12 Oct 2024
Got picked up from my hotel pretty early in the morning and we went to the Old Town to meet the rest of the group. When the rest of the group entered the bus, I realized they were all speaking Russian. I started to panic that I had accidently selected a Russian speaking tour, but after talking to the rest of the group, my tour guide Riyadh said that I was actually the only English speaker, so he would be giving the tour in both Russian and English. At each stop, Riyadh explained everything to the group in both languages, taking the time to make sure that I felt included in everything even though I couldn't communicate with the others. The lunch stop at the lake was quite delicious, and the sights in Sheki were really cool to see. Even though we were not allowed to take pictures inside the Palace, Riyadh made sure to share photos of the inside afterwards. His explanation of the paintings really added a lot to that part of the tour. Towards the end of our time in Sheki, Riyadh had said that a few of the Russians wanted to do a wine tasting and asked me if I was interested in joining (note: this cost extra and was not part of the original itinerary). He then stuck around for the tasting to translate for the Russians as the person at the wine shop didn't know Russian. A little more time to explore Sheki independently would have been great, but based on the amount of time it takes to drive there and back, there wasn't really anyway to make it happen. Riyadh, thank you for making this American feel at home amongst a group of Russians!