Badakhshan the City
Badakhshan, located in current Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Aside from its cultural treasures, poetry, literature and mysticism, Badakhshan is most famous for her mesmerizing blue stone, the lapis lazuli, which has been mined for more than 4,000 years. From the breath-taking blue in the Sistine Chapel to Salvator Mundi of da Vinci and the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring of Vermeer, all have used the lazuli of Badakhshan.
This magic blue, in the ancient times, was once more expensive than gold. The blue stone of Badakhshan was used through all civilizations from Mesopotamia to Egypt and from Greece to Rome. The word Lazuli is derived from the Persian world Lajward, which is the name of this stone. Just in the Epic of Gilgamesh, arguably the oldest known work of literature is repeatedly (7 times) referred to this blue stone, as the horns of the Bull of Heavens is composed of Lajward!
Badakhshan the Wine
This wine is made from Corvina grape, one of the main grapes of the beautiful Amarone della Valpolicella. The wine goes very well with meat, both grilled and stewed, but also combines beautifully with aged cheeses. It is fruity in the nose, with spicy notes and aromas of plums and blueberries. Alcohol: 13.5%.