Mountains of Mystery and Legend
Some of the most rugged terrain in the world is located in the Caucuses -- seemingly compressed from east and west in a corridor between the Black and the Caspian Seas with the weight of Russia from above and Turkey and Iran below. War-torn in recent years from wars in Chechnya and Georgia, the area holds some of the oldest Christian churches in the world and Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark is said to rest. It is also the setting of other stories of legend--the Garden of Eden (Armenia) and where Prometheus was chained to a mountain-top and tortured for bringing fire to men (Azerbaijan). 1. The Crossing Place: A Journey Among Armenians, Philip Marsden (1993). Marsden digs into the history and mysteries of the Caucuses. While he travels further afield around the Black Sea and points in the Middle East, he spends most of his time in the Caucuses. Black and white photos. Pen inscription, For RHR--from Oxford via Istanbul--with lov...