and conference areas and yet more artwork there. I purchased a pretty Georgian cross pendant and chain for a amazingly low price from a lady downstairs before heading outside to admire the cathedral grounds.
Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tblisi
A small chapel sits to one side of the cathedral. Roses bloomed in hedge-rimmed grassy areas surrounding the wide paved spaces around the cathedral while birds sand in the aftermath of a passing rain. Wide steps lead past a bell tower and fountains to connect an arched entrance to the grounds and the cathedral. Wandering downhill from the cathedral back towards the Kura, we walked past quaint old buildings and the sharply-contrasting colonnaded and glass-domed State Palace of Ceremonies (the former residence of the President of Georgia) which overlooks the city.
Another day, we took the Tblisi Funicular to Mtatsminda Park, a hilltop amusement park overlooking the city. The funicular is 10GEL, but entry to the pretty park is free and the views over Tblisi are great. [See lead photo.] In addition to rides and games, the park offers pretty green spaces, play areas and food and drink booths and casual restaurants with outdoor seating. From Mtatsminda Park, we caught our longest Bolt ride along winding mountain roads down to one of the oldest parts of the city, Abanotubani.
Abanotubani with its ancient domes covering underground baths reminded us of Baku’s old town and bears witness to the Islamic influences in Tblisi and its place along the Silk Road. Flowing from a waterfall at one end, a creek sparkles below picturesque tan brick buildings and a beautiful bathhouse facade of blue, green, white and tan tiles and minarets reminiscent of Uzbekistan. We opted not to book time in a bath, but plenty appeared available. Cafés and hotels boast painted wooden balconies overlooking the creek in its little valley. We enjoyed a delicious lunch on one of those balconies at Restaurant Usakhelouri overlooking the bath domes and creek. We watched as two bridal parties arrived below in vintage cars to take photos in the scenic spot.
Abanotubani
Sated and with leftovers packed up to go, we left Abanotubani to cross the Kura River to Metekhi Virgin Mary Assumption Church. The church and a large equestrian statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the founder of Tblisi, perch on a cliff above the Kura River. Small tour boats ran back and forth along the cliff and under the bridge as we admired the view. We joined a small gathering inside the church to watch the baptism of an adorable but less-than-enthused infant in his father’s arms.
Metekhi Virgin Mary Assumption Church and the statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali above the Kura River
Across a wide circle known as Europe Square on the same side of the Kura as the church, the Mother of Georgia Tramway (cable car carries) people up to yet another mountain-side destination, the Mother of Georgia statue. On a sunny Saturday, a long line of people waited to take the ride.
Europe Square with the Peace Bridge, tramway, and Rike Park beyond
Beyond the tramway, Rike Park sits along the river next to the Peace Bridge with its glass and metal curves. Rike Park is also home to the Rike Music Theater and Exhibition Center. The Center’s intriguing architecture of more swooping metal and glass is in the shape of two tubes with bulbous bases and open ends which form a large V. These openings reminded me of the gaping mouths of giant space worms. My apologies if that’s not the impression the architect(s) hoped for.
The domed State Palace of Ceremonies above the tubes of the Rike Music Theater and Exhibition Center viewed from across the river
We enjoyed other walks around Tblisi among the sometimes charming and sometimes dilapidated buildings that were often both. Winding streets and those ornate painted wooden balconies lured us around the next corner. Imposing modern buildings like the huge city hall and the Rikes Park buildings are a startling contrast. All in all, we found Tblisi to be a fascinating city with pleasantly cheap prices. Alternating days in the city with day trips into the surrounding country turned out to be perfect and we both felt our six nights in Tblisi was just right.
Practical info:
Alma Boutique Hotel was a great base for us. We paid a GEL 1,313.76 (currently $468.36) for six nights, including tax, but no breakfast. Coffee and a coffee pot and a small refrigerator were provided in our room and there are several coffee/pastry shops nearby where breakfast fare cost a pittance. We breakfasted at a small table and chairs we moved between our balcony and the large bedroom as weather dictated.
Bolt was definitely the way to get around in Tblisi. Even if taxis were waiting (which they always were across the street from our hotel), we would use the Bolt app and so not have to worry about cash or pricing surprises. (I did read that it was best to keep the app open until the end of the ride to protect against the remote chance of an attempt at overcharging.) Often, the Bolt car was among the taxis or was a minute or less away. We had zero problems and encountered only clean cars and good drivers.
Favorite restaurants included: Restaurant Margalita [1 Mitropan Laghidze St, Tbilisi 0108] serves classic Georgian fare just around the corner from our hotel in a space brimming with random vintage pieces and tables sporting mismatched tablecloths. We dined there twice and they gave us a discount when we presented a business card from Alma Boutique Hotel.
Salobie Bia [Rustaveli Theater, 17 Shota Rustaveli Ave, Tbilisi 0108] offers “simple Georgian food” and Georgian wines in a cool art gallery setting next to a theater.
Gabriadze Cafe [13 Ioane Shavteli St, Tbilisi 0105] in an old theater is pretty special with an artsy interior and a wall of windows facing the 6th century Anchiskhati Basilica. The cafe also offers outdoor seating next door to the iconic Clock Tower in old town.
Restaurant Usakhelouri [17/19 Abano St. in the Abanotubani district of Tblisi] provided good lunch food and a great view from a balcony overlooking the old baths. The interior is sleek and casually elegant.
Charm Thai [13 Arsena St, Tbilisi, Georgia] was twice a tasty break from Georgian food. Small, but good food and friendly service which can get a bit slow as we discovered when we returned on a crowded evening.
We tasted Georgian craft beer in tiny, graffiti-covered Process Craft Beer Bar [19 Merab Kostava St, Tbilisi 0108]. There are other craft beer locations in Old Tblisi (further south), but with Georgia such a wine-making country, we opted to focus on wine rather than beer.See my post on our day on the wine route for more on Georgian wine.
Our guide, Hasan, arrived at our Baku hotel promptly at 9am to start a day tour of the Absheron Peninsula on which the Azerbaijani capital sits and the cultural and historic preserve of Gobustan with its prehistoric carvings. We headed southwest out of Baku driving almost a hour to Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape where we joined a cluster of cars and buses awaiting the park’s 10am opening. Skipping the park museum for the time being, we bypassed most of our fellow visitors and went straight to the rock art.
