Blog Archive: October 2019
Baku Old City
Old City or Inner City is the historic core of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.The Old City is the most ancient part of Baku, which is surrounded by walls which were easily defended. The Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower, became the first location in Azerbaijan to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.We visited Baku in early August 2019 to discover Baku Old city and many other goodies of Azerbaijan.Maiden Tower in BakuThe Maiden Tower is a 12th-century monument in the Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan.Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace,…
Picnic Area - Vashlovani National Park 32 km
This picnic area is located on the crossroads before Chalaubani - the Tsnori - Dedoplitskaro-Kvemi Kedi road.We made here a stop after our car malfunctioned while offroad driving trying to reach Patara Tba near Dedoplis Tskaro and it happened so, that at this crossroad car just stopped - now we let it cool for a couple of hours and tried to enjoy our time here (wish we had some barbecue with us back then)As we have been in constant searches for good picnic areas in Georgia, I'm listing it herePicnic area near the roadThe place is well maintained, benches, chairs and tables are available. Next time will take some charcoal, grill and of course meat to grill when…
Maiden Tower in Baku
The Maiden Tower is a 12th-century monument in the Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan.Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a group of historic monuments listed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property, Category III. It is one of Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured on Azeri currency notes and official letterheads.We visited Baku in early August 2019 to discover Maidan tower at the start of the Old Town near the Boulevard. Maidan tower in BakuThe Maiden Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of historic evolution of…
Patara Tba near Dedoplis Tskaro
Patara Tba or Little lake is located near the town of Dedoplis Tskaro in the region on Kakheti, Georgia.We tried to visit this lake at the end of June 2019 but as the road heading here turned into an offroad turned our car back - as a rule of thumb in Georgia - once you are of from the main highway - the road turns into offroad. Off road driving in GeorgiaPatara Tba from distance
Yanar Dag / Burning Mountain in Azerbaijan
Yanar Dag literally meaning "burning mountain" is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.Flames could jet into the air 3 meters (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer.I had a chance to visit Yanar Dag for the first in August 2019, during a weekend trip to Baku. To get here we ordered a taxi from Bolt and paid about AZN 20 for a roundtrip from our hotel room at Flame towers and back to the old town. Once on the site, I had to pay 9 AZN / ~ 5USD, but local can enjoy the entrance for just 2 AZN . ~ 1USD (VISA card is accepted…
Monadire Dedoplis Tskaro Restaurant
Monadire is a small roadside restaurant located in the town of Dedoplis Tskaro, we made a stop here at the end of June during our explorations in the area.The places look bit abandoned or not well maintained, but despite first looks - the place is quite good. They may not have all ingredients on-site, but they will figure it out to go to the nearby hop to buy missing ingredients.As we learned- Monadire means hunter. The places serve typical Georgian cuisine. Ostri and saladsDespite the overall feeling was that the place is bit abandoned and we were the only guests, the meal was goodMonadire restaurant in Dedoplis Tsaro
September 2019 Dividend Income Report - $260.36
Welcome to the twenty-ninth (#29) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks and peer to peer lending in September 2019.Last September we spent in Georgia, traveling around the country a bit, in September the grape harvest time (Rtveli) is celebrated in Georgia.So we headed off for a weekend to the region of Kakheti and actually for the first time I was eating grapes from the field. Luxury stay at Akhasheni Wine Resort in GeorgiaIt was my pleasure selling covered calls with a view.The last September was very good in terms of passive income. At the end of the month, I have collected $260.36 from dividend stocks and…
Nukriani Lavender fields in Georgia
Nukriani lavender fields are located near Nukriani village in the region of Kakehti, Georgia.Best way to get here when driving from Tbilisi is to take a shortcut before Chalaubani and drive the road Tsnori - Dedoplitskaro-Kvemi Kedi.We took a trip here at the end of June 2019, and almost missed this point, luckily I noticed a tiny signboard on the roadside informing that lavender fields are somewhere here:Signboard Nukriani Lavender The next is kind of offroad driving for some 200 meters to reach the destination.Free parking in the middle of fieldIn front of the lavender fields there is a tent, where we met a girl from Moscow selling entrance tickets for GEL 4. At the tent you…
Baku by night
I had a chance to explore a little bit from Baku by night after we returned to our hotel room in Flames Tower from a lovely Azerbaijani cuisine restaurant Dolma in early August 2019.Night photography is one of my favorite topics, and so I raised the ISO level a bit and made some candid street photography in Baku. From our short walking distance I was surprised there are many International World brands featured in Baku, like Hard rock cafe or Paul. Not to speak about McDonaldsHard rock cafe in BakuI really love Hard Rock cafe which is located in neighboring TbilisiNice outdoor scene in Baku by nightMany outdoor cafeterias in Baku, very European I would sayPaul Bakery in…