traveling to Nagorni Karabakh

In Meghri we managed to hitch a ride with a group of Armenians who were bringing back cars they had bought in Dubai. Traveling in Armenia also means helping others rather than arriving as quickly as possible at the destination: on one of the mountain passes we stopped for an hour or so to help a Georgian man whose car had broken down.

Arrived in Goris, we went to a B&B recommended in the good ole Lonely Planed guide, and this time we were not disappointed, quite on the contrary. Khachik, our host, and his family have such a sincere sense of hospitality coupled with training in B&B management that the one night stay there was pure pleasure. Because all guest rooms were already taken, the whole family (grandparents, parents, three children) moved into one room and we slept on the living room couch! Imagine this in Western Europe...

Today Wednesday we took a taxi to Stepanakert, the capital city of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (sic!). This region was the apple of discord between Armenia and Azerbaijan during the war at the beginning of the nineties. But we found a very green, hilly landscape with hardly any reminders of the war, except maybe a long line across a valley to prevent jets from flying lower than the radar coverage.

On the "border" to Karabakh our passports and Karabakh visas were checked and our names written in a Soviet style book with yellowish paper. The funniest thing was that at the end of the official procedure, the border guard, in uniform and hat, asked us how he could be of help to us!! (Our astonishment is understandable to those of you who have had the pleasure to experience border guards in countries of the Former Soviet Union.) We chatted about our trip and about places he suggested to visit in Karabakh.

In Stepanakert we settled at a local B&B recommended by Khachik from Goris, this time in a real town flat instead of a private house with garden, and then went to register our presence with the Karabakhi "Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Like in the old days one has to also indicate all the places one intends to visit. The girls at the Ministry then say if it's recommended or not to visit a place one mentions.

And now, back to discovering Karabakh... More later!