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2.5 days in Azerbaijan.

A quick delay and layover in Dubai, and I arrived in Baku with very few expectations. I was here to join an Entwine Insider trip that would travel to both Azerbaijan and Georgia for about a week. The city of Baku itself is interesting, with big modern style buildings right next to somewhat old world Soviet large buildings. It’s a city where you see modernity and tradition coming together from people, clothing, architecture and more. Wherever you go there’s always someone Jewish. Quick relevant plane story. I sat next to two people on the flight who work for the tourism board in Baku. They asked about my itinerary, and typically as I travel I am sometimes careful of sharing my Jewish backgro

Insider Trip: Georgia

We hit the ground running in Georgia, maybe more like an in depth walking tour, but either way Tbilisi is a beautiful and cool city. Seamlessly intersecting with mountains and a bit of a mix of old and new architecture. The visit started at the Chesed building which provides different services and programs to the Jewish community. On each of the four floors in the building we witnessed different aspects of Jewish life in Tbilisi. From the preschool children singing songs, the singing group who performed beautiful music for us, to the senior meeting group who shared some smiles and then showcased their handmade jewelry and artwork. The building is bursting with activity and clearly an import

More of Georgia and Reflections.

One of the exciting pieces of this trip and spending a few extra days in Georgia was that my friend and travel buddy Whitney was able to join me. After the trip ended we ventured to Kutaisi, did some hiking, visited a tea plantation, visited the two synagogues in Kutaisi, and learned how crazy the drivers are in the windy roads of rural Georgia. I’m fairly certain we were within a centimeter of hitting at least 2 cows and potentially a pig. We then spent a few nights in the mountains at a homestay that is also a winery. It was very rural, it also rained for most of those days. We attempted to see a synagogue in Oni, a small community that has really shrunk in size over the years. Unfortunate

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