Have you ever wanted to visit a peaceful country in the Middle East? We went to Azerbaijan and it was the best trip of our lives! (ethos) Azerbaijan's location between the Caspian and Black Seas has allowed it to remain secluded from terrors occurring in the rest of the Middle East. Azerbaijan is 33,436 square miles of well-preserved middle eastern culture and history. In the capital city of Baku, you can visit the Heydar Aliyev Cultural center and familiarize yourself with the culture and art of Azerbaijan.
Another cultural event you must attend while in Azerbaijan is the Baku International Jazz Festival. Since it takes place for a one week period in late October, you should reserve tickets and schedule your trip to fit the festival's time period. Azerbaijan' Flame towers, located in Baku, light the city up at night, with realistic flames enveloping their glass. These towers aren't the only notable monuments in the country, for the National Flag Square also located within Baku, displays Azerbaijan's national flag, which was attached to the tallest flagpole in the world when it was built (161 m or 531 ft high)! Why would you not want to see one of the biggest flags in the world?! (rhetorical question)
Azerbaijan has a premier soccer league that plays against other teams around the Middle East. The current champions of this league are the Qarabag who have claimed the title 3 times, most recently in the 2014-2015 season. The attendance of these games has rarely surpassed 1,500 spectators per match, but the matches are still worth your while. Azerbaijan is also home to the Carpet Museum, a museum in which you will be given an extensive but rich history of carpets in the Middle East.
Another popular tourist destination in Azerbaijan is the amazing Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature, here you can fill up on Azerbaijan's 25,000 pieces of scientific, cultural, and historical texts. Another museum you can visit in Baku that deals with literature is the Tiny Book Museum. The Tiny Book Museum is truly exotic, because it is the only museum in the world that exhibits miniature books. The exhibits in the museum were all collected by Zarifa Salahova over a 30-year period. She has over 6,500 books in her possession, and she will share them with you. Azerbaijan has its fair share of history, and you can access that history by attending the Taghiyev History Museum and learn all about Azerbaijan's modern, medieval, scientific, and art history.
Azerbaijan is also a great tourist destination because of its geographical landmarks and national parks. These include the Yanar Dag, a natural gas fire that has been continuously blazing for thousands of years (courtesy of a steady seep of gas from below Earth's surface). A notable national park in Azerbaijan is Gobustan National Park, a hill and mountain site located in the southeast end of the greater Caucasus Mountain Range in the eastern part of the country. It was declared a world UNESCO heritage site in 2007. It will captivate all who go there with its stunning views, lakes, unique fauna, and prehistoric inscriptions dating between 5,000-40,000 years ago.
Despite all these wonderful displays of culture, history, art, and nature, Azerbaijan has memorials in which you can remember family members, friends, and loved ones. Martyr's Lane serves as remembrance of the Azerbaijani people who were killed by the Soviets during Black January (When Soviets massacred many Azerbaijani), and those killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh War. In conclusion, There is a sense of tranquility and beauty in Azerbaijan not previously seen in other middle eastern countries. With its pristine beaches, amazing nature preserves, deep history, culture, and tradition Azerbaijan is a place well worth your time! (emotional language)
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Day 13-14 October 28-29
Today we woke up very late, we were out really late last night. We packed up our stuff and checked out of the hotel at 10:30 am. When we stepped outside it felt the same as yesterday but not too bad. We put our stuff in our rental car and drove around downtown Baku looking for trinkety souvenirs and where we could. We also managed to get some pictures of the skyline here in Baku:
After looking and driving around the city we ate a quick bite from a kabob cart, beef this time, I think. The next step was to return the rental car and catch our plane ride home! We checked in to the airport and received our boarding passes. An hour was spent trying to get through security, the language barrier was finally becoming a major hindrance, its hard to explain what you need to someone who has no idea what you are saying. Security let us through, finally! We then tried to find our gate, did you know that it is very hard to navigate an airport when you can't read the signs! We reached our gate with 12 min. to spare, a close one! Which was surprising because we had 4 hours to get there.
We are boarded on the flight and are now off to London!
I really enjoyed this trip and I am glad I decided to go to the exquisite country of Azerbaijan! This trip will be remembered for a long time!
Budget
One thing that everyone is always worried about when they travel is the costs and your budget. We had saved up $5,500 each, so a total of $27,500 for our trip. Our budget analysis can be viewed at this link: Budget Analysis.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Day 12 October 27
History
Today we decided to go the Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature. We woke up and ate breakfast quickly, it was another complementary one, delicious and free! This is our second to last day in Azerbaijan, we couldn't waste it! We chose the old museum for its historic value and importance. Outside it was around 57 degrees and was getting colder, just barely!
The building itself was not always a museum, and was opened in 1939.
