The paradoxical reopening of the Baku–Tbilisi railway

One of my most poignant memories of travelling on the Baku–Tbilisi passenger train dates back to September 2019, the last time I rode this route and said ‘goodbye’ to my homeland. Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, with the Azerbaijani government taking advantage of the situation to completely close its land borders for over six years. During these last six years, Azerbaijanis living in areas near the Georgian border had to spend 16 hours travelling in order to visit relatives l

By Aytan Farhadova