The Silk Road Through the Caucasus

There are two Bakus. One can be found on the cobbled streets of the Old Town, pinpointed by the incredible 12th-century Maiden Tower: a ribbed structure tapering 100ft to a circular rooftop for views across the Shirvan Shah’s Palace and the city. The other can be characterized by the white, almost impossible curve of the Heydar Aliyev Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid – modern Baku has become a playground for bold architectural statements. But while the city has been nicknamed the Dubai of the Caspian, it has a character all its own.  

Surrounded by forests of oak and beech in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, its stone-and-wood houses straddling a mountain river, Sheki was one of the lesser-known stars of the Silk Road – but its silk was traded as far as Japan. Some of the old caravanserai have survived, with arcades where merchants once bartered, along with the UNESCO-protected Sheki Khan’s Palace, with its rose gardens, paintings of peacocks and Persian carpets you imagine flying away on. It’s a deeply atmospheric destination; as is the nearby village of Kish, with its church that is said to date back to the 1st century.  

Constantly evolving, Tbilisi is one of Europe’s most fascinating cities. Like its cooking, which mixes together Central Asian, Russian and Turkish influence, it’s a melting pot of cultures. Street bazaars pepper the Old Town pavements below faded wooden balconies; Art Nouveau boulevards lead past Moorish, rococo and baroque architecture, and 19th-century bathhouses warm the bones with sulfurous heat. Highlights include the 6th-century Anchiskhati Basilica and the Narikala Fortress, once a Persian citadel; but also the contemporary creative energy that percolates through the squares, galleries and boutique shops, making it the buzziest city around.  

Rising high above Kazbegi, one of the Caucasus mountain villages on Georgia’s northern frontier, is the reason for traveling here. Mount Kazbek is the third highest peak but the most remarkable, swirled in ice, forest and myth. It was here that Prometheus was chained, according to Greek legend, for stealing fire from the gods. Perched on one of its flanks, 7,100ft up, is Gergeti Trinity Church, its two towers set against an unforgettable mountain backdrop – easy to imagine medieval life here, the historic blood feuds, as you make the pilgrimage up.   

More a town than a city, the Armenian capital has survived earthquakes and invading empires over the millennia – from Romans to Russians. As one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world, founded in 782BC, it’s exceedingly comfortable in its own skin. This is a place to walk around and soak up the atmosphere – past the fountains on Republic Square, climbing the giant stone staircase at the Museum of Art, or browsing ceramics, carpets and jewelry at the Vernissage market. On a clear day, you can look up and see Mount Ararat on the horizon.