One major item we found in the museum was Nizami’s manuscript of “Sharafname and Isgendernam” (WHICH WAS WRITTEN IN 1413!). These were two important epic poems written by Atabəylərindən Nusrateddin. All of these are ancient and are valuable cultural artifacts.We saw the famous poem about Pushkin’s decease called Bangu-Bade. Pushkin was a Russian poet who supported reforms. Supposedly there are more than 3000 different manuscripts form all over!While we were inside we noticed that the museum was fairly big, it was over 2500 square meters (nearly 27,000 square feet). In that big space there certainly was a lot of poems and books, but there were also a lot of sculptures, some are shown in the pictures below. We found many sculptures by the famous sculptors Muhammad Fuzuli, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, and Jafar Jabbarly. There is actually a total of 120,000 artifacts in the museum, we looked at many of them, but could only remember a few. All the things mentioned above are a part of Azerbaijan's history, just like back home in the U.S.
After visiting the museum we went to get lunch at the Fountain Square. It was a pretty sight with many options to shop. One bonus was the good food there. After lunch we returned back to the museum and continued exploring.
We went on the tour of the museum, which helped us learn some interesting facts. One important thing we learned is that the museum only allowed visitors after the Second World War. The building was originally used as a hotel and was only later transferred into a literature museum, turning into what we see today.
The exterior is covered in statues of great local authors, we had no idea who they are but they were apparently very important to the locals. You can see pictures of them above.
For our dinner we decided to splurge and eat at a Fresh Italian Kitchen. The food tasted like it was fresh from Italy and we enjoyed it a ton! We then ventured to a bar named Finnegan's to have a beer. We really enjoyed the time that we were able to spend out, but returning to the hotel was sketchy. Our hotel was on a street with no street lights and the street was dark, so we hurried inside. Still, it is a great vacation.
Today we decided to go the Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature. We woke up and ate breakfast quickly, it was another complementary one, delicious and free! This is our second to last day in Azerbaijan, we couldn't waste it! We chose the old museum for its historic value and importance. Outside it was around 57 degrees and was getting colder, just barely!
The building itself was not always a museum, and was opened in 1939.
One major item we found in the museum was Nizami’s manuscript of “Sharafname and Isgendernam” (WHICH WAS WRITTEN IN 1413!). These were two important epic poems written by Atabəylərindən Nusrateddin. All of these are ancient and are valuable cultural artifacts.We saw the famous poem about Pushkin’s decease called Bangu-Bade. Pushkin was a Russian poet who supported reforms. Supposedly there are more than 3000 different manuscripts form all over!While we were inside we noticed that the museum was fairly big, it was over 2500 square meters (nearly 27,000 square feet). In that big space there certainly was a lot of poems and books, but there were also a lot of sculptures, some are shown in the pictures below. We found many sculptures by the famous sculptors Muhammad Fuzuli, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, and Jafar Jabbarly. There is actually a total of 120,000 artifacts in the museum, we looked at many of them, but could only remember a few. All the things mentioned above are a part of Azerbaijan's history, just like back home in the U.S.
After visiting the museum we went to get lunch at the Fountain Square. It was a pretty sight with many options to shop. One bonus was the good food there. After lunch we returned back to the museum and continued exploring.
We went on the tour of the museum, which helped us learn some interesting facts. One important thing we learned is that the museum only allowed visitors after the Second World War. The building was originally used as a hotel and was only later transferred into a literature museum, turning into what we see today.
The exterior is covered in statues of great local authors, we had no idea who they are but they were apparently very important to the locals. You can see pictures of them above.
For our dinner we decided to splurge and eat at a Fresh Italian Kitchen. The food tasted like it was fresh from Italy and we enjoyed it a ton! We then ventured to a bar named Finnegan's to have a beer. We really enjoyed the time that we were able to spend out, but returning to the hotel was sketchy. Our hotel was on a street with no street lights and the street was dark, so we hurried inside. Still, it is a great vacation.
Day 11 October 26th
Today we started out by eating another complementary breakfast, I must admit, they are getting slightly old! The temperature took a downward turn and reached 59 degrees, still not bad though.
The National Flag Square, Martyr’s Lane, and the Flame Towers are all located fairly close to each other, each about 10 minutes apart, so we decided we could do all three in 1 day.
History
We started our day off by heading to Martyr’s Lane, which is a Memorial Street dedicated to the soldiers killed during Black January,(a day when Soviet Union killed massacred Azerbaijan) and the Nagorno-Karabakh War, an ethnic conflict in the 80’s. This was a very somber location and a great way to honor the people who were slain.
Culture
We then went south and made our way to the National Flag Square. The National Flag Square is actually 150 acres long! That is equivalent to 100 football fields! This site was beautiful because the Azerbaijani Flag was huge, and the trees around the flag were spectacular.
