Mountaintops and sheep intestines: surviving a homestay in Xinaliq

Close to the border with Russia lies Xinaliq, a small village surrounded by mountains. Here you’ll find no hotels or hostels of any kind. Also, no restaurant. Hm, less excited about this bit of information. But this teeny tiny village was actually one of the reasons I wanted to visit Azerbaijan in the first place. Mountains! No way my diet is going to ruin things for me now, so we find a homestay for two nights. Read on: surviving a homestay in Xinaliq.

Homestay

A homestay basically means staying with a family in their own home. Sometimes this consists of a small house, hut, yurt or a spare bedroom. In this case it’s a room and ‘full boarding’ since there is no restaurant in town. It’s either this or taking food with you for a daytrip and returning at the end of the day. During shoulder-season this could prove difficult, since the taxi serves is not really operating. You could find yourself a driver (or not). We wanted to stay for the night, so we opted for the homestay. 

Xinaliq

We visited Xinaliq in March, so there is snow all around, the grass is a little brownish and at night it’s quite chilly. Rauf, our host, picks us up when we arrive with our taxi and accompanies us to his house. It’s not luxury, just a normal Azerbaijani house. Rauf doesn’t speak English. Through Whatsapp we’ve had contact about my diet. ‘No problem’. It still surprises me how far you get with sign language and a few words in Russian. I get the impression my diet is unfamiliar to Rauf and his wife; nevertheless lunch is served shortly after our arrival. 

Xinaliq is small, but walking around is nice. The inhabitants are used to tourists, Xinaliq is like a bad kept secret. The mountains around us are beautiful and easy enough to explore. Small pathways are abundant and getting lost is nearly impossible. 

Food situation

Food at the homestay is just the normal food for the people here. It’s absolutely not the same as the food in Baku restaurants. The experience is completely different. There is compote, preserved cabbage, some sort of unidentified turnip, fried potatoes, fried eggs with spinach (Kuku) and bread. Tea and homemade butter fill up the last empty spaces on the table. There is lots and lots of everything and I manage to stuff myself to the brim. Tea (called chai/cay) and preserved fruit magically appear whenever we make an appearance in the living room. I have to pee every thirty minutes because the tea just keeps on coming. Visiting the toilet (a hole in the ground in a small outhouse) also makes the experience authentic. 

Breakfast the next day consists of a big pile off fried eggs, filled with potato. Also bread and cookies for Marnix, with cheese, jam and butter. Apples, the sweet fruits and tea top it off. It’s heavy, but just so good. Our hostess is a little displeased (not with me) because I have so ‘little’ choice during breakfast and immediately starts making lentil soup for lunch. I am not complaining, just enjoying the attention for my food situation.

So. Much. Food.

Every meal contains some of the same ingredients, almost nothing gets spilled. Most of the food is great comfort food, ideal when you return from a long walk in the mountains when it’s still a little cold outside. I have not had my stomach this full for weeks. So. Much. Food. This homestay brings you really close to an Azerbaijani family. 

Still the dietary situation is not without danger; cross-contamination is waiting to happen. ‘Harmless’ cabbage spoons can touch other food, like bread. I still have to watch closely. I was able to explain I would prefer the bread not being held above other food… But then, when is eating in this kind of situation without risk? 

Surprisingly, rice is nowhere to be seen. Apparently, they assumed I was also allergic to rice. Communication was a little tricky, but I am not really worried. So far so good. If I’d had time to learn some Russian, this would not have been a big problem anymore. I was so much fun to learn about life in the countryside of Azerbaijan. Flocks of sheep darting around on the green pastures and all. How houses look on the inside. How they are build. Just life in the village.

Sheep intestines

On the second day, Rauf and his neighbour slaughter a sheep, so we could eat fresh meat this evening. It was confronting to see, as I’d never seen anything like this before. Eum, sheep intestines someone? The stray chickens make sure all the pieces of sheep left behind are dealt with properly. Almost every part is used, or stored in the shed. Even the complete head, including brain and eyes. I was relieved when I saw dinner consisted off the kidneys and not the head to be fair. 

Staying at Raufs’ homestay was a real highlight during our travel in this country for the both of us. I was happy to be able to use a proper shower when we were back in Baku, but I loved visiting Xinaliq! You can find the homestay here, or you can just Google: Rauf Homestay and contact him directly. It was a little costly budget wise; paying 45 AZN (26 USD) per person per night, but I would not hesitate to go here again. No gluten, no lactose. I think it’s very possible to travel here gluten free, as long as you pay attention and know a couple of words in Russian.