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The desert state of the Caucasus, its capital awash in oil wealth and international business, wonderful old palaces of the Shirvan Shahs in Baku and Sheki, Zoroastrian fire temples, barren landscapes—oil and salt spreading across the surface, and world-class hikes in the lush, mountainous north.
The lush green heart of the Caucasus, with fabulous cuisine and culture, incredibly diverse landscapes, and an exceptional wealth of ancient churches, cathedrals, monasteries, and cave cities
While traveling here expect to meet friendly locals, eat food like none other on earth, and witness breathtaking mountain vistas.
The Caucasus is one of the most complex linguistic regions in the world, containing more than 60 languages from five distinct language families. This linguistic diversity in and of itself is a major draw for anyone interested in linguistics, but it also lends the region one of its most alluring charms - cultural diversity.
Since the end of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus has become decidedly less cosmopolitan as ethnic groups have migrated to their "heritage" countries. This ethnolinguistic segregation has been especially deep where there has been ethnic conflict, such as between Armenians and Azeris, Abkhaz and Georgians, and Ossetes and Georgians. Because of this trend, there is less inter-ethnic interaction and therefore people are less multilingual than in the past. National languages are becoming ever more important to travelers in the region as fewer locals understand languages other than their own. Thus, a traveler to Georgia would benefit from Georgian, a traveler to Azerbaijan - Azeri, a traveler to Armenia - Armenian, etc.
Russian remains the lingua franca of the former Soviet nations of the Caucasus and the most useful language for any traveler intent on visiting multiple countries in the Caucasus. The current trend is for English language study to displace Russian, but the spread of English proficiency remains extremely limited in all four countries of the Caucasus. As a rule, older people are more likely to speak Russian while younger people are more likely to speak a little English or no foreign language at all. Similarly, citizens who are ethnic minorities within their country are more likely to speak Russian because it is a means of inter-ethnic communication. Travelers can expect that ethnolinguistic minorities within Russia, Abkhazia, or South Ossetia will speak Russian, except in very small, isolated villages.
Knowledge of Turkish is very useful for travel in Azerbaijan because Azeri Turkish and Anatolian Turkish are closely enough related to be mutually intelligible.
Border crossing is generally difficult throughout the Caucasus. The Russian-Georgian border is closed to all traffic and the Russia-Azerbaijan border is only open for citizens of CIS countries. For non-CIS citizens, there is no way of entering/exiting Russia through the Caucasus. Aside from flying, there are ferries between Sochi, Russia & Trabzon, Turkey (near Georgia) and Baku, Azerbaijan & Aktau, Kazakhstan (near Russia).
The Armenian-Azerbaijani border is closed because these countries remain at war. To travel overland between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is necessary to go through either Georgia or Iran.
Georgia's borders with Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are all open, making the country somewhat of a regional transit hub for the Caucasus. Since 2003's Rose Revolution in Georgia, bribes are absolutely not necessary for foreign travelers crossing these borders.
Entering Azerbaijan with a used Armenian visa or vice versa could likely cause problems (suspicion) with border guards, but shouldn't prohibit entry. However, you will not be allowed entry to Azerbaijan with a Nagorno-Karabakh visa (you can ask to get the NKR visa on a separate piece of paper, though).
Overnight trains travel between Tbilisi-Yerevan and Tbilisi-Baku. When traveling by rail, you have the option of rooms containing 4 beds (coupe, pronounced koo-peh') or 2 beds (SV, pronounced es veh). SV is a bit more expensive, but more comfortable and generally considered more safe from pickpockets.
There are direct bus services between Tbilisi-Yerevan and Tbilisi-Baku. If taking the air-conditioned bus between Tbilisi-Baku, bring a jacket! Buses also operate across the Russian-Georgian border, but are not an option for non-CIS country nationals.
If you would prefer a more social mode of transport, minivans (marshrutkas) operate across all open borders and throughout the entire Caucasus region.
There are direct flights between Tbilisi and Baku. Expect no trouble at the airports--they are small and efficient.
Car rental is more expensive in the Caucasus than in the West, but car hire with a driver is quite affordable. For international travel, however, it will be necessary to pay for your driver's lodging unless he was already planning to make the trip.
Relaxing on the Georgian beaches on the black sea in Batumi, Kobuleti, Ureki, Gonia etc.
The drinks of note in the Caucasus are Georgian wines, Armenian cognac (brandy), and Russian vodkas. Local beers throughout the Caucasus are excellent values.
Especially tasty Georgian wines:
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