Technology
The Flame Towers are probably the most popular place in Baku. The Flame Towers are the three huge hotels in Baku (East, South, West). With a 5 year construction progress, the 190 meter tall towers cost about 350 million U.S. Dollars. It was a massive undertaking to engineer and design the three towers to be as beautiful as they are, and for them to be structurally sound, able to withstand earthquakes and strong wind shear. The coolest part is that the outside of the building is covered in over 10,000 LED screens that make it look like the building is burning at night.
In 2014, Azerbaijan had its first Lamborghini Dealership. It was actually put in the East Tower. If you were to stay in a room at the Flame Tower for one night, it would cost over $200 U.S dollars. To stay in the best hotel in Azerbaijan, you will most certainly pay for it!
We perused and admierd the downtown area of Baku and it was most spectacular and beautiful. We ate a quick dinner at the Lala Restaurant and then went back to the hotel for some sleep before tomorrow.
The National Flag Square, Martyr’s Lane, and the Flame Towers are all located fairly close to each other, each about 10 minutes apart, so we decided we could do all three in 1 day.
History
We started our day off by heading to Martyr’s Lane, which is a Memorial Street dedicated to the soldiers killed during Black January,(a day when Soviet Union killed massacred Azerbaijan) and the Nagorno-Karabakh War, an ethnic conflict in the 80’s. This was a very somber location and a great way to honor the people who were slain.
Culture
We then went south and made our way to the National Flag Square. The National Flag Square is actually 150 acres long! That is equivalent to 100 football fields! This site was beautiful because the Azerbaijani Flag was huge, and the trees around the flag were spectacular.
Technology
The Flame Towers are probably the most popular place in Baku. The Flame Towers are the three huge hotels in Baku (East, South, West). With a 5 year construction progress, the 190 meter tall towers cost about 350 million U.S. Dollars. It was a massive undertaking to engineer and design the three towers to be as beautiful as they are, and for them to be structurally sound, able to withstand earthquakes and strong wind shear. The coolest part is that the outside of the building is covered in over 10,000 LED screens that make it look like the building is burning at night.
In 2014, Azerbaijan had its first Lamborghini Dealership. It was actually put in the East Tower. If you were to stay in a room at the Flame Tower for one night, it would cost over $200 U.S dollars. To stay in the best hotel in Azerbaijan, you will most certainly pay for it!
We perused and admierd the downtown area of Baku and it was most spectacular and beautiful. We ate a quick dinner at the Lala Restaurant and then went back to the hotel for some sleep before tomorrow.
Day 10 October 25
We woke up to another complimentary breakfast, got ready and left. We have a very exciting day ahead of us. With the temperature around 66 degrees it is a good day to watch some sports!
The stadium holds up to 5,000 people. It's not the biggest stadium but it is well kept. The captain of the AZAL team is Seymur Asadov. Seymur is a 21 year old midfielder born in Azerbaijan. He is worth 100,000 € (Euros). It was a blast to see him play. But during the middle of the game it was kind of boring so we came up with some puns:
What kind of Tea do soccer players drink?
PenalTea!
Where is the best place to buy a soccer shirt?
New Jersey!
How do athletes stay cool during the game?
They go by the fans!
Culture
Before the game we went to see the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. The architecture of the center was magnificent. This building was designed by Zaha Hadid, a distinguished architect. The center is named for Heydar Aliyev, who was the leader of the Azerbaijan when they were part of the Soviet Union. He was elected into presidency after Azerbaijan gained its independence from 1993-2003.
There is a very extensive exhibit about the culture of Azerbaijan. The main exhibit covered all three floors and covered the life of the president (Heydar Aliyev) and how Azerbaijan struggled against the Soviet Union. This was a very 21st century exhibit and it had many touch screens and sound clips. Part of the way through the exhibit there was a map of Azerbaijan and its oil lines. These oil lines had the current flow for each pipeline displayed by the color of the line. The exhibit was concluded by showing all of the gifts that other nation have given to Azerbaijan, these included gifts of porcelain, a golden watch, and some ornate platters.
Because of the timing and we had to go the the socer game, we did not get lunch but we did eat a meal at the game.
The second exhibit we went into was the “Legend of Arms” exhibit that contained real, local, knights armor and weapons from the 16-18th centuries. This highlighted the capabilities of the area’s knights and other military powers.
The Armor of warriors from the medieval period.
Two knights set up to joust in a tournament like setting.
We ate dinner at the Casual Brasserie Cafe Bar, which had a nice small dish of pastries that we ate at. I have been very surprised by how much global food we have been able to eat in Baku.
Sports
I was so excited to see the Azerbaijan Premier League play today. There are three stadiums/arenas in Azerbaijan, but we decided to go to the one in Baku because it was closest. It was called the Azal Arena.
