Our first few days in Azerbaijan involved travelling through the Silk Road, and I loved the excuse to buy a couple of silk scarves and treat it as an educational experience. For Adrian it was the chance to stay an 18th century Caravanserai. Personally, I am more likely to choose a place with a bathtub and WiFi rather than celebrating the limitations of the past. I imagine the conditions must have been so much worse back then – bed bugs, poor sanitation, and long trips on horseback under the hot sun. However, one of my few rules when deciding on our destinations is “no camping”, so I figured I didn’t really have the right to complain, as it wasn’t like we were freezing in a flimsy tent in the middle of nowhere.

To further enhance the illusion of living in the past, we were lucky enough to witness traditional dancing and a Mugham opera that were performed in the central courtyard. A more modern touch was the half-dozen cameras positioned throughout the place, as the performance was screened on National television the next day.