Getting Ready

Three days until we leave on our journey to Istanbul, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.

Lonely Planet guidebook says the top experiences will be:
1) Magnificent Mountains - scenery of the High Caucasus range
2) Urban Adventures - We will visit the four capital cities of Istanbul, Baku, Tbilisi, and Yereban.
3) Celestial Delights - Armenia and Georgia were the first two Christian nations in the world. Religions in Azerbaijan are primarily Islam and Zoroastrianism.
4) World Heritage Sites - We will visit many.

5) Shared past with the USSR - especially in the architecture and arts
6) In the Wild - waterfalls, canyons, national parks, mud volcanoes
7) Bucolic Retreats - traditional ways in mountain villages of the South Caucasus

I'm looking forward to all of the above but most especially looking forward to meeting many local people during the next three plus weeks and learning about their families, customs, foods.

Almost ready to go. Copies of my visas for Turkey and Azerbaijan and passport, COVID shot record ready. Mail stopped, bank cards notified, Margaret will water my front yard flower pots. Maia, our travel leader for Georgia & Armenia, called me this morning to chat and see if I had any questions. She had already answered mine via email but it was nice to talk with her - very friendly and personable. Our OAT group will be 16 - the largest she has had - but the bus we will have will be large. She said we will really like our Azerbaijan travel leader, too.

Friday, September 1
Suitcase is packed, new backpack is bigger than my old one so things fit easily inside. Flowers in back circle garden thoroughly watered in the hopes they will survive the predicted high 90's heat wave. Front yard gets watered in the morning. Dinner with Sylvia and Mark tonight.