Gebele, Azerbaijan
One of the highlights of my trip to Azerbaijan was to visit the town of Sheki on the northern border with Georgia. It would have been easier to stop there on route from Tbilisi to Baku. However there are no transit options except by private guide or taxi which would be too expensive. The most feasible option was to go direct to Baku, then book a trip to travel the 5 hours back to Sheki.
I had found a guide on Indy-Guide. This is a good site for Soviet Republics and I had used this site before on my trip to Kazakhstan. The listing was originally for a one day trip but when we talked about it she suggested overnight as its 5 hours each way and we can stop in other interesting towns along the way.
I had to divide my luggage in the Baku apartment for what I would need for an overnight trip and what I can leave for when I came back. Most important were all the battery chargers. We arranged to meet at 9am and it was good clear weather as we drove out of Baku.
Outside the city the landscape is quite barren and much more traditional with roadside vendors flagging down passing cars. After a while we made it to Shamakhi which was our first stop for the Jummah (Friday) Mosque.
It dates back to 753 and was destroyed in an earthquake as well as by Armenians. The interior was medieval and gothic stone design with traditional Islamic ceramic tiles.
There was a large Korean tour group and I heard familiar speaking in Korean.
We were having car trouble and we had to stop for repairs. I hoped this wasnt a bad sign. The driver left us in a coffee shop while he went to a garage to look into the engine overheating. Dark clouds were also moving in.
After we left the dreaded rains moved back in which had been bogging me in the first week of my trip. Fortunately it was just a pocket and dried and restarted with hail in patches as we continued driving. The landscape also continued to change.
The route from Baku to the north you are actually ascending in elevation. This explains the weather pockets as well as the wildly differing landscapes.
We then stopped at Nohur Lake where you could take boat or horse rides. I wasnt that interested. I'd seen lakes like this in Kazakhstan and Xinjiang China and not really what I came to see. It would be an interesting stop though if we didnt have a busy day.
Driving more north it became more mountainous with distant snow peaks. We came to a mountain resort and I was told to take a gondola up for 14 AZ ($9.50). I wasnt that interested in going up a mountain. There was an archaeological site here I thought we were going to see.
There are two gondola lines. One goes horizontal for about a km or so. Then you transfer for the ascent line to go up the mountain.
As you ascend you feel the temperature cooling. At the top I was stunned to see snow everywhere on the ground. This was amazing and a complete climate change from the ground level. There were some wet flurries and cooler winds.
Now I see why she kept telling me to come up as this was completely unexpected and incredible. There was a restaurant and terrace. In busy season there are other gondola lines from the hotel.
After a while I took the gondola back down and you see the climate change again as it gets warmer and the snow starts disappearing from the mountainside. This was an incredible change in a matter of minutes.
We now drove to a restaurant. It was traditional huts along a river. I had the whole room to myself and they turned a woodstove on to heat the room.
First he brought two platter of sides. I thought what did I need all this for. I only took two dishes as it was too much for me. I'd ordered a dumpling soup for 3Az ($2.10) which had a mint taste. As well kebabs for 6 Az ($4.20).
He brought a giant tandoor bread which I never ordered. I tried eating it with the soup but it was too much so I had to take half with me for later. The meal total came to 17 Az ($11.50).
As we continued driving the landscape was much more traditional with cattle grazing by the roadside or wandering onto the road.
We stopped at a bank to exchange currency as I had paid Gunel in USD and I needed to exchange more Euros. I was supposed to be staying at the historic Caravanserai in Sheki but we switched to a guesthouse as I was told guests had recently stayed at the Caravanserai and complained the rooms were too cold.
The guesthouse had no heat in the room either so I dont see what the difference was. This was actually a hostel with a girl from Australia, two guys from China, and a local from Baku who works at a bank here. I was served tea and told the traditional way is not to put the sugar in the tea but to let it melt in your mouth as you slowly drink the tea.
See also vlog of today's road trip - https://youtu.be/sm2aenynOt4
2025-05-22