A taste for adventure... along the Silk Road
Food is hardwired into most cultures along the Silk Road, but Georgians are particularly adept in the art of the feast.


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Some food historians argue that pasta originated in Iran, and it does make a very early appearance in a 10th-century cookery book, whereas others claim that Marco Polo brought noodles to Italy from China. Either way, the Silk Road undoubtedly played a part. Iranians share with the Turks a love of pomegranates, rice dishes (tahdig, the crunchy rice at the bottom of the Persian pan, is sublime) and dried fruit and nuts – handy snacks, ideal for long Silk Road journeys.
Traditional Georgian cuisine
Food is hardwired into most cultures along the Silk Road, but Georgians are particularly adept in the art of the feast. In the capital, Tbilisi, well-fed locals file in and out of avant garde restaurants with Belle Époque-inspired interiors to dine on tangy sulguni cheese, spicy salsa-like adjika, plates of pickled chillies, trout tartare, bowls of spinach pkhali (a minced vegetable dip), walnut-stuffed aubergine rolls and – the ultimate Georgian comfort food – Adjarian khachapuri, a glistening canoe-shaped bread containing a wobbling, almost-raw egg in the centre.
Adjarian khachapuri
Cox & Kings arranges escorted group tours and tailor-made private travel throughout Turkey, Uzbekistan and Georgia. To visit many of the stunning sights described in this article, options include our Classical Turkey group tour, or the Uzbekistan: Heart of Central Asia. Share:
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