I was so excited to see the Azerbaijan Premier League play today. There are three stadiums/arenas in Azerbaijan, but we decided to go to the one in Baku because it was closest. It was called the Azal Arena.
The stadium holds up to 5,000 people. It's not the biggest stadium but it is well kept. The captain of the AZAL team is Seymur Asadov. Seymur is a 21 year old midfielder born in Azerbaijan. He is worth 100,000 € (Euros). It was a blast to see him play. But during the middle of the game it was kind of boring so we came up with some puns:
What kind of Tea do soccer players drink?
PenalTea!
Where is the best place to buy a soccer shirt?
New Jersey!
How do athletes stay cool during the game?
They go by the fans!
Culture
Before the game we went to see the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. The architecture of the center was magnificent. This building was designed by Zaha Hadid, a distinguished architect. The center is named for Heydar Aliyev, who was the leader of the Azerbaijan when they were part of the Soviet Union. He was elected into presidency after Azerbaijan gained its independence from 1993-2003.
There is a very extensive exhibit about the culture of Azerbaijan. The main exhibit covered all three floors and covered the life of the president (Heydar Aliyev) and how Azerbaijan struggled against the Soviet Union. This was a very 21st century exhibit and it had many touch screens and sound clips. Part of the way through the exhibit there was a map of Azerbaijan and its oil lines. These oil lines had the current flow for each pipeline displayed by the color of the line. The exhibit was concluded by showing all of the gifts that other nation have given to Azerbaijan, these included gifts of porcelain, a golden watch, and some ornate platters.
Because of the timing and we had to go the the socer game, we did not get lunch but we did eat a meal at the game.
The second exhibit we went into was the “Legend of Arms” exhibit that contained real, local, knights armor and weapons from the 16-18th centuries. This highlighted the capabilities of the area’s knights and other military powers.
The Armor of warriors from the medieval period.
Two knights set up to joust in a tournament like setting.
We ate dinner at the Casual Brasserie Cafe Bar, which had a nice small dish of pastries that we ate at. I have been very surprised by how much global food we have been able to eat in Baku.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Day 9 October 24
Early this morning we woke up, we had some spare time after breakfast and relaxed. The weather was almost 70 degrees now, nice for being outside!
Natural Environment
Natural Environment
Today we went to Yanar Dag. Yanar Dag is a big mountain that
is ON FIRE!! We drove out about 45 min. from our hotel to see
this mountain. We could see giant pillars of fire that went about 9
feet (about 3 meters) into the air. The Absheron Peninsula is known as the
land of fire because of Yanar Dag and the different fires on the hill
sides. Yanar Dag even translates to "burning mountain", this mountain
is a continuous natural gas fire! This fire has been burning steadily for
many years! A local story says that the fire as accidental lit by a
shepherd in the 1950's. Most of these fire mountains are in Azerbaijan,
and even the streams around it can be lit on fire!
Before that we went shopping in the downtown area of Baku, inside
of the Park Bulvar Mall. There were a wide range of stores, from a Nike
shop to a Debenhams, which was like a Sears. It was nice to be able to
gain small trinkets and postcards to send home for our families. I sent a
great little postcard home showing the flame towers, I will talk more on that
later! The stores there are quite similar to some back at home, though they had
plenty of local stores as well.
Some science behind the burning mountain, it is hydrocarbon gasses
are seeping through the ground and reaching the surface and then becoming lit,
and burning for a long time. This is possible because
the mountain sits on a large deposit of hydrocarbon gasses. These
natural gases are everywhere and can be dangerous sometimes if you are not
careful.
We were up there for a little while before we began to feel
light headed because of the gases that were coming from the mountain. These
flames are almost impossible to extinguish, even when we poured cold water on
it, but the water was evaporated almost instantly! We decided to light some
more gas that was coming out of the ground with a match to see what would
happen, and it stayed lit for a long time. The fire stayed alight because of a
ton of natural gas constantly coming up from beneath the ground. We stuck
together when it began to get dark, and were rewarded with an awesome sight!
The fires lit up the mountain in an amazing spectacle that proved visiting
Azerbaijan was a great choice!
Day 8 October 23
After packing for the trip today we ate a quick breakfast, the weather had stayed around 60 degrees (fahrenheit) this week and was heating up to 66 degrees today.
CULTURE Today the group went to The Tiny Book Museum in the capital city of Baku, this museum is the only tiny book museum in the whole world! The museum was opened on April 2 2002 in Azerbaijan's capital. The books were collected in a span of 30 years by a woman called Zarifa Salahova, and the books have come from many 64 different countries! There are more than 6500 books that have been collected by Ms. Salahova. Don't get the wrong idea like I did, I thought the museum was tiny, but instead it is the books that are miniature! It is a huge collection of mini books!
