Knock-Knock-Nakh-chivan On Heaven’s Door: 2 Days In Nakhchivan
It’s time to shift monsooning back into higher gears — today we’re visiting Nakhchivan! A landlocked exclave separated from Azerbaijan by Armenia (or as some say, physically located within Armenia), but an otherwise autonomous region under the control of the...
The Land Of Fire: Atesgah Fire Temple & Yanar Dag
After a late morning checking out Gobustan National Park, its petroglyphs and mud volcanoes south of Baku, we drove up north of Baku to explore more of the land of fire.The Ateşgah Fire Temple was our first stop. Built in the 18th century by numerous Indian...
Gobs And Gobs Of Mud Volcanoes In Gobustan
With 2 days wandering about in Baku behind, Elizabeth, Brandon and I got up at 9:30am today and hopped on with Fuad of Guided Azerbaijan in his 4WD and headed for the Gobustan State Reserve.Located about 40 miles southwest of Baku, the national park was...
Back To Baku
FYI: A more comprehensive itinerary of Baku can be found in my entry back in 2015, but this post will fill in some of the gaps I had missed last time. As well as more magic. I was here once alone back in 2015, and now I'm back with a new crew 2 years...
Merv-elous!
After a week with Ben and the YPT group, I was alone again, getting only 4 hours of sleep before having to wake up and be picked up by a random driver at the hotel for a 6am flight to Mary.The check-in and flight went without a fuss, and I arrived in Mary,...
Such Awaza’e Of Time
After a morning driving through the splendor of Yangykala Canyon, we arrived at the city of Türkmenbaşy, named after Turkmenistan’s first president. Satellite dishes are banned in Turkmenistan due to its potential for receiving feeds from outside...
Yangykala: Turkmenistan’s Own “Grand Canyon”
After camping out overnight at Darvaza, we returned to Ashgabat in the afternoon for a few hours at ultra-hipster and swanky Berkarar Shopping Center.Presenting itself as such a stark contrast to the rest of the country, Berkara holds itself up to international...
Darvaza/Derweze: The Gates Of Hell
After taking a naked dip and lunch at Kow Ata, we headed into the desert to visit the infamous gas crater of Darvaza/Derweze, arguably the country’s most famous tourist attraction.Approaching the gas craters, we first stopped by a desolate village to grab some...
Where Are We Now?
Where Are We Next?
