As not only a country but a territory collector, of course I need to count my exclaves visited. When it comes to exclaves, Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan is not only a true exclave, it might be the world’s most well known one. That does not make it a place frequented by tourists, but it is certainly a jurisdiction I would find the time to visit.
It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog on my whereabouts, so let’s catch up on some of my recent adventures, starting with the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan. I’m writing this from Indonesia, where I’ve been quite literally diving into my latest hobby. When I’m not exploring underwater, I’ve been working nights. All of this work and sea exploration has kept me very busy, but now I’m ready to take a minute to update you on where I’ve been.
Join me on a wild ride as we travel from Istanbul to Nakhchivan. After a nice trip to China and then Istanbul with my girlfriend Karyna, I flew to Nakhchivan for a new adventure. Between a frantic airport dash and exploring Nakhchivan’s unique sights, the trip has left much to unpack. Let’s dive in!
Unwinding in Istanbul
To rewind, Karyna and I traveled through China and then went to Istanbul to celebrate her birthday. 🥳
The original plan was to have a big celebration with many of Karyna’s friends, but in the end, only a few could make it. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time in Istanbul. I visited the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace, which I think I may have visited about 15 years ago during my first semester at university, but I don’t remember. It was nice to see, whether or not I had been there before.
We attended a traditional belly dancing show and did some typical tourist stuff around town. We also spent a good chunk of time at our apartment, which was situated on the European side of the city. From our apartment, we had a fantastic view of the Bosphorus Strait, the natural waterway that splits Istanbul between the Asian and European continents. We also had a great view of the Bosphorus Bridge and the Asian side of Istanbul. All in all, we had a relaxing few days soaking up the city and enjoying our time together.
While I was in town, I also met with Stefan and Bernhard, a couple of my business partners. They manage a short-term rental business in Istanbul that I’m a major investor in.
After our long trip to China and a few relaxing days in Istanbul, I caught a direct flight to Nakhchivan the day after Karyna’s birthday.
The direct flight, which departs early every Tuesday morning, goes through the Azerbaijan city of Ganja. It’s a much better option than taking a lengthy detour through Baku and waiting several hours for a connecting flight. The flight from Turkey to Baku lands around noon, and the only connections to Nakhchivan leave in the early morning or late evening, which is bad timing. Luckily, I made the direct flight despite nearly missing it.
The 90-Minute Dash
On Tuesday morning, my flight to Nakhchivan was scheduled to leave at 5:15 AM. By the time I woke up, it was already 3:45! 😨 I’d set my alarm for 2:45, but somehow, I slept through it. I ended up getting an extra hour of sleep, which was nice, but oh shit… I woke up in a total panic. My hotel was near Taksim Square in Istanbul, and getting to the airport from there normally takes about 45 minutes, which would make me too late for my flight. I was in an especially bad position because I hadn’t checked in yet, and online check-in was already closed. I tried to check in online, but it wouldn’t let me do it within 90 minutes of the flight.
So what did I do? I decided to make a mad dash for it. I gathered my things as fast as I could, skipped the shower, gave Karyna a quick kiss goodbye, and jumped into a taxi. Normally, I have issues with Uber in Turkey, but luckily, at that hour, the Uber arrived quickly and drove like a maniac to the airport. I didn’t ask him to speed, but he was clearly eager to make more money as he ignored all posted speed limits. He made the trip from the center of Istanbul near Taksim Square to the airport in under 30 minutes, but I still arrived ostensibly too late to make my flight.
Luckily, the check-in agent was really understanding about my situation. I used my extensive travel experience to find the right terminal, and then I did something a bit audacious. 😳 I jumped ahead in line, slipping through to the other side to speak to the agent directly. I still had to wait a few minutes to talk to her while she finished up with the previous customer. When I finally did, she told me that I needed to wait in line, and I explained that I needed to board the flight immediately. She was kind enough to issue my ticket, even though it was less than an hour before departure. Since I was only carrying hand luggage, I didn’t have to spend any extra time checking in a bag.
I had successfully gotten hold of my ticket, but the adventure wasn’t over yet. Immigration and security took forever at Istanbul Airport that early morning. By the time I made it to the boarding gate, I didn’t even have a chance to use the restroom. It was the final call, and I was pretty much the last person to board the plane to Nakhchivan. It was a real scramble, but it goes to show that you should never give up. If you really want to get on that flight, you can catch it, even with just 90 minutes to spare.
First Impressions
I arrived in Nakhchivan early in the morning, around 7:30 AM. Immigration was a breeze since there weren’t many people arriving in the Azerbaijani exclave. Getting into Azerbaijan was straightforward; I had my visa sorted without any hassle. Emil, my guide, was there to greet me. He’s a great guy who took me on a tour of Nakhchivan. Emil came highly recommended by Miraj, a traveler from Azerbaijan who’s visited all 193 UN member countries, which is practically a record for an Azerbaijani. 🏆 Miraj also belongs to some extreme travel clubs, so I trusted his recommendation to take Emil as my guide.
