Cheese seller in Zaqatala Bazaar.

The sharp smell of fresh cheese hits you before you enter the market hall. The next thing I noticed was the screeching of the swallows nesting overhead. This lovely old man was very enthusiastic about me taking a photo of him with his cheese - he wanted to know which TV chanel I was from, and when 'it' would be broadcast. I've eaten this sort of cheese many times - it's served with a fresh salad of tomato and cucumbers (perhaps with purple basil, mild green chilli and coriander) and bread baked in the tendir oven before plate of kebabs. It's usually quite salty, but tastes good. I was fascinated (and slightly appalled) to see that one type of cheese - on the right in the photo - is stored in a sheepskin 'bag' with the fur on on the inside. I've never - touch wood - been ill after eating this cheese though. The bazaar was fascinating. We don't have anything quite like it in Baku (we're surrounded by desert and industrial towns - this was village and mountain produce), as well as meat and beautiful looking vegetables, there were cheese and honey stalls, and traditional medicine stalls.... lots of dried herbs to make tea with, but also leeches which the stall owner assured me were good if you had a headache 'put one on your head'. I didn't buy a leech, but I did take a photo - all the stall holders seemed proud to show off their stalls.

I've backblipped a couple of photos (yesterday and the day before) from earlier in our trip.