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!

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

1. Very simple no patterns in the carpet
2. The thread and knotting becomes more ornate and complicated
3. complex patterns develop
4. 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!