Some impressions of our stay in Nakhchivan

We are two Swiss women, one who teaches German and the other Geography, who travelled along the Silk Road during our Easter holidays in April 2015. Our travels took us to Azerbaijan, a country nestled between East and West, shaped by past traditions, yet focused on the future. Since we love exploring places off the beaten track, we also decided after having spent a couple of days in Baku, to visit the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan, which borders on Turkey, Armenia and Iran.

Our stay was memorable in all respects. During our arrival on the early morning plane, the spring sun bathed the beautiful Nakhchivan City in a warm glow. Our driver Niyazi, who was already waiting for us at the airport, met us with a hearty welcome. After a short stop at the Grand Hotel, he drove us to Ordubad through beautiful landscapes with flowering trees and fields of red poppies. In this small town near the Iranian border, people made us feel at ease straight away. We were invited for tea in the Central Square, and a journalist who was making a television report (a TV special to promote tourism in the Ordubad region) kindly put together a a list for us of the most important sites, places of interest and the museums of his region. On his advice, we decided to set off for the Alinja fortress.

It took us a bit of an effort to climb the endless stairs in the heat of the afternoon. Niyazi abandoned us half-way. Once we had arrrived at the top of the fortress, the view of the surrounding landscape was breathtaking, which more than compensated for all of our exhausting physical efforts.

We then continued on to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, a place of pilgrimage hidden in the rocks. We were again offered a cup of tea on a shady terrace before going back to Nakhchivan City. In the evening, we strolled along the streets of the capital and savoured a tasty lentil soup in the restaurant on the top floor of the Tabriz Hotel with a dramatically beautiful view of the city and the mountains. The city seemed to be neatly arranged around the central square, modern and dynamic, yet restful. On our return to the Grand Hotel, we met Elcin Qurbanov who, fortunately for us, spoke English fluently and offered to guide us the following day.

After a good night's rest at our comfortable hotel, we were looking forward to discovering other parts of Nakhchivan, to learn more about its past, its traditions and its expectations for the future. Elcin and Niyazi picked us up and drove us in the direction of the Turkish border. We stopped at the village of Garabaglar and visited its complex, consisting of two minarets and a mausoleum, erected in honour of Gudi Khatun, the wife of the grandson of the emperor Genghis Khanand. They even let us climb up one of the towers, which offfered us a clear view of Mount Agri.

We next visited the Duzdag salt mines (Duz Dag = Salt Mountain), the oldest in the world, to which is attached a sanatorium for people suffering from respiratory problems. We were served a refreshing thyme tea in the tea shop at the entrance of the mine, then walked along a long corridor leading to bedrooms deep inside the mine. Breathing the salty air turned out to be quite refreshing.

Elcin then chose to lead us to Bicelak, a holiday resort high up in the mountains located a short distance from the border of Armenia where we enjoyed an impressive winter landscape. We reached a lake which was partly frozen; the surrounding countryside was still covered in snow. It was pure magic.

After this privileged moment, we returned to Nakhchivan City to visit its famous monuments. Thanks to Elcin, the mauoleums of Momine Khatun and Huseyn Javid, as well as the Khan Palace, soon held almost no more secrets for us. At the end of the day, Niyazi and Elcin invited us for dinner in a typical restaurant before we took the evening flight back to Baku. It was not without some regret that we left Nakhchivan, its dazzling beauty and its friendly, hospitable and generous people.

We would like to heartily thank all those who made our stay in Nakhchivan unforgettable, above all Niyazi and Elcin. We highly recommend this destination to our family, friends and colleagues, and to all people seeking authenticity, and hope that Nakhchivan will become a prime destination for foreign visitors.

visitors.

Diane Projer and Marina Morard