Massive rocks that defy the term “boulder” cover the hillside. Natural shelters and crevices used to funnel wild cattle into hunters’ traps dot the hillside and are covered with ancient art reflecting life long ago: Hunters and wild bulls, boar, birds, wildlife of many kinds, caravans of camels and their drivers. Percussion instruments of long raised stones still resonate when struck with smaller stones, an ancient method of communication. Circular carvings in the stone ground caught water and blood from butchered prey. Beyond this ancient stone habitation, flat marshes stretch to the Caspian Sea in the distance. Hasan did a good job explaining it all and the museum provided a final overview before it was time to moved on to another highlight of our day, the mud volcanoes.
Hasan called ahead to arrange our meet-up with our Lada driver on the side of a paved road. Hasan rode shotgun, chatting away in Azeri with our driver, while David and I took the back seat. I’ve read that there are mud volcanoes in the area that are now reachable by a typical rental car sedan, but the road we took absolutely required something more than your average street car. We quickly left paved road, barreling across a barren wasteland, throwing up a cloud of dust and dodging the dust of other vehicles making the same trek. About mid-way, the “road” narrowed to a single lane across what looked to be a rainwater pond. Our path was so deeply rutted that it took a couple of tries for the hardy Lada 4×4 to make it past one particularly steep dip. Yeah, a street sedan would not work for this.
We arrived to a field of “mud volcanoes,” mounds of dried dark mud created by methane gas bubbling up through liquid mud. Surprisingly, the mud is cool to the touch, cooler even than the air around us. Climbing atop one mound, we dipped our fingers in to a particularly active small mud pool that was creating huge bubbles.
Exploring the field, we climbed other “volcanoes,” some barely active, some oozing long rivers of mud; one was on fire. It’s a fascinating landscape. Mud volcanoes exist in other parts of the world, but more than half of them (some 400) are in Azerbaijan.
Heading back towards Baku after the mud volcanoes, we stopped to visit the Bibi-Heybat Mosque. Originally built in the 13th century, destroyed by the Russians in 1936, then rebuilt in the 1990s the mosque’s Arabic exterior encloses a Persian- and Azerbaijani-influenced interior.
Interior dome of Bibi-Heybat MosqueBibi-Heybat Mosque
We were more than ready for lunch by the time we returned to central Baku for a simple lunch of Azerbaijani cuisine after which we continued on through Baku to head north and then east to Yanardag “Fire Mountain.” Hasan bypassed a line at the ticket counter to buy our tickets before we headed on to view the side of a low bare hill in perpetual flames. Bleacher-style seats leading down from a small museum formed a semi-circle around a broad paved patio in front of the burning area. The place was fairly empty with small clusters of tourists standing in front of the fire enjoying the warmth in an increasingly chilly wind. The fire is natural, another effect of the seeping methane in the area. Ancient Zoroastrians considered the area sacred, a belief that led them to found Baku.
Yanardag
A short drive from Yanardag, we arrived at our last stop, Ateshgah of Baku, a former Zoroastrian fire temple. The temple occupies the center of a pentagonal courtyard surrounded by a former caravansarai and monks’ quarters. The fire temple itself is a small stone structure with open arches on each of its four sides. An “eternal” flame fueled by naturally occurring gas once burned on an altar at its center. The monks’ quarters and caravansarai, a way-station or inn for caravans moving along the Silk Road, provided natural gas fire pits in each room courtesy of the unique geologic makeup of the region. Most of the cells now contain vignettes, artifacts and life-size dummies portraying life in the complex over the ages.
Ateshgah of Baku, a Zoroastrian fire temple
After a full day, we were pleasantly tired and ready to head back to our hotel in Baku. Retracing our route back past the ultra-modern Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku with its curving white walls and imposing size provided a final treat.
Practical info: Many tour companies and guides offer similar itineraries of this popular day trip to Absheron and Gobustan. After browsing offerings on Viator and Tripadvisor, I discovered a confusing array of potential extras. Reviews of trips to the mud volcanoes frequently mentioned an extra charge for a Lada to carry visitors across rough terrain to the mud volcanoes, entry fees or lunch were or weren’t included, etc. And there were group and private tours available. I decided to message our hotel to see if they had a recommendation for a private tour. They did, but when I contacted that company with the specific questions my research had raised, I found they charged extra for a transfer to the mud volcanoes and suggested a $50 lunch which sounded ridiculously high for Azerbaijan. I opted instead to email Baku City Tours, a top-rated tour company on Tripadvisor. They responded promptly, answered all my questions about their “Full day Gobustan & Absheron Tour” clearly, didn’t charge extra for a Lada 4×4, and quoted a firm and reasonable price for lunch. Baku City Tours WhatsApped me the evening before our tour to confirm pick-up and our driver, Hasan, messaged me as well. All in all, I was very satisfied with Baku City Tours.
View of the Maiden Tower and Caspian Sea from Xanliq Restaurant in Old Baku
We landed at the Baku airport around 7:30pm local time on Azerbaijan Airlines. We were 30 minutes or so late due to a delay leaving CDG, but the 5h50 flight was pleasant enough with a hot meal served. The sun set just prior to our taxi ride into town which allowed us to enjoy the light show provided by the many high-rise buildings that lined the broad road, the hi-tech display reminiscent of a recent overnight in Doha. In the distance, I finally caught sight of those “flame towers” that so caught my eye in the photograph of Baku that led me to plan this trip. [An overview of this 12-night Caucasus trip is in my previous post.]
Turning off the modern thoroughfare, our driver stopped at a guard post where a boom was raised to allow us into Icheri Sheher (“Old City”), a different world of winding cobbled streets, wooden balconies and stone buildings. Removed from lighted high-rises, Seven Rooms Boutique Hotel nestles into the heart of ancient Baku. This pretty hotel in a great location offered us a comfortable 3rd floor room with a huge bed and marble bathroom and an included breakfast in a glass-walled upstairs space adjoining a rooftop terrace with spectacular views of the city and the Caspian Sea.