CULTURE Today the group went to The Tiny Book Museum in the capital city of Baku, this museum is the only tiny book museum in the whole world! The museum was opened on April 2 2002 in Azerbaijan's capital. The books were collected in a span of 30 years by a woman called Zarifa Salahova, and the books have come from many 64 different countries! There are more than 6500 books that have been collected by Ms. Salahova. Don't get the wrong idea like I did, I thought the museum was tiny, but instead it is the books that are miniature! It is a huge collection of mini books!
The main idea for the museum was to promote child literacy.
There are so many books for all around the world, though I could not read them because
they aren't written in English. The majority of these tiny books, which is even considered an art, were made in Soviet Russia and many other countries.
Some of them are so small you can’t even read the text without using a magnifying glass to see! We really wanted to buy one of the small books as a souvenir, however we weren't allowed to. You could buy some books that were on key chains but that was about it. There were a ton of people there to see the books, and there were even other kids just to see were the books came from! The books were kept neatly and they seemed to be in good condition for how old some of them are. The fact that some people spent their entire lives making these minute books, amazes me!
Some of them are so small you can’t even read the text without using a magnifying glass to see! We really wanted to buy one of the small books as a souvenir, however we weren't allowed to. You could buy some books that were on key chains but that was about it. There were a ton of people there to see the books, and there were even other kids just to see were the books came from! The books were kept neatly and they seemed to be in good condition for how old some of them are. The fact that some people spent their entire lives making these minute books, amazes me!
The collection itself was impressive and included the
authors Chukovsky, Barto, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, and works of A.S.Pushkin. Each of
those where well known Middle Eastern writers and each has their works in this
museum. The library did not forget to include the classics of their country and
some other famous writers have made their mark on the museum.
Day 7 October 22
We awoke, ate and packed for the beach this morning, the temperature did not agree with us, but we went anyway.
Today our party ventured to the beaches of Baku to test the waters. We went to a free beach access point about 15 minutes from our hotel, it was a quick journey and was entirely worth it! When we finally arrived we were given a spectacular view and made use all stop for a moment and stare! The water was rather cool (18° C, 68° F, 291° K) the group did not mind to much and went in anyway, but not for very long! We watched the Russian navy practice ship handling just off shore and we were able to get a picture of two frigate coming directly at us!  |
| Two Russian Frigates |
We had a very relaxing day, and a great way to rest up after the first part of our trip. So we did not have to even leave the beach to get lunch, we bought the delicious chicken and steak, I think, kabobs. I have developed quite a taste for the middle eastern cuisine. The waters were a shade of blue I have never seen back home in the states, it was a clear and tranquil blue, with soft, elegant sand. This was a true paradise and a once in a lifetime experience! Take a good look at some of the pictures we got from the beach.
The trip to the beach was nice and relaxing, it provided a day off to help with the jet lag, which I think I am finally over. because tomorrow will bring a trip to a special museum! The rest of the trip seems to be an interesting and immersive experience but until then i'm going to enjoy a day at the beach!
Day 6 October 21
Natural Environment
A quick breakfast was followed by us getting ready for the trip we were going on. the weather dropped a bit over night but is still around 60 degrees fahrenheit.
Today we ventured into the Gobustan National Park, unfortunately this means an hour long car ride to the southwest of Baku. Before that we got breakfast from the hotel. When we arrived we saw some amazing sights, that were well worth the drive! Among these sights were some carvings for ancient civilizations!
The carvings dated from 40,000 years ago until 5,000 years ago. There are nearly 6,000 of these carvings that depict flora and fauna and the life of the humans native to the region and ones that were not! The carvings that depict the life of the people show battles between tribes of these prehistoric humans, these battles were fought by armed roman, and warriors with lance-like objects. They also show a religious aspect, as they depict special dances done. These also show trade happening, which was achieved overland by caravans of camels. The flora and fauna are shown to be suited for a warm and wet climate not the harsh desert it is today.
This is a picture of a Latin inscription on a rock from the 80th year AD. The stone is the farthest east any Roman artifacts have ever been found.
This is one of the most famous engravings from the park. It is showing some of the people who inhabited the area in prehistoric times, carved by themselves.
This picture depicts a ritual from the prehistoric natives' lives.
We did get to see the mud volcanoes, they were not aggressively erupting but they were slowly oozing mud. This "mud" is not actually mud as we think of it, it was heated water mixing with some minerals and gas, mostly methane. There are nearly 400 mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan, the most in the world! The locals are very proud of their volcanoes.
This is a mud volcano from the park, they do not often erupt violently. The volcanoes are normally just slowly releasing the methane from underneath them.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a German restaurant that had the best bratwursts ever! Were were particularly elated because we had not had lunch and were very hungry. I wish we had one of these back home in North Carolina.