First, Emil drove me from the airport to the hotel. Luckily, the hotel wasn’t fully booked, so I could check in right away. I freshened up for about half an hour, and then we set off to explore Nakhchivan, which already surprised me with its modern appearance.
The hotel I stayed in was large and situated in a big square surrounded by many other hotels. The rooms were spacious, and I noticed that some high-profile guests were staying there as well. Several well-dressed bodyguards were stationed in the corridor near my room. Quite ironically, it turned out that the Minister of Taxes from mainland Azerbaijan was visiting the Nakhchivan tax department, which explained the heavy security. My suite was conveniently located right next to his, but the bodyguards did their job of preventing anyone from hassling him.
Mausoleums and Mountains
From Nakhchivan city, we headed north across the exclave, back toward the Turkish border. The landscape was quite beautiful, and I enjoyed taking some photographs there. Eventually, we could see the dormant volcanos of Mount Ararat in Turkey come into view, and we continued our journey from there.
Our first stop was a mausoleum with an impressive design. It reminded me a lot of the architecture in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Apparently, Nakhchivan is full of these amazing structures! I learned that back in the 12th and 13th centuries, these structures were built by a famous architect who was later brought to Samarkand by Timur to design more of these structures along the Silk Road. So, a lot of the stunning mosque and mausoleum architecture you see along the Silk Road actually originated here in Nakhchivan.
There wasn’t much else to see around the mausoleum, but it was quite striking from the outside, especially the minarets. There was a small museum there, too. After checking that out, we continued heading north to the tiny 17-kilometer border between Nakhchivan and Turkey.
Bordering on a Quadripoint
The border of Nakhchivan almost has a quadripoint, which is where four different countries meet at a single point. The only true quadripoint I’ve visited is in Africa, where Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana come together. Nakhchivan is close to being part of a quadripoint but it’s off by about two kilometers. It borders Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
Currently, you can only travel from Nakhchivan to Turkey, not the other way around. This is because, since COVID, Azerbaijan hasn’t allowed foreigners to enter via land, only by plane. So, while you can leave for Turkey, you can’t come back from Turkey to Nakhchivan by land.
We arrived at the border and took some photos of the nearby Mount Ararat. It’s not too far away, and although it was a bit foggy or cloudy, we still had a great view of its two peaks. Afterward, we drove back to Nakhchivan city, which is more or less in the center of the exclave.
Salt of the Earth
Before checking out more sites in Nakhchivan, we visited some salt caves. A lot of the area around Nakhchivan is very salty. There’s a lot of salt in the ground, and even the grass is salty. This saltiness in the grass makes the beef and lamb and other meats from the region incredibly tender and flavorful. 🤤 The meat from Nakhchivan is highly sought after in Baku and quite expensive. I also learned that this meat is not exportable; it’s reserved just for the local market in Baku.
The salt cave we visited, known as Duzdag, has been used for therapeutic purposes since it was converted from a salt mine back in Soviet times. Carved into the mountain more than 100 meters underground, it’s an impressive space with salt crystals sparkling all around. ✨
Inside the tunnel are two hospitals where people, especially children from Baku dealing with respiratory issues due to pollution from the oil and gas industries, come for relief. People also travel from afar to seek the curative properties of the cave to help strengthen their immune systems, improve skin conditions, relieve stress, increase circulation, and even remove negative energy, if you believe in that kind of thing. It was interesting to walk about 500 meters through the cave to see the treatment centers and so on.
Mausoleums, Mosques, and More
After that, we drove to Nakhchivan town to explore a few things there. One of the highlights was a mausoleum located in the town. We also visited the historic villa of the Khan, the former ruler. The villa’s interior was quite nice and had some typical artifacts like you would see in a museum. There wasn’t a whole lot to see, but it was a great opportunity to learn a bit more about the history of Nakhchivan. 🤓
From there we visited the newer mausoleum and a recently opened mosque. This mosque, which just opened last year, is the second largest in Azerbaijan. It’s a very grand structure that’s beautiful both inside and out. It also looks similar to the Silk Road style of architecture that I saw closer to the border.
The mausoleum is located right next to the mosque on an elevated spot that offers great views over the town of Nakhchivan. The town is quite close to the border with Iran, and from this vantage point, you can see the border river and the Iranian settlements beyond it. The next day, I was prepared to get even closer to the border.
Besides that, we went to see a small structure that was also built in the Silk Road style. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but there was an old Lada, a classic car, displayed in front of the mausoleum. Overall, there wasn’t a huge amount to see in Nakhchivan, but it was still an interesting visit.
I headed to the hotel to rest for a bit and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Georgian restaurant in my hotel. The hotel was the best five-star option in Nakhchivan, and it was quite nice. In the evening, I managed to get quite a bit of work done. By the time I was finished, I was ready to wake up the next day for more adventures before flying to Baku in the evening.
Stay tuned for the next installment where I’ll continue sharing more of the adventures that unfolded in Azerbaijan, including a biblical experience and a brutal hike. There’s plenty more to come!