Views of Baku from the rooftop terrace of our hotel
With no time to explore our first night, we were up and off after breakfast the next morning. A two-minute walk from our hotel past street-level stone domes of ancient underground baths, we arrived at the 12th century “Maiden Tower,” a UNESCO Heritage Monument. [left, in the lead photo above] The Maiden Tower may have been originally built by Zoroastrian fire worshipers, early founders of Baku who were drawn to the region by its seeping natural gas that fuels both human- and nature-originating fires. Later modifications incorporated the tower into medieval defensive walls. The tower has eight interior stories that now house historic displays. A central hole, open to the bottom floor, runs through them all. A rooftop deck offers great views of Baku and the Caspian Sea. The maiden tower is an iconic emblem of the city and the country, featured on Azerbaijan currency and (so I read) official letterheads.
The Juma Mosque
From the maiden tower, we walked cobbled streets to the Juma Mosque, a beautifully restored and active mosque dating to the 1300’s and possibly built originally on the site of an ancient fire temple. Only five minutes or so from the Juma Mosque, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, a 15th century UNESCO Heritage monument, commands the old town. The Shirvanshahs ruled Shirvan (part of present-day Azerbaijan that includes Baku) from 861 to 1538 making them one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the Islamic world. A 15th century Shirvanshah moved his capital to Baku and began construction on the original palace. On a gorgeous Saturday, the palace was popular with groups of school children on field trips whom we dodged to explore the palace on our own. The former residential second floor is closed to the public, but there are a maze of rooms with historic displays to see on the ground floor and the palace grounds contain the Shirvanshah’s mosque and mausoleum, burial vaults and remnants of a bath house.
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
We got our first real taste of Azerbaijani cuisine at a late lunch near the palace, sitting outside at café Xanliq while a truly talented musician played music on a local string instrument and big samovars puffed steam into the air. We enjoyed chicken and chestnuts in a rich, tangy pomegranate sauce, beef chunks cooked with dried apricots, chestnuts and chickpeas, rice pilaf, sparkling water and a shared baklava dessert. Delicious. And all that for 35.64 dram or about $21. If only we could bring these prices back home to Paris!
Left to right: beef with dried apricots, sultanas and chestnuts; rice pilar; and, chicken and chestnuts in pomegranate sauce
Refreshed and refueled, we continued our ramble through the old town, periodically turning down a cobbled street to be greeted by the strange juxtaposition of the ultra-modern flame towers appearing in the distance beyond the maze-like Islamic medina of Icheri Sheher.
Around Icheri Sheher
We exited through a beautiful gate in the crenelated walls to check out the large and very modern glass geometric shape that is the Icheri Sheher métro station. It’s a striking structure with a large covered entrance designed to look like an Azerbaijani carpet. We ducked in to check out the interior and a free photography exhibit on display, but were not ready to actually ride the subway anywhere. Major sights still awaited us within walking distance.
From top, counterclockwise: Icheri Sheher Métro Station; photo exhibit inside the métro station with the walls of the Old City through the windows; and, an elegant pedestrian underpass beneath Neftchilar Avenue
The Caspian Sea waterfront promenades of Baku with long wide parks and ultra modern buildings on either end impressed me. Modern Baku is the product of vast petroleum wealth. Architectural works of art, high-end cars on the boulevards, majestic Soviet-era metro and underground pedestrian tunnels for crossing those wide roads. There’s a nouveau riche, over-the-top aspect to much of it, but there’s also an undeniable grandeur. It’s an immaculately clean city, too, and its cafes, parks and shopping areas bustle with life.
Baku waterfront parks
The massive Deniz Mall with its wings reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House dominates the southern end of the Baku National Seaside Park. Nearby near the canals of “Mini Venice,” a long building shaped like a rolled up rug houses the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. Strolling the length of the waterfront, there’s a yacht club, fountains, music playing from speakers, a viewing tower, historic photographs lining a walkway, benches flowers, eateries and shopping. With the sunning shining and a mildly cool May, we found it all delightful.
Other parts of the city just outside the walls of Icheri Sheher boast wide paved plazas and avenues, streets lined with cafés and restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, a vibrant mix of commercial activity. Architecture reflects both Middle Eastern and European influences. High-end shops bearing the names of familiar luxury designers and some not so familiar to us give testament to the petroleum riches that have poured into Azerbaijan.
Baku so exceeded my expectations that I wish we’d had that extra day we lost due to a canceled flight just to wander the city some more. But we had plans for a day outside the city. My next post takes us beyond Baku to mud volcanoes, an ancient cave settlement with prehistoric drawings, a naturally burning hillside and a Zorastrian fire temple.
Flame Towers lit up like flames (only one of their displays) viewed from near the Maiden Tower
Practical stuff:
The local language is Azerbaijani/Azeri and Russian is a common second language, but we found enough people who spoke enough English to never have any problems. Google Translate was a big help (although it can’t do audible Azeri) and T-Mobile kept us connected. We felt very comfortable and safe exploring the city on our own. Every city has its sketchy parts of town and I’m sure Baku has its, but we were never anywhere far from the main sights so saw nothing remotely concerning.
I booked Seven Rooms Boutique Hotel on Booking.com via the Topcashback portal which was offering 6% cash back at Booking.com at the time.
We enjoyed our meals in Baku. Best Place Restaurant & Music Bar is just steps from Seven Rooms Boutique Hotel. While there was live jazz going on downstairs, we opted for a quiet dinner in a surprisingly elegant dining room upstairs where music by Frank Sinatra and other greats of that era played from a mock gramophone. For our final night, we dined on traditional Azerbaijani food on the second-floor terrace of the Museum Inn Terrace & Restaurant with a beautiful sunset view of the nearby Maiden Tower and the Caspian Sea beyond.
Our Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Paris to Baku was operated by Heston Airlines. The plane was fine, but a bit older and had no charge ports at the seats. Meal service was a bit odd as the crew kept bringing two meals at a time from the galley. The food was typical economy class fare served with Azerbaijani wine and beer as well as non-alcoholic drinks. We saw no reason to fly business on this flight as it was only 5+ hours long and we did not want to sleep. This turned out to be a good choice as there was very little to distinguish business seats from economy.
We flew Azerbaijan Airlines again from Baku to Tblisi, Georgia. This was an extremely punctual short flight. Shout out to Azerbaijan Airlines for going over and above on this one: David forgot a small backpack in the airport lounge near our departure gate in Baku. Amazingly, Azerbaijan Airlines customer service at Tblisi arranged to have someone in Baku go to the lounge, pick up the backpack and put it on the next flight. Then, someone collected it and put it in Tblisi airport lost-and-found where we were able to pick it up the following day. Bravo!
