Caucasus Countries

>>1263509
Lake Sevan is beautiful and has some nice monasteries.

One thing I'd suggest if your willing to go into other countries than the three is maybe going to Ani which was the former Armenian capital, was abandoned centuries ago and is now in Eastern Turkey.

>>1263539
>Ani
Looks really remote

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>>1263509
>all three of the Caucasus countries
neat; I plan on visiting both countries in Europe this summer.

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>>1263509
Been to Georgia and the Russian Caucasus twice, have yet to see Armenia and Azerbaijan (though honestly I might skip the latter as it's more expensive and apparently more openly corrupt). If you have any questions, ask away. What kind of stuff are you into?

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Spent 3 weeks in Georgia and 10 days in Armenia including two days in Nagorno Karabakh.
Ask away

>>1263669
How was the Russian Caucasus as far as safety? Where do you suggest going there? And what was the best part of Georgia?

>>1263670
What do you think were the best places in those countries?

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Went to Georgia for 3 days on a last minute decision about a month ago. Something's I noticed

>way more middle eastern vibe than I expected
>looked shittier than other shittier Eastern European nations (Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Russia)
>people are very nice
>food is god tier
>everyone is pretty religious


I really enjoyed it, wish I had more time there, if I had to pick between Azerbaijan or Armenia to visit I would probably pick Armenia just because.

>pic related.

>>1263894
>Georgia:
>Mestia (daytrip to Ushguli is a must)
>Kutaisi (check out Prometheus cave and Okatze canyon just outside the city)
>Tbilisi (obviously)
>Gori (a daytrip from Tbilisi, birthplace of J.W Stalin, combine with Uplistsikhe cave town which is just outside Gori)
>Signaghi (Kakheti region in general)
>Stepantsminda/Kazbegi (a must for anyone going to Georgia, hike up to Gergeti Trinity church)
>Batumi and the black sea coast

See Georgia is so diverse its insane, its like a budget version of New Zealand when it comes to how quickly the landscape shifts considering the size of the country.
I spent 3 weeks there but it felt like i only scratched the surface, theres so much more to do there but so far i can only speak for the places i visited. The people are incredibly friendly, its guest cheap guest houses literally everywhere and the food is amazing. Its also dirt cheap.


>Armenia
>Yerevan! (daytrips to Khor Virap, Garni temple and Gegard monastery, Lake Sevan), Armenia is a small country and you can be based in Yerevan and take daytrips to most of the interesting places in the country. Dont miss out on the genocide museum in Yerevan
>Goris (from here you can go do a daytrip to the incredible Tatev monastery and also its very close to Nagorno Karabakh if you want to visit)


Overall i liked Georgia more, not that Armenia was bad, just that Georgia already have everything that Armenia has.

If you are only going for 2 weeks total i'd recommend you stick to Georgia. Either with one of the two trips

Tbilisi - Kazbegi - change bus in Tbilisi - Sighnaghi - Tbilisi

or

Tbilisi - Kutaisi - Mestia - Tbilisi

Either one of these will satisfy you. Its a luxury problem to have to pick between one of these routes.

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>>1263509
>>1263894
Scenery along the way to Mestia

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>>1263509
>>1263894
The Inguri valley outside Ushguli

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>>1263509
>>1263894
Ushguli

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>>1263509
>>1263894
Prometheus cave outside Kutaisi

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>>1263509
>>1263894
Adjarian Khachapuri and Khinkali, two foods you need to try (and you will eat alot)

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>>1263509
>>1263894
Uplistsikhe outside Gori, last pic im bothered to post lol

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>>1264207
>bread with eggs and cheese on top

wow what a national dish. Also it's basically just a rip off Pide from Turkey but with less variety.

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>>1263509
ive lived in armenia for two months and visited tbilisi. other people on here may be more qualified to tell you about georgia, but in terms of armenia here's where to go:

Meghri: beautiful scenery/ armenian hospitality, and you will be in a position to literally throw a rock into iran

Dilijan/Lake Sevan: you could probably knock both of these out in one day. Dilijan has the best forests/hiking in Armenia, and Lake Sevan is beautiful and has the best seafood/swimming in the country.

Alaverdi/Odzun: The "Armenian Alps." Truly breathtaking scenery, the most dramatic mountains i saw in the country. Odzun has a cool museum to an Armenian jet engineer that made a bunch of planes to fight americans in the cold war, which was a pretty surreal thing to see. Again, these are close enough to do within 1-2 days, and close enough to the Georgian border to not be out of the way. ASK AROUND FOR VODKA IN ALAVERDI. I had the best liquor ive ever tasted in alaverdi, 160 proof home distilled mulberry vodka a few blocks away from their monastery. It was simply perfection, and completely blew out of the water any 80 proof vodka ive ever had in the US.

Tatev: If you are going to see one monastery in Armenia, make it this one. truly epic scenery, particularly on a clear day in fall if you get the chance. It has some of the most interesting history of any monastery in the country, and is architecturally a little more impressive than most in the country.

Yerevan: Pretty obvious one here, great nightlife, texas bar and calumet are good for meeting expats from different places. definitely check out everything from republic square to the opera house, particularly northern ave, it really does pop off at night. there are some pretty cool markets and art exhibits on the weekends, and its a very easy to navigate city with great public transportation.

