Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mostly mountainous and forested.
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, which are sometimes collectively known as the Caucasian States. The total area of these countries measures about 186,100 square kilometres. The South Caucasus and the North Caucasus together comprise the larger Caucasus geographical region that divides Eurasia.
Telavi is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 19,629 inhabitants. The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombori Range at 500–800 m (1,600–2,600 ft) above sea level.
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as Chorzene, in classical historiography (Strabo), part of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), in Ayrarat province, and later the capital of Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia in 929–961. Currently, the mayor of Kars is Türker Öksüz.
The Kingdom of Abkhazia, also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dynastic succession, it was united in 1008 with the Kingdom of the Iberians, forming the Kingdom of Georgia.
Ananuri is a castle complex on the Aragvi River in Dusheti Municipality Georgia, about 45 miles from Tbilisi.
Amaras Monastery is an Armenian monastery near the village of Sos, de facto in the Martuni Province of the Republic of Artsakh, de jure in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was a prominent religious and educational center in medieval Armenia.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, commonly known as Sameba, is the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church located in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Constructed between 1995 and 2004, it is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world and one of the largest religious buildings in the world by total area. Sameba is a synthesis of traditional styles dominating the Georgian church architecture at various stages in history and has some Byzantine undertones.
Ordubad is the second largest town and a municipality of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan and is one of its three regions. It is the capital of the Ordubad District. Ordubad is a medieval city of the Caucasus and in its current capacity of a town was founded in the 18th century. The town is divided into five districts: Ambaras, Kurdtatal, Mingis, Sarshahar, and Uch.
The Zakarids or Zakarians, also known by their Georgian name as Mkhargrdzeli, were a noble Armenian–Georgian dynasty. Their name in Georgian, Mkhargrdzeli, or in Armenian: Երկայնաբազուկ, (Yerkaynbazuk) meant long-armed. A family legend says that this name was a reference to their Achaemenid ancestor Artaxerxes II the "Longarmed". According to Cyril Toumanoff / Encyclopædia Iranica, they were an offshoot of the Armenian Pahlavuni family. The Zakarians considered themselves Armenians.
The nation of Georgia was first unified as a kingdom under the Bagrationi dynasty by the King Bagrat III of Georgia in the early 11th century, arising from a number of predecessor states of the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia. The Kingdom of Georgia flourished during the 10th to 12th centuries under King David IV the Builder and Queen Tamar the Great, and fell to the Mongol invasion by 1243, and after a brief reunion under George V the Brilliant to the Timurid Empire. By 1490, Georgia was fragmented into a number of petty kingdoms and principalities, which throughout the Early Modern period struggled to maintain their autonomy against Ottoman and Iranian domination until Georgia was finally annexed by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. After a brief bid for independence with the Democratic Republic of Georgia of 1918–1921, Georgia was part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic from 1922 to 1936, and then formed the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Piti is a soup in the cuisines of the South Caucasus, its bordering nations, and Central Asia, and is prepared in the oven in individual crocks with a glazed interior. It is made with mutton and vegetables, infused with saffron water to add flavour and colour, all covered by a lump of fat, and cooked in a sealed crock. Piti is served in the crock, usually accompanied by an additional plate for "disassembling" the meat and the liquid part with vegetables, which may be eaten separately as the first and second (meat) course meal.
Horomayr Monastery is a monastic complex in the Lori Province of Armenia. The monastery is built on the cliffs 1 km south of the village of Odzun. It is easiest to get to Odzun from Alaverdi via the town's public transport. To get to the site, the visitor may climb up from the highway along the Debed River, or hike south across the cliffs from the last switchback to Odzun. The fastest but hardest route is to climb down the cliff south of Odzun.
Askeran Fortress is a fortress in the town of Askeran. Located on the banks of the Qarqar River, it was built by the Karabakh Khanate ruler Panah Ali Khan and consists of two sections. The left-bank section features a double line of stone walls.
The JW Marriott Absheron Baku is a high-rise hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, opened in 2012. It is located on Azadliq Square next to Pushkin's Park and the Crescent Hotel on the edge of the Caspian Sea.
Khor Virap is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat Plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Artashat, Ararat Province, within the territory of ancient Artaxata. The monastery was host to a theological seminary and was the residence of Armenian Catholicos.
Hotel Ritsa is a hotel in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, Georgia. The luxury hotel is located on the seacoast, along the Sukhumi quay, near the historical centre and is decorated with bas-reliefs. It was damaged during the war in early 1990s and restored in 2000s. It contains two restaurants; "San Remo" which serves European cuisine and "Aktafurta" which serves Abkhaz cuisine.
The 1931 Zangezur earthquake occurred on April 27 at with a moment magnitude of 6.5. The earthquake was located in the Zangezur Mountains near the boundary between southwestern Armenia and Azerbaijan's exclave, the Nakhichivan Autonomous Republic. Both territories were part of the Soviet Union at that time.
Lagodekhi Protected Areas, also known as Lagodekhi National Park, is a pair of protected areas in the Kakheti district of Georgia: Lagodekhi Strict Nature Reserve and Lagodekhi Managed Nature Reserve. The combined area of the two is 24,451 hectares (94.41 sq mi). The reserves are located in north-eastern Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus and border on Azerbaijan and Dagestan. Lagodekhi preserves a variety of rare local flora and fauna and was originally protected in 1912, under the Russian Empire, the first nature preserve in Georgia. Their ecoregion is that of the Caucasus mixed forests.
The Cheremi historic site is a historic and archaeological site in eastern Georgia, situated in and around the modern village of Cheremi, Gurjaani Municipality, in the region of Kakheti. The site encompasses the ruins of churches, a castle with a circuit wall, and burials. Parts of these ruins correspond to the extinct town of Cheremi known from the early medieval Georgian chronicles and are inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.