We ended up not needing to ride the Baku Métro, but we checked out the ticket machines anyway and discovered that despite claims that the machines operate in Azerbaijani, Russian and English, that just isn’t so. There’s some initial English, but then all goes to Azerbaijani/Azeri and is pretty much unusable for us English-speakers.
We saw quite a few Bolt cars in Baku, but we didn’t use them. I initially let our hotel arrange a transfer because we were arriving at night and the hotel is small and in the restricted old town area. (40 dram or about $23.50 for a roughly 40 min. ride) I thought we’d use Bolt to go back the the airport, but after reading online of some problems with Bolt driver scams in Baku, I opted to again have the hotel call a ride and I paid them directly. It probably would have been cheaper with Bolt, but this way, I was sure of the ride and the price.
This photo is my own, but similar to the one that originally caught my attention.
I can’t say how many times an interesting photo has caught my eye and led me to plan yet another trip, but Baku, Azerbaijan, was definitely one of those times. I don’t even remember where I first saw that intriguing image of a classic Islamic medina (“old town”) with three flame-shaped skyscrapers looming in the background, but I do know I started researching straight away. Baku. Even the name was unfamiliar and intriguing. Azerbaijan I knew nothing about. “The Caucasus” for me was a region usually in the news because of some conflict involving Russia and/or Turkey. I clearly needed to know more.
Having traveled Uzbekistan last September, I was interested in seeing more of the old Silk Road. A quick search showed non-stop flights to Baku from Paris (our current home) on Azerbaijan Airlines. This was a new airline for me so merited a little more research even though I’m usually reassured by EU safety standards for airlines servicing the European Union. Reviews looked good, the timing was reasonable, the price was fair.
I originally pondered making this a short, one-city visit, but naturally looked at what was nearby as well. Researching Baku put the Caucasus in general on my radar screen and that meant Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and part of Russia. Current international relations and the war in Ukraine meant Russia was off the table, and I’d traveled in Russia before anyway. Tblisi, Georgia, is a short flight away from Baku, once again on Azerbaijan Airlines. That sounded promising and a Scotsman we’d met in Uzbekistan gave it a thumbs-up. The more I read about Tblisi and Georgia, the more appealing the whole country became and Tblisi became a definite follow-up to Baku.
Armenia came into focus when I realized there were day tours to some Armenian monasteries from Tblisi. If you could do a day tour, could we maybe combine a day tour with a transfer all the way to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia? We could! And Transavia offered reasonably-priced non-stop flights back to Paris from Yerevan. Better and better.
However, research also led to more info about the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A cease-fire was signed last November, so things seemed to be settling down. But still… And there were posts about problems getting into Armenia with an Azerbaijani stamp in a passport, but they were not very recent. Hmm. I read some more and decided to go for it. I had a plan: 4 nights in Baku (with 1 day tour), 6 nights in Tblisi (with 2 day tours spaced between free days in Tblisi), and 3 nights in Yerevan. I chose highly-rated boutique hotels in Baku (in the old town) and Tblisi (across from the opera on the main avenue) and a luxury hotel in Yerevan for a final hurrah paid for entirely with hotel points. I booked the iconic day tour from Baku directly with the tour operator: “mud volcanoes”, an ancient dwelling place full of cave drawings, a Zoroastrian temple, and “Fire Mountain” where natural gas burned perpetually on a hillside. I booked the day tours from Tblisi via Viator: monasteries, the historic old capital and cathedral, Stalin’s childhood home, a cave city one day; and, a great day wine tasting and cooking on Georgia’s preeminent wine route.
The only hiccup in my plans came weeks in advance when Azerbaijan Airlines canceled our Thursday flight, offering to re-booked us on the same flight on Friday. It was a disappointing loss of one day in Baku, but not a big deal. The hotel changed our booking and deducted the cost of a night, we still had a great time both on the tour and exploring on our own, and while we would have enjoyed the extra day, we hit all my Baku must-sees in the time we had.
The trip itself was fun and a learning experience. We witnessed mass pro-democracy demonstrations nightly in Tblisi passing under our balcony, were obliged to re-route due to an Armenia-Azerbaijan border dispute, and heard both sides of clashes that have marked the history of the region. Now that I’ve set the scene for our Caucasus adventure, I’ll write about each destination in separate posts. There’s much to share!
Marrakech from the rooftop bar and terrace of El Fenn hotel with the minaret of the Kutubiyya Mosque in the distance
David and I were lucky enough to have the chance to attend five nights in Marrakech celebrating the wedding of American friends’ daughter to a Moroccan-American man. As this was a private event, I won’t write or share photos of that except to say our hosts went to extraordinary lengths to ensure their guests had a fabulous time. (And we did!) Instead, I’ll keep this post to a relatively short travelogue, sharing some photos and a few places we really enjoyed. It wasn’t my first time in Marrakech, but it had been some years and there were new places to discover (and a cautionary tale to share).
Around the medina of Marrakech
We stayed in lovely Riad XO with the family of the bride. (A “riad” is a traditional villa surrounding one or more courtyards.) Riad XO is newly remodeled by its French owner and boasts many rooms of varying sizes, multiple courtyards and terraces on several levels. The owner is charming and speaks excellent English in addition to his native French. The location in the medina, or old town, is excellent, just a few minute’s walk to the Ben Youssef Medersa (madrasa), Ben Youssef Mosque, Marrakech Museum, the 12th century Almoravid Koubba dome, and many souks (shops) and restaurants.
Between lots of fun wedding events over our five-nights in Marrakech (a hammam spa morning, camel ride, shopping for traditional wedding attire, dinners, a cocktail party, henna-ing of hands, simple socializing at the riad…), we enjoyed visiting the Jardin Majorelle and exploring the medina. At the suggestion of Riad XO’s owner, we lunched one day at the rooftop Terrasse des Épices restaurant. It was enjoyable, but clearly aimed at tourists willing to splurge as the prices are very high in comparison to other restaurants in the area. Waiters sported big straw hats with the restaurants name to protect from the sun and identical hats were left at the tables for diners. Although Terrasse des Épices occupies a large rooftop space, it didn’t really have the great view we expected since it is surrounded immediately below by barren plots of land and the backs of ramshackle structures. I had the impression from Riad XO’s owner that the Terrasse des Épices overlooked Le Jardin Secret, a restored palace and gardens. It doesn’t, but it is a short walk between the two.
Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé’s Jardin Majorelle and Berber museum
We actually enjoyed more the tiny rooftop terrace of Les Almoravides restaurant which overlooks the plaza in front of the Ben Youssef Mosque and the Almoravid Koubba. (Google Maps gives the address as J2J6+MX4, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco, although you can just search Google Maps by “Les almoravides”.) The views are great as is the food and the prices are hard to beat. Service is friendly and English and French are spoken. We liked a coffee and pastry break so much that we went back another day for a delicious lunch. The tangines were excellent with “Berber style” offering lots of veggies in addition to (or without) meat (chicken, lamb or beer). In worse weather Les Almoravides also offer charming indoor dining areas on its multiple floors and takeaway from its street-front counter. It’s a casual little place and stairs to the upper floors actually take you past a corner of the compact kitchen. [Note: Several flights of narrow stairs are required to get to the rooftop.]
Looking over the medina of Marrakech: The light tan dome immediately ahead in the thumbnail above is the Almoravid Koubba; immediately to the left is the Ben Youssef Mosque; and, at the far end of the plaza is the Marrakech Museum.
With our on-our-own time limited, we had to choose between visiting the Ben Youssef Medersa and the Marrakech Museum. We opted for the former and enjoyed our unstructured ramble through the restored Islamic school with its many dormitory rooms and decorated corridors around a central courtyard.
Ben Youssef Medersa
Throughout the medina we saw signs of the 2023 earthquake. Collapsed buildings, rubble and cracked and braced towers were common. The medina can be sensory overload: colors, beauty, squalor, history, odors and sounds and a bustling humanity. We enjoyed diving in and we enjoyed finding oases of peace to get a break from it all: Lunching with friends from the wedding at Zeitoun Café before haggling for wedding clothes in the souks, a special dinner with our hosts in the oh-so-different French Quarter at Grand Café de la Poste which felt like something out of the old movie Casablanca. And, of course, there was always the delightful refuge of Riad XO.
View of the Kutubiyya Mosque from Zeitoun Café
That cautionary tale: As we were heading back to Riad XO one afternoon through the maze of of souk-lined streets that make up the medina, one of the shopkeepers who called out to us said we were lucky to be in town for a Berber leather auction and that it was just a couple turns away. I’d seen Moroccan leather tanning in Taroudant and thought it would be fun to see again with David. Another man passing by said he worked there and was heading that way and we could follow him. As this second man strode swiftly through an increasingly long walk, I realized something was off. When I ducked into a courtyard with the stone pits I recognized as inactive leather tanning vats, a local called out to me to ignore that as is was closed, pointing at the man ahead of us who had reached his destination. We followed him down a crumbling alley, squeezing past a laden donkey cart, to come out in an odiferous courtyard of sorts filled with leather-tanning vats. The stench was horrible and our “guide” introduced us to a gap-toothed man who handed us wilted bunches of mint he called “Berber bouquets” for us to hold under our noses to combat the smell. As this man sought to lead us further into a maze of vats, I’d had enough. No way was I getting farther from the main road. I put a hand to my head and another to my stomach, claimed illness, and turned to walk quickly out of this place with David. The gap-toothed man called after us, but we ignored him until we were back on the main road. There, we stopped and he demanded ten dollars for the “tour” and gesturing at a painted sign in Arabic over the alley entrance. David argued with him, telling him we never wanted a tour and we didn’t have dollars, while I upped my feigned illness routine and began to walk off. David finally handed over about $1.70 worth of dirham and turned to follow me as the man complained this wasn’t “fair.” It was a scam from the start with the first shopkeeper and the guy who claimed to work at the leather auction and I should have cut it short sooner. Oh well. We got off with no real damage, a view of leather tanning, and a good reminder to remain vigilent.
We shouldn’t have followed the guy in the “Pink” jacket… but we did see leather tanning (and cats! :)).
Other wedding guests had brushes with similar scams. One of our group thought a man was helping him get back to the riad, but was led out of his way then confronted by a group of men and asked for $50 when he got near the riad. Our friend pointed out the security cameras above the riad and offered $10 or nothing which the men accepted, calling him “no gentleman.” The name calling would be funny save for the clear intimidation. The bridegroom confirmed that these volunteer guides who lead tourists astray is a common scam in the medina. There is a lot of poverty there brushing up to tourists who seem fabulously wealthy by comparison. I never carried a purse or wore jewelry in the medina save for clearly inexpensive costume pieces and strongly advise the same.
Our time in Marrakech flew by. With our five nights over and the bridal couple happily married in a lovely ceremony, we headed back to the ultra-modern Marrakech Menara Airport for the 3+ hour Royal Air Maroc flight back to Paris. We only had a few nights there before we were off again to visit family in Texas… and experience a total solar eclipse!
Practical info:
Lots of restaurants and souks (shops) take credit cards, but not all do. Multiple ATM’s at the airport did not work for us despite trying multiple cards. We got the local currency (dirham) from a money exchange booth en route to our first stop, the Jardin Majorelle. There are a few ATM’s in the medina, but we were told by the bridegroom that the exchange rate was about the same between live money exchanges (which are much more common) and ATM’s (which don’t always work, as we discovered). We only needed to change money that one time.
As a popular tourist destination, western dress is very common in Marrakech and head coverings for women tourists are totally unnecessary. It is a more modest culture, though, and short shorts and skirts and revealing clothing could be misinterpreted.Wanting to be respectful, I opted for skirts and pants that covered my knees and tops that covered my shoulders.
Nungwi Beach on the northern coast of Zanzibar ranks among the prettiest on the island and is home to many popular resorts, hotels and restaurants. I definitely wanted to spend some of our time in Zanzibar there. Scanning our available hotel points and certificates and local resorts I was happy to find very reasonable award availability at Marriott’s Nungwi Beach Resort by Turaco. Reviews sounded good, the location was great, so I quickly locked in four nights.
Although roads are generally good in Zanzibar, the last half mile or so through the town of Nungwi approaching the resort is a narrow dirt road. Our SUV slowed to a crawl as our Zanzibar driver, Ally, dodged impressive potholes and wove among small shops. We stopped in front of tall gates, checking in with a security guard before proceeding to a large open-air lobby.