A quick breakfast was followed by us getting ready for the trip we were going on. the weather dropped a bit over night but is still around 60 degrees fahrenheit.
Today we ventured into the Gobustan National Park, unfortunately this means an hour long car ride to the southwest of Baku. Before that we got breakfast from the hotel. When we arrived we saw some amazing sights, that were well worth the drive! Among these sights were some carvings for ancient civilizations!
The carvings dated from 40,000 years ago until 5,000 years ago. There are nearly 6,000 of these carvings that depict flora and fauna and the life of the humans native to the region and ones that were not! The carvings that depict the life of the people show battles between tribes of these prehistoric humans, these battles were fought by armed roman, and warriors with lance-like objects. They also show a religious aspect, as they depict special dances done. These also show trade happening, which was achieved overland by caravans of camels. The flora and fauna are shown to be suited for a warm and wet climate not the harsh desert it is today.
This is a picture of a Latin inscription on a rock from the 80th year AD. The stone is the farthest east any Roman artifacts have ever been found.
This is one of the most famous engravings from the park. It is showing some of the people who inhabited the area in prehistoric times, carved by themselves.
This picture depicts a ritual from the prehistoric natives' lives.
This is a mud volcano from the park, they do not often erupt violently. The volcanoes are normally just slowly releasing the methane from underneath them.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a German restaurant that had the best bratwursts ever! Were were particularly elated because we had not had lunch and were very hungry. I wish we had one of these back home in North Carolina.
Day 5 October 20
HISTORY
We woke up late-ish and ate a small complimentary breakfast at our hotel and went on to the museum. The weather was similar to yesterday, can't complain. We where refreshed and ready for the day ahead.
It is the largest museum located in Azerbaijan and it is in the city of Baku which is the capital of Azerbaijan. The Museum used to be a mansion of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, an oil tycoon. The mansion was built from 1893- 1902 and is is built in the style of the Italian renaissance, so it takes up and entire city block! The Russian Army captured the city of Baku in April of 1920, and seized the mansion. Just two months later in June, it was proclaimed that the mansion would become a history museum.
We toured the first floor of the buildings, which gave a very detailed history of Azerbaijan, and then went out to lunch at the Belfast Pub. They had great Irish food and a very pub like atmosphere
On the second floor there are two major ball rooms. One of the rooms is oriental which has to do with the eastern world or the middle east and the other is occidental which is the western world or European civilization. The museum has ancient, medieval, and modern history of Azerbaijan. There were over 2,000 items and exhibits to look and and I wish we could have spent an entire week to soak in the history.
They had an exquisite collection of coins from the different dynasties that ruled the area:
Safavid Dynasty:
Karabakh Khanate Dynasty:
Other Dynasties:
These coins are a nice touch that is not covered about the middle east in the western museums. The museum was a perfect way to spend our day!!
We then left and got a few chicken kabobs from a very polite and patient street vendor, and then we went back to the hotel to get some shut-eye.
It is the largest museum located in Azerbaijan and it is in the city of Baku which is the capital of Azerbaijan. The Museum used to be a mansion of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, an oil tycoon. The mansion was built from 1893- 1902 and is is built in the style of the Italian renaissance, so it takes up and entire city block! The Russian Army captured the city of Baku in April of 1920, and seized the mansion. Just two months later in June, it was proclaimed that the mansion would become a history museum.
We toured the first floor of the buildings, which gave a very detailed history of Azerbaijan, and then went out to lunch at the Belfast Pub. They had great Irish food and a very pub like atmosphere
On the second floor there are two major ball rooms. One of the rooms is oriental which has to do with the eastern world or the middle east and the other is occidental which is the western world or European civilization. The museum has ancient, medieval, and modern history of Azerbaijan. There were over 2,000 items and exhibits to look and and I wish we could have spent an entire week to soak in the history.
They had an exquisite collection of coins from the different dynasties that ruled the area:
Safavid Dynasty:
Karabakh Khanate Dynasty:
Other Dynasties:
These coins are a nice touch that is not covered about the middle east in the western museums. The museum was a perfect way to spend our day!!
We then left and got a few chicken kabobs from a very polite and patient street vendor, and then we went back to the hotel to get some shut-eye.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Day 4 October 19
HISTORY
On our 4th day of vacation we woke up refreshed and ready, a quick at the hotel breakfast was followed by a drive to the Azerbaijan carpet museum. The weather was warm, very nice for october, around 68 degrees (fahrenheit).
Carpets, that's the ugly thing all over your grandmother's house, right? WRONG! In Azerbaijan carpets are an art form and treasured greatly. At first glance I knew that this place was going to be special, the building looks like a giant semi-rolled carpet!