(1/2)

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>>1263509
>>1264241

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh): If you can get in, its pretty remarkable. Shushi and Stepanakert are going to be the towns of note here. Stepanakert is the capital, but shushi is a much better town. Check out the mineral museum in Shushi, its pretty cool and wont eat up too much time. Talk to the locals, and see if you can get an audience with any of the artsakh government officials (actually easier than it sounds), just to see whats good with them. Talk to some military officials about the frontline with azerbaijan, they are surprisingly friendly and open.

If you are in tbilisi, be sure to check out a sulfur bath, beyond that i'm not too knowledgeable about whats good there outside of the old town, which is a pretty good starting point for checking stuff out there.

DO NOTE: if you go to Armenia, you will have a very hard time getting into azerbaijan. if you've been to artsakh, and have an artsakh passport stamp, dont even fathom trying to get into azerbaijan. you will be deported/arrested. as for armenia, the early 20th century turkish genocide and the ongoing conflict with azerbaijan play a large role in national self identity, and youd be wise to respect that. show solidarity and share in the pride of their people and you will be sure to make plenty of loyal friends. happy travels!

let me know if you have any questions

>>1264246

I had no problems entering Azerbaijan despite having a recent Armenian passport stamp, YMMV.

Also, when I visited Artsakh they gave me a separate document and stamped that instead of my passport.

I moved all the photos from Artsakh off my phone, deleted GPS pins, and then at the Azerbaijan border they didn't even ask if I had been there :p

>>1264254
ayyyyyeeee, thats using your noggin. when i went to artsakh, they didnt stamp my passport either. never tried going to azerbaijan from armenia though, id imagine its a royal pain in the ass

>>1264236
Butthurt Turk who hates all his neighbours spotted

>>1264246
Hey, can you tell me about the border-area around Nagorno-Karabakh; I heard it's quite dangerous. Did you feel safe? Also feel free to share whatever about the place

>>1264341
its completely safe from the armenian side, as for the azerbaijani side, i wouldnt get too close, as it should be considered a low burning active war zone. i dont think youll have any chance of accidentally getting too close. theres small arms fire and the occasional rpg, but nothing that would make either of the places i mentioned there unsafe. i felt entirely safe during my time there. check out the stepanakert farmers market if youre there on a weekend, theyll feed you shots and bbq, and youll meet some really friendly people. also the exchange rate there is insanely favorable

>>1264341
Youre already a bit in NKB (or Azerbaijan) when you get to the "border". It was a small building by the road with one fat police swinging his baton and the border official had his feet on the table and the other guy had a tank top and a towel around his neck and was eating pastries. He took a copy of my passport and faxed it to the immigration office in Stepanakert and once there i filled in some papers and got the visa.
Anyway dont go too close to the Azerbaijani border as there is a chance of getting sniped or stepping on a land mine or that the conflict escalates like it did in April 2016. Remember that soldiers die every week on each side as results of violation to the ceasefire.

>>1264345
>>1264568
Hmm, I remember reading about thugs near the border and a certain town to avoid, but I might be mixing it up with what I've read about Abkhazia - currently can't find any such information about any of those two places, though.

I'll definitely go whenever I get around to visiting Georgia and Armenia.

what's the best way to get into armenia if I'm in europe beforehand? I hear there is a $50 bus from Istanbul to Yerevan that takes 40 hours, but it's cheaper than a flight. I'd be around Austria/the Balkans around the time I'd want to be going

>>1264965
Fly from Istanbul to Tbilisi instead, 40 hours on a bus is not worth it and the flight tickets are really cheap. You need to go in to Georgia anyway cause the border between Turkey and Armenia is closed.

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>>1263892
Haven't seen much of it unfortunately, but as far as I can tell you're quite safe as long as you avoid certain areas in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia. Georgian areas bordering on the latter two seemed pretty safe when I was there. I have friends who recently visited the three republics as well without issues, but they knew locals and didn't venture outside the big cities much.

Also hands down some of the most amazing scenery on the whole fucking planet. Pic related.

Caucasus food is generally meh unless it's shashlik (basically barbecue) or Adjarian khachapuri (very very cheap and tasty street food).
Khinkali are your basic dumplings.
It's okay to haggle. Do it for sport.

>>1265051
where do you recommend visiting in dagestan? does being a muslim helps with locals there?

>>1263663
>i expect everyone to exclusively follow my obscure definition of the word "country"

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>>1263663
>>1265223
mfw neither of you understand the national question

>>1265223
>Giving the United Nations complete authority to decide what is a country
Scotland is not a country. French Guiana is merely a province of France.

>>1265171
Wouldn't know honestly, I have a friend from the region but he mostly sticks to his family village. Derbent has an ancient citadel that's supposedly worth visiting. Don't know other than that, but the scenery is going to be wonderful anyways. And potentially smack dab in dodgy territory, info is hard to come by.

If the inhabitants are anything like other Caucasians, they'll be very hospitable. Being a muslim probably not required but most likely a plus. Most are sufi muslims as far as I know.

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>>1264207
Reminds me of this kind of fougasse in France

write a testament

>>1265171
there's an islamist insurgency going on in dagestan. probably not the best place to travel to in the caucasus