Reception provided us with two welcome drinks apiece, a tasty something in a glass and fresh coconuts with straws. There was no way to finish both (and we’d just come from Jambo Spice Farm where we’d eaten plenty and drunk our fill of coconut water) before the bellman was ready to escort us to our room. My award points got us a third floor standard king room with a balcony overlooking the pool and a view of the beach and ocean to our right. The room was spacious and housekeeping had covered not just the bed with hibiscus flowers and leaves, but also the bathroom counter and a low shelving unit under the flat screen tv (a charming process repeated all but one of our four days).
Our standard king room
We loved the room and soon decided the location was ideal as well. Although we faced the pool with its swim-up bar and party music, the pool and bar closed at 7pm, leaving our room blessedly quiet and with a nice view over the lush resort grounds and the ocean. On the other hand, rooms facing the beach are close to dining and entertainment and subject to noise much later than we’d be happy with.
The beach set-up is interesting. Without the natural rise atop which our Uroa hotel sat, this Marriott resort relied on a high retaining wall to protect it from the big tides of Zanzibar. (Get a glimpse of it in the video below.) This set-up meant we spent our beach time in loungers on the sandy “beach” on the resort side of the wall so that when sitting we saw just the heads of passers-by below on the public beach. The wall also provides a security barrier and there was always a guard walking the top of the wall. He wasn’t armed, but he would occasionally intervene to tell vendors peering over the wall to move on which they did without argument.
To get to the warm ocean water, we descended stone steps to the lower beach. A group of young Masai men waited there most hours of the day, offering tours, promoting shops, posing for photos and just visiting. Despite reviews I read complaining about these “beach boys,” we found them to be friendly and not overly persistent. We couldn’t blame them at all for trying to earn a living, especially with the slow rainy season soon approaching. They took “no” for an answer–sometimes after a few attempts at altering their pitch–then were often happy to visit, asking us where we were from, where we’d been in Zanzibar and elsewhere in Africa and what we thought of their homeland. They entertained themselves and us with jumping contests and an occasional song. Accepting tips from passers by, but not asking for anything that I saw. A few local women also offered massages or tours, but again, they accepted a “no” and moved on.
Masai on Nungwi Beach and the retaining wall of the Marriott resort
The big tides I’d been expecting didn’t materialize until our third day in Nungwi. That day the tide was so far out that many boats were left high and dry. Groups of locals harvested the pale green seaweed exposed by the receding water. We were told the seaweed is dried, powdered and used as a seasoning. We walked far out among the tidal pools finding many small crabs and fish and beautiful African red knob sea stars. I love this kind of tidal pool ecosystem and had been looking forward to it. It reminded me of the wonderful tidal pools in Nusa Dua, Bali… but minus the deadly sea critters. [Note: As with most beaches in Zanzibar, water shoes are a good idea. Spiny sea urchins are common, although they weren’t as plentiful in Nungwi as the were in Uroa.]
African red knob sea star in Nungwi shallowsLooking back at Nungwi Beach Resort by Turaco with the tide going out
I couldn’t pass up the chance to see more of the local sea life and arranged a day of scuba diving before we arrived in Nungwi with Dive Point Zanzibar which was recommended by the resort and charged identical prices to every other Zanzibar dive outfit I researched. Dive Point Zanzibar has a small office on the premises of Nungwi Beach Resort by Turaco, but their equipment is at another location nearby in Nungwi. They also have a main office in Matemwe, closer to popular diving and snorkeling off Mnemba Island. Dive Point Zanzibar offered dives at either Mnemba Island (known for larger fish and diving with dolphins, but reported to have mostly dead coral) and off Tumbatu Island (known for its colorful coral and tropical fish). I was inclined to Tumbatu from the start, but learning that it was nearly an hour drive to Matemwe (and an extra $30pp for that drive) to dive Mnemba cemented my thoughts. Being among a flock of boats chasing dolphins in Lovina, Bali, made me leery of seemingly similar descriptions of the diving and snorkeling crowds off Mnemba. And I love a good coral reef!
A driver with a van arrived promptly to pick us up from the lobby of our Marriott resort for the 5-minute ride to the Dive Point Zanzibar Nungwi office. After selecting fins and donning shortie wetsuits, our dive master led us on foot to the beach where our dive boat (a wooden motorized dhow) awaited us. We were joined by two other couples, a young Norwegian couple and a middle-aged Russian couple. We had our dive master to ourselves, though, as the others were either learning to dive or just snorkeling. [Note: Kudos to Dive Point Zanzibar for really nice equipment. New wetsuits (front zipping, too; not the all-too-common boarding shorties with the back zips not meant for divers wearing tanks) and BCD’s, quality masks and well-maintained regs were a pleasure to use.]
It was a 45+-minute ride to the first dive site off of Tumbatu island. Waters in the area can be rough during some periods, but we had the benefit of smooth seas and a gentle breeze. The dive was fairly shallow, around 40 feet. Almost immediately upon descending, we came across two octopuses in full view before darting to hide beneath a coral stand. The rest of the dive treated us to pretty coral and swarms of smaller tropical fish as well as some colorful nudibranches and another octopus, nothing remarkably different from a lot of other dives but enjoyable as diving always is. Visibility was only average, with a lot of bio material suspended in the water. After a snack break provided by Dive Point Zanzibar, we moved to our second dive off the little island just north of Tumbatu. This island is called Mwana Wa Mwana, which means “son of son” (or as our dive master translated it “baby of baby”). Our dive master explained that Tumbatu is known as the child of Zanzibar and this little island is the baby of that bigger island baby. The second dive was similar to the first and ended with enormous schools of colorful fish circling large stands of coral. The diving wasn’t exceptional, but it was good and a great way to spend the day.
Fishing ladies on Nungwi Beach near where we boarded our diving dhow
Prior to booking our trip to Zanzibar, I did a little research–as I always do before our trips–on safety which includes both potential health and crime issues. I’d read that crime, including violent crime, could be a problem in Zanzibar as in much of Africa. It was one of the reasons I opted for drivers rather than renting a car. Although the roads were good, I was particularly happy with this choice after we twice had drivers stopped by police requesting a bribe. Our drivers told us this was normal saying with a laugh that “This is Africa!”, but it could have been intimidating if we’d been on our own and dealing with language issues. I read particular warnings about crime along the beaches stretching from Nungwi to Kendwa stating that there had been violent muggings there. Warnings said not to walk the beach at night. Despite this, we saw quite a few tourists walking along the beach to the many restaurants and hotels near Nungwi Beach Resort by Turaco. We walked along the beach a fair ways ourselves during the day and I don’t think I’d have too many concerns about it in the early evening when lots of people are out. That said, we ended up being lazy and eating at our hotel as we’d done in Uroa. The food was good and the beachfront location of the Fisherman’s Grill restaurant was beautiful and especially spectacular at sunset. We learned to come early to grab one of those waterfront tables. Our room included a large buffet breakfast (even though when I booked with Marriott points the site said breakfast wasn’t included) and we opted to just pay à la carte for lunches and dinners. We just don’t eat or drink enough to justify the all-inclusive price and we found our total bill for lunches and dinners to be reasonably priced.