Once we worked through the history exhibit, which took time having to use Google translate to find out what stuff meant, we left to go grab a bite to eat at the restaurant just outside, the food was not great but it was food none the less. Then we were able to see all of the gorgeous carpets from the 17-20th centuries. There is no better way to show these off than with pictures, so:
The curved wall was filled with rugs, that we had a great view of from the 2nd story balcony.
This is a loom that would have been entirely human run and powered, and used to create these majestic carpets.
This part of the museum shows how carpets were not only used as mats, but as items to serve a specific purpose outside of display.
The majority of the building was like this, and the fact that these all were made by hand is even more amazing! I now have the up-most respect for the women who wove these eloquent fabrics. everyone of these are intricate and really beautiful looking.
We went and ate a great dinner at 1/5 mərtəbə. The food and beer was great and the atmosphere was even better. The people were very helpful and polite to the crazy americans who have no idea what they are doing. It took us a while to order but we enjoyed our night, and the nightlife of Baku is excellent. Tomorrow we get to venture into the history museum of Azerbaijan!
On our 4th day of vacation we woke up refreshed and ready, a quick at the hotel breakfast was followed by a drive to the Azerbaijan carpet museum. The weather was warm, very nice for october, around 68 degrees (fahrenheit).
Carpets, that's the ugly thing all over your grandmother's house, right? WRONG! In Azerbaijan carpets are an art form and treasured greatly. At first glance I knew that this place was going to be special, the building looks like a giant semi-rolled carpet!
We ventured inside to see these majestic carpets we had
heard about when we are planning this trip. First, we learned a bit about the history of making
carpets in Azerbaijan. Carpet making started in the rural villages of Azerbaijan, archaeologists have
been able to date whole carpets to the 2nd Millennium BCE and carpet tools to the 4th Millennium
BCE. The ability to weave carpets became very
valuable and weavers had a valuable, and prominent place in society
- Very simple no patterns in the carpet
- The thread and knotting becomes more ornate and complicated
- complex patterns develop
- Patterns and knots become more ornate and complex
Once we worked through the history exhibit, which took time having to use Google translate to find out what stuff meant, we left to go grab a bite to eat at the restaurant just outside, the food was not great but it was food none the less. Then we were able to see all of the gorgeous carpets from the 17-20th centuries. There is no better way to show these off than with pictures, so:
The curved wall was filled with rugs, that we had a great view of from the 2nd story balcony.
This is a loom that would have been entirely human run and powered, and used to create these majestic carpets.
This part of the museum shows how carpets were not only used as mats, but as items to serve a specific purpose outside of display.
The majority of the building was like this, and the fact that these all were made by hand is even more amazing! I now have the up-most respect for the women who wove these eloquent fabrics. everyone of these are intricate and really beautiful looking.
We went and ate a great dinner at 1/5 mərtəbə. The food and beer was great and the atmosphere was even better. The people were very helpful and polite to the crazy americans who have no idea what they are doing. It took us a while to order but we enjoyed our night, and the nightlife of Baku is excellent. Tomorrow we get to venture into the history museum of Azerbaijan!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Day 3, October 18
FESTIVAL
It was a cool sunday morning when we left for the Baku International Jazz Festival, One of our first interactions with the Azerbaijani culture. It was not a disappointment!
Wow, the musicians were amazing. First, however here is some background on why there is a jazz festival in a formerly Soviet controlled area. The festival was started in 2002 as a way to remember Azerbaijan's jazz musicians from the 1950's-60's. These musicians were risking their lives to play their music during the Cold War, even when the Soviets had outlawed jazz music; so being able to play jazz was a sign of access to the West - a sign of being able to overcome the oppressive Soviet Union. This was an amazing cultural experience that had an amazing story behind it!
We spent the day listening to the likes of Terri Lyne Carrington and his quartet, Michel Camilo along with his trio. Some of the local jazz artists came, including Salman Gambarov, and Mirjavid Jafarov. These composers and jazz players had clearly invested a lot into their music and showed a lot of emotion when they were performing. Michel Camilo is my all time favorite,though, because of the crazy pace that he played at. He did the song "Latin Jazz" which captivated the audience. Here is him performing this wonderful song:
MEAL/National cuisine
It was a cool sunday morning when we left for the Baku International Jazz Festival, One of our first interactions with the Azerbaijani culture. It was not a disappointment!
Wow, the musicians were amazing. First, however here is some background on why there is a jazz festival in a formerly Soviet controlled area. The festival was started in 2002 as a way to remember Azerbaijan's jazz musicians from the 1950's-60's. These musicians were risking their lives to play their music during the Cold War, even when the Soviets had outlawed jazz music; so being able to play jazz was a sign of access to the West - a sign of being able to overcome the oppressive Soviet Union. This was an amazing cultural experience that had an amazing story behind it!
