So here we are at long last...Baku. After an uneventful flight from Vienna, we landed on time and were
greeted by the cite of an Azerbaijan Airlines jet.
We were taken to our new home, which is in walking distance of the Embassy, has plenty of space, and a great view toward the downtown and iconic "Flame" tower, which is built to evoke the iconic flame symbol linked to Zoroastrianism. Baku was a major center for the religion and there are apparently a few standing fire temples that we can visit while we are here.
The flame towers are even cooler at night, when they light up to show flame patterns or the Azerbaijani flag. We even have a couple balconies where we can sit and look out at the view. Unlike Moscow, the balconies do not seem as though they will fall off the building anytime soon.
Aside from being close to work, our apartment is near a nice park with a playground and not far from a grocery store called Bee Gross - not exactly an appetizing name - but it's actually a nice store, with a good selection of food.
The one strange thing - and this isn't limited to Bee Gross - is that there are times when store employees will just come and stand next to you and watch you. We haven't figured out why yet - it doesn't seem to correspond to more expensive items, where they might be worried about shoplifting. It's as likely to happy when we're looking at buckwheat as it is when we're near the caviar. And it isn't that they're unhelpful. In fact, people here are extremely polite and when we asked a store clerk where to find dish soap, he proceeded to show us around the entire cleaning section until we found what we want. Regardless, compared to the grumpy and sullen looks we got anytime we entered almost any place of business in Moscow, I'll take the occasional hovering.
We are also about a 20 minute walk to the main pedestrian area known as fountain square - named for its multiple fountains, I suppose. There are lots of restaurants, stores, and parks throughout this part of town - even a McDonald's.
There is also a beer house nearby, which has a good selection of European beers on tap - and some incongruous statues of Mariachi players.
On the first weekend, we stopped for lunch at an outdoor cafe just off fountain square and in addition to some very good kebabs, we had our first taste of Azerbaijani plove, complete with raisons, apricots and quince. Some of the best we've every had - and those of you who follow the blog know we've tried a lot of plov!
Shortly after the delicious plov, I had my first adventure. There are these purple cabs all over the city, and they're the only ones with meters, they also have seat belts and air-conditioning, so they tend to be the cab of choice. The first two weeks here, the temperatures hovered around 100 degrees with enough humidity to make it pretty uncomfortable. So even though the walk wasn't far, we took a cab back to our apartment.
Seconds after the cab drove off, I realized that I left my camera in the cab. I thought I saw the cab across the street and ran over, but it was a different one. Then about a dozen more identical purple cabs drove by and I realized that I would probably never see my camera again. The driver of a different cab told me to call the dispatcher, which I did and they promised to notify me if someone found it. I still wasn't hopeful.
I have a spare camera, but the batteries were all in the pouch with the primary, so I wouldn't be able to use it anyway. Rather than sit and mope, I headed out to see if I could find a new battery, checking stalls at the bazaar, visiting electronic shops, etc... but no luck. Eventually, I realized that I was getting close to where we had gotten in the cab and thought that maybe, just maybe, the driver would have gone back there to wait for another fare. Sure enough, as I panted up the hill, drenched with sweat, the driver sees me and starts waiving my camera at me! I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I asked him for a ride back home and gave him an excellent tip. Since then, I've been careful to wear my camera on my belt when we go out.
We haven't explored the old city itself yet because it's just been too hot, but just across the street from it is a park called the Bulvar (or Boulevard in Russian). It actually runs for several miles along the coast, and it's flat and well paved, which makes it attractive for running. The sun doesn't come up until almost 7 am, so running down our street, which is on top of a hill, to the water is tricky. There are lots of potholes and steps along the sidewalk that threaten to break an ankle, but once I get to the Bulvar and I can cut loose. My first morning run, I took my camera along for some dawn photography...
On the way back, we took a shortcut through some alleyways, which gives a glimpse of what the city was like before the oil-sponsored construction boom.
That evening, we took the advice of some coworkers and took a cab outside the city to a fish restaurant on the coast. It was wonderful! The food was great and reasonably priced, and there was a great playground right next to the seating area where Aiden could play while we ate.
We tried a number of local dishes including fresh cheese, pickled green plums, and a puree of roasted eggplant and peppers - and that was before the fish, which we washed down with a nice dry Azerbaijani white wine...
The next day was slightly cooler (only mid-90s) so we decided to explore the Bulvar a little more in the daytime.
There are a number of fountains, interesting plant specimens, and topiary gardens throughout the park, not to mention restaurants, and amusement rides. Aiden was very excited to go on the Ferris Wheel, which also gave us some good views of the city.
The sand stung pretty badly, so we moved the tables down to the wet sand, which was much better. Aiden had a blast and it was a nice break from the hot weather.
When we got home, we found that everything was full of sand, even bags that were zippered up. It was pretty amazing. Luckily we have a big tub in one of the bathrooms where we could clean up without coating the rest of the house in sand. I thought it was all worth it, but I'm not sure Stephanie agrees.
On Sunday we went back down to fountain square to get someone at one of the phone stores to interpret Stephanie's cell phone balance. It looked like she had gone through about 15 Manat, or over $20 in less than two weeks, which would have been very expensive. I don't know what we were doing wrong, but it turned out she had only used a couple dollars. We had lunch at a nice Georgian restaurant, which allowed me to reunite with one of my favorites - Adjarian Khachapuri (cue angels singing). Aiden even ate some flat khachipuri and ground chicken kebabs after we passed them off as pizza and chicken fingers.
All in all, we still have a lot to see, but we're off to a great start. As for work, it's very busy, but I love what I'm doing. The press environment is fast paced and unpredictable. For an example of unpredictability, one day one of my staff came in unexpectedly - he was supposed to be on leave - and said we should go to the 40th day commemoration of the passing of one of our media contact's mother. He assured me that although I had never met the man, my presence would be appreciated and he was right. Attending the commemoration is a way of showing respect and solidarity with the family and I was able to learn a lot about the tradition. The family seemed appreciative that we were there, so it was nice to be able to show our support. There were a number of other representatives of major media outlets present, so we sat with them and shared some dovga (a sort of salty curdled milk drink with bits of herbs - way tastier than it sounds), as well as plov and tea. I found it a much nicer way to be introduced than through a formal meeting.
So here we are, with lots of adventures ahead of us, but already off to a fine start. I think the next two years are going to be good...
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