Sunset view from Fisherman’s Grill with one of the nightly soccer games that spring up along Zanzibar beaches as the sun and temperature drop.
The only issue we had during our stay at Marriott’s Nungwi Beach Resort by Turaco was an air conditioner that dripped water onto the floor between our entry area and the bedroom. Maintenance took a day to get it fixed, but it wasn’t a big deal. Nevertheless, the receptionist when we checked out apologized profusely and offered to buy us drinks to make up for it. We’d just had drinks and a light lunch at the bar and our Zanzitaxi ride was arriving so I half-jokingly suggested she could comp the drinks we’d just had. She jumped on the idea and comped us not only the drinks, but also our lunch then took off a discount from one of our earlier meals. More than generous. We left the Nungwi Beach Resort by Marriott extremely happy customers!
View from our porch at F-Zeen Boutique Hotel in Uroa, Zanzibar
After some weeks of gray and cold Paris, I was ready for sunshine and warmth. Unfortunately, the Mediterranean is still too cold for me this time of year so I started looking further afield. I eyed Cape Verde (Cap Vert) but found flights less-than-convient. A couple of stunning photos of Zanzibar beaches caught my eye, further research piqued my easily-piqued curiosity, and when I discovered I could book us reasonably-priced award flights in Qatar Airways business class with an overnight layover in Doha, I was all in.
Zanzibar is the name for both a multi-island “state” of Tanzania and a name for the main island of that state. Stone Town, Zanzibar, is about an hour ferry ride to Dar es Salaam on the mainland of Tanzania. Although Tanzania is primarily Christian, Zanzibar is Muslim and was the former home of the Sultans of Oman and Zanzibar. The Omani influence on architecture can be seen throughout historic Stone Town. Zanzibar is known for spices and was a former hub of the slave trade. Its Swahili culture reflects the influences of Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Swahili is the main language, but at least some English is widely spoken.
After reading that driving across Zanzibar is subject to the vagaries of weather and traffic, I decided to break up a 10-night stay into 4 nights on the east coast (beautiful beaches and smaller hotels), 4 nights on the north coast (more beautiful beaches and bigger resorts) and 2 nights in Stone Town (historic and closest to the airport).
A quick search through our available points and free-night certificates yielded happy results: in addition to flying on miles and using a free night certificate at the Intercontinental West Bay in Doha, we could book a well-rated Marriott resort in northern Nungwi with points and two nights at the premier and historic Park Hyatt Zanzibar with certificates and points. This left us with only the 4 nights on the east coast to pay for in cash. This trip was clearly meant to happen!
I settled on the F-Zeen Boutique Hotel (formerly Tamarind Beach Hotel) in Uroa for our first four nights on the east coast of the main island of Zanzibar. F-Zeen consists of a number of oceanfront traditional-style, thatched-roofed, air-conditioned cottages (both one-story duplexes and two story quads) and a number of un-air-conditioned (but still pretty) cottages further back from the water behind a swimming pool. Air-conditioning is essential for us and I chose one of their best waterfront cottages.
Our Zanzitaxi driver was waiting as promised at the airport near Stone Town. When he started driving south instead of straight east towards Uroa (per Google Maps on my phone), he explained that the usual route was blocked due to the funeral procession of a former president of Tanzania who’d been a native of Zanzibar. Fortunately, the detour took us along nice roads and we arrived at F-Zeen Boutique Hotel after about an hour.
Side view from our porch of F-Zeen pool, grounds, and beach
We were greeted by a friendly hostess, a welcome drink, and two sleeping cats on the small sofas in an outdoor area that serves as a small lobby. We were led to the cottage the farthest to our left along the oceanfront. Although pretty enough, I wasn’t thrilled with the location just beside a neighboring small bar where dogs barked and music played. Happily, our hostess found us a short time later on the beach, to offer us a choice between two other rooms and we quickly settled on an upstairs unit (Room 22) with big windows on two sides and a large porch facing the beach a few steps away. The bedroom was lovely and spacious, only lacking much in the way of storage space. Mosquito netting could close off the sleeping area from the front door and a small vanity area and bathroom although we saw no mosquitoes while there.* The bathroom was basic with a curved rebar creating a shower curtain. We lost power a few times, but never for more than ten minutes. It is Africa and Zanzibar is a poor island, so this wasn’t unexpected and not a problem.
Our four nights at F-Zeen passed quickly although we spent most of our time lounging on the beach, swimming in the wonderfully warm water of the ocean and the pool, and walking along the beach. I’d chosen Uroa Beach after reading that it was more laid back than Nungwi and that we wouldn’t be plagued by beach peddlers. This turned out to be accurate, although occasional Masai passed by offering sandals for sale and a few women offered massages. They did not press when we declined and left us in peace. More often, we saw locals going about their business, women passing with bundles of sticks on their heads, children playing, men wade fishing with seine nets.
We brought masks and snorkels, but there wasn’t much to see near the shore and the water is very shallow. Fine sand makes the beach a pleasure despite scattered seaweed, but there are spiny urchins further out and we were glad we brought water shoes. Zanzibar is known for big tides and the water recedes a fair amount for periods of the day. F-Zeen Boutique Hotel sits atop a sandy rise that forms a natural barrier to the sea although the water never came all the way to this slope while we were there. It made for a nicer beach than some of the hotels we walked to that either sat much further back from the ocean, narrow strips of beach or had rocky barriers between them and the water.
Our room included breakfast which was served buffet-style in an open-air dining room. We absolutely loved the selection of fresh tropical fruits, and I became a passion fruit junkie. We planned to try some of the little independent and hotel restaurants we saw on our beach walks, but ended up taking all our meals at F-Zeen. The food was good local fare if not gourmet and it was just too easy to walk the short distance to the dining room. Friendly and cheerful staff sealed the deal.