We spent the day listening to the likes of Terri Lyne Carrington and his quartet, Michel Camilo along with his trio. Some of the local jazz artists came, including Salman Gambarov, and Mirjavid Jafarov. These composers and jazz players had clearly invested a lot into their music and showed a lot of emotion when they were performing. Michel Camilo is my all time favorite,though, because of the crazy pace that he played at. He did the song "Latin Jazz" which captivated the audience. Here is him performing this wonderful song:
There was no food for lunch, so we had to go out, so we ate a quick meal at the
good ol' American fast food chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken. For dinner
this evening we ate a traditional Azerbaijani cuisine; our meal consisted of a Lyulya Kebab, which is lamb, spices,
and herbs around a skewer and cooked, and we also had some lavash (thin sheet
of unleavened bread), Toyuq sorbasi, the traditional form of chicken soup, and
for dessert we had a sherkerbura, a pastry filled with nuts, cinnamon, and
sugar. Our beverage that we drank was Sharbat which is a sweet cold drink made
from fruit juice and is often perfumed with rose water. This meal was
ABSOLUTELY GREAT!!! The dinner we enjoyed really showed what the food culture is like in Azerbaijan, and checked off another item on our list!
We are going to visit the carpet museum tomorrow, so I am going to turn in for the night.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Days 1&2, October 16-17
Azerbaijan?! Who's idea was that? Well, that idea was mine, stemmed from a book I read about the former Soviet Republics, and the small nation of Azerbaijan was glossed over, so I wanted to learn about this obscure country. What better way to learn than go to the country?
I had four other friends who had also read this book with me and we decided to save our money to go and visit! We each had saved $5,500, which seemed like not enough, but when you can book two hotel rooms for three people each for $110 a night, we deemed this sufficient. We are going to stay at the Maestro Hotel in the city of Baku the capital of Azerbaijan.
I am currently sitting at gate C23 in Raleigh-Durham airport waiting for the 6:10 pm flight to London, England and we are arriving at 6:50 am in the morning, local time. After a 2 hour 50 min layover we will make the connection to Baku, Azerbaijan. We will leave London at 9:40 am, local time, we will land in Baku at 7:20 pm local time on the 17th, just in time for a quick meal and then off to bed because we have the cultural event of our trip on the 18th, THE JAZZ FESTIVAL!! I'll post more in Azerbaijan.
You can view our day to day plans at: Azerbaijan Travel Itinerary
London
The view in from our plane in London:
Now we are waiting for our layover in London, England. I got some sleep on our redeye flight, but it was not great. This next flight will be a long one, because there are only so many times one can play Smashey Road on your phone. Our flight is about 1/3 of the way down in the middle screen.
Baku
We have landed in Baku, Azerbaijan and have gotten our rental car; driving is very similar and is rather safe. Our hotel is a great hotel but it is in a shady part of the town, which makes approaching it in the dark rather precarious. There are the great amenities of free wifi, free parking, and a free breakfast!! Now off to bed for me as I try to sleep off this terrible jet lag from a 5 hour time change.
I had four other friends who had also read this book with me and we decided to save our money to go and visit! We each had saved $5,500, which seemed like not enough, but when you can book two hotel rooms for three people each for $110 a night, we deemed this sufficient. We are going to stay at the Maestro Hotel in the city of Baku the capital of Azerbaijan.
Weather
During our stay were are expecting to have very nice weather. The temperature should be in the mid 50's and the low 60's. Azerbaijan uses Celsius unlike in america which uses fahrenheit. The weather is expected to be sunny with a low chance of precipitation. We are going to stay there from October 16 to October 29. If we would of gone earlier in the year we would have to worry about over sun exposure.I am currently sitting at gate C23 in Raleigh-Durham airport waiting for the 6:10 pm flight to London, England and we are arriving at 6:50 am in the morning, local time. After a 2 hour 50 min layover we will make the connection to Baku, Azerbaijan. We will leave London at 9:40 am, local time, we will land in Baku at 7:20 pm local time on the 17th, just in time for a quick meal and then off to bed because we have the cultural event of our trip on the 18th, THE JAZZ FESTIVAL!! I'll post more in Azerbaijan.
You can view our day to day plans at: Azerbaijan Travel Itinerary
London
The view in from our plane in London:
Now we are waiting for our layover in London, England. I got some sleep on our redeye flight, but it was not great. This next flight will be a long one, because there are only so many times one can play Smashey Road on your phone. Our flight is about 1/3 of the way down in the middle screen.
Baku
We have landed in Baku, Azerbaijan and have gotten our rental car; driving is very similar and is rather safe. Our hotel is a great hotel but it is in a shady part of the town, which makes approaching it in the dark rather precarious. There are the great amenities of free wifi, free parking, and a free breakfast!! Now off to bed for me as I try to sleep off this terrible jet lag from a 5 hour time change.
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