We wanted to visit Jozani Forest before we moved to our second hotel on the north shore, much farther away from the forest. F-Zeen was happy to arrange a driver and guide. The drive was just under an hour and well worth our time. We loved wandering under the trees as Zanzibar red colobos monkeys (only native to Zanzibar) and blue (Sykes’) monkeys moved in the trees above us, groomed babies, fed on ripe guava that littered the forest floor, and generally went about their lives totally unconcerned about the humans among them.
All-in-all, we really enjoyed our laid-back start to Zanzibar at Uroa Beach and F-Zeen Boutique Hotel.
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*Although we saw no mosquitoes, Zanzibar is still a known malaria zone so we got prescriptions pre-travel and were taking anti-malarial medicine before, during and for a week after our trip. We probably saw no mosquitoes because we were in Zanzibar just before the main rainy season (which usually begins late March). However, many people mentioned how bad the mosquitoes can get after the rainy season and anyone planning to travel there should educate themselves and take appropriate precautions.
Fountains of the State Museum of the Temurids in Tashkent
Our high-speed train from Samarkand to Tashkent had us arriving in the Uzbek capital city in the evening. After driving down wide modern boulevards, we were a little surprised to find our hotel located on what appeared to be a residential street. The hotel itself was nice, though, and a short walk to a major road and the Russian embassy. When our city guide, Marifat, arrived the next day, we discovered that the hotel was also a short drive to many of the main sights as well as conveniently located to the airport.
Our first touristy stops in Tashkent were at the Khast Imam complex (16-20century), billed as “the spiritual heart of Tashkent” followed by Barak Khan madrassa which has one of the oldest extant copies of the Quran. Both of these were beautiful, particularly the large mosque of the Khast Imam complex, but they were similar to the Five M’s [mosques, minarets, madrassas mausoleums and markets] we’d seen across Uzbekistan.
In borrowed modest attire with Marifat in the lovely Khast Imam mosque
At this last stage of our Uzbekistan travels, I found myself intrigued by the differences Tashkent offered from the other places we’d visited. Tashkent suffered extensive earthquake damage in the past and has been largely rebuilt. This makes for a more modern city than other stops on our journey. The huge domes of the Chorsu bazaar were a step beyond any market we’d seen.
Dome of the Chorsu Bazaar
Descending from the bazaar into one of the spectacular Soviet-era metro stops was a real treat. For about 10 cents apiece, we rode the métro to the Cosmonauts stop, decorated entirely in a space theme with art honoring the first cosmonauts and even the Apollo-Soyuz handshake mission from 1975. The subway cars themselves were mostly vintage but, as in Moscow, the stations are really magnificent.
Tashkent Métro stops
Exiting the Cosmonauts métro stop, we rendezvoused with our driver near the circular domed glass Interpol building. Our next stop was the Amaliy San’at Muzeyi (Applied Art Museum) of Tashkent housed in a beautifully tiled former mansion. We enjoyed the displays of fabrics, suzani, carpets, musical instruments, furniture and ceramics. The rest of our tour involved a drive down wide boulevards past the vast Independence Square the State Museum of the Timurids, Amir Timur Square and other gleaming modern buildings. David and I made note of interesting places to return on our own later, but first we were hungry! We’d postponed lunch to finish our tour, but now we asked Marifat to recommend somewhere to eat and asked her to join us.
The Uzbek restaurant Marifat originally recommended in an upscale strip center was completely full, but we spotted a Chinese restaurant, Dimsum Bamboo, a few doors down. The change in cuisine sounded great to us and Marifat was intrigued. We had a great time visiting with Marifat whom we found charming. She shared her worries about a new job with a Canadian tour company that was set to start in a couple of days. The job was a huge deal to her and would entail being in charge of her first big group and a two-country trip. All had been well until she’d gotten a call the night before from her new employer questioning whether she was ready for the job and asking her to take yet another test. Marifat also shared more personal issues and the challenges for a young single woman in her country wanting to make her own way. We felt no doubt she’d succeed in whatever she tried and told her so. We’ve stayed in touch since our return and have rejoiced with her as her new job has gone well and she’s gotten rave reviews from people in her tours.
After a quick refresh and rest in our hotel, we used the Yandex Go* app to summon a ride and headed back to Amir Timur Square to do a little exploring on our own. We wandered the square, then crossed the street to admire the Timurid museum before heading back through the square to “Broadway” a pedestrian street we’d noticed when with Marifat and our driver. Broadway turned out to have more of a carnival vibe than we expected. We joined families, couples and groups of friends strolling between booths of games and fair food. *[Note: Marifat recommended Yandex Go and I’d read about it before leaving, but didn’t find the right app. It’s important to search “Yandex Go” not just “Yandex” when looking for this app on Google Playstore. There are lots of apps with the name Yandex. What we used is Yandex Go which has a simple icon with a rectangular yellow bar on the top and two equal squares on the bottom, one white and one black. Alternatively, use the above link and choose the download option from the dropdown menu. Yandex Go works like Uber or Lyft, but we paid cash rather than loading a credit card. Rides were plentiful and very cheap.]
Exploring Tashkent on our own. From top left: Amir Timur Square, State Museum of the Temurids, Broadway, Independence Square fountains, festive street lights, Memorial Square
We decided to use Google Maps to find our way back to Independence Square, a made our way past a large police station where lines of uniformed police gathered in formation for some sort of ceremony. With the sun dropping low, we passed an enormous new Hyatt, turning to walk along a wide, colorfully-lit boulevard past a concert hall and a haunting memorial square with a large statue of a grieving figure bent towards an eternal flame.
White Chevrolets make up the majority of Uzbek automobiles
We finally reached Independence Square just as evening was falling. A basin of fountains separates Sharaf Rashidaf Avenue from the vast square which boasts a wide colonnade the center of which is crowned by a sculptured stork atop a globe. Beyond that in a park stands a bronze-colored globe which replaces a statue of Lenin.
Independence Square
With daylight disappearing, we used the Yandex Go app again to hail a car to take us back to the strip center where we’d lunched with Marifat. This time the restaurant she’d recommended, Afsona, had a table available and we enjoyed a topnotch final Uzbek dinner.
