First glimpse of Azerbaijan from the air – magical and mystical!
The old, the new, the modern and the folly (little Venice) all neighbours! Fascinating eclectic mix.
Brave architecture
The streets have wide boulevards
and are very reminiscent of Paris
Statues everywhere, old
modern
and weird – Mexican??
The Carpet museum, fascinating showing the culture of carpet making going back thousands of years. The weaving was not just for making carpets but for every day living, the “tents” the nomadic people lived in, carrier pouches, horse covers, clothes and also matting and carpets. The whole process from the treatment of the sheep to the dying of the wool with herbs and vegetation to the actual spinning and making of the cloth was beautifully displayed inside this museum shaped like a rolled rug!
More weird and wonderful art works!We thought this was a soldier statue below but he is a fisherman 🙂
Museum of literature, it seems there are museums for every topicwhich is a great use of these beautiful old buildings!The arts seem to be valued here, music, literature, artworks etc. Baku feels culturally rich.
and by night….
Dave’s back to fun facts of the day….
Along with statues there
are fountains at every
corner and square.
Hundreds of oil rigs dotted along the coast, if you zoom onto the photo on the right you can see them (blue) in the foreground with the city skyline just behind! So close!!
Fruit and vege market where all the fruit is beautifully displayed. Pomegranate is Baku’s fruit and displayed in their coat of arms.
Spices much like in the Arabian countries, but no incense, plenty of sweet pastries though.
In the local supermarket
Fresh fish for sale, net provided
NZ butter for $11!
More food – eating out is very cheap, around NZ$5for a plate of delicious meat and NZ$2 for salads. Bread free with everything.
Bibi Heybat Mosque includes the tomb of a Prophet, it is the spiritual centre for Muslims of this region. After the establishment of Soviet power in the 20s the Bolsheviks destroyed all religious buildings, blowing up the original mosque in 1934. This is a replica of the original built in 1997and is breathtaking inside. It sits on the side of a hill overlooking the Port with Baku city in the distance. It is surrounded by extremely poor housing (slums) with a large cemetery across the road. The mosque dominates the ridge and is incredibly tall. It is so peaceful inside, and extremely beautiful. We were there for prayer time and many locals came to pray.
Call for Prayer at the Bibi-Heyday Mosque
Inside the mosque, the remains of the prophet are inside this silver area and people prayed and displayed respect to this holy relic.
We attended a wonderful concert by the Azerbaijan National Philharmonic Orchestra in this purpose built building – it was very sumptuous and ornate inside with gilt edged chairs and marble everywhere. At interval the orchestra came out and mingled with the audience, in the cafe people dressed in their evening finery pulled out their packed sandwiches to eat. At the finale the conductor got so many bouquets of flowers that he had to come back a second time to receive them all!
A wee taste of the orchestra…enjoy.
The streets are so huge and busy it is not possible to cross them above the ground.
The subways to cross the streets are magnificent, all marble and carvings (& buskers!)
Buskers playing both modern and traditional instruments
We were delighted and surprised to find a Catholic Church celebrating Mass. It was packed and in English!
The Bishop was officiating and he wished us all Happy Christmas as he handed out Easter Eggs!
It is very exciting to be in Baku 4 weeks before the Grand Prix, we are watching with interest as each day the city prepares for the race. As it is a street circuit it is a massive inconvenience to the people as barriers and fencing shut down roads and close off pedestrian areas. The circuit encompasses main roads and as the Pit Lane is built and the grandstands go up whole areas are just shut off. So interesting to see it evolve and a massive work force being utilised.
Main road fenced in, and opposite the pits are being erected
Been following you on other social. All up to date there. Now you’re back in Baku. Friday morning here.Lovely way to start the day with call to prayer. Thank you. And to the mundane: how much in NZD was the butter?
Loving Dave’s fun facts of the day!
Thoroughly enjoying your blogs and following your adventure. Baku looks amazing. Enjoy the F1 spring break.
Hi Pauline, thanks for following, we are having a blast up here in the mountains on the old silk road. Hope you and the whanau are well x
Been following you on other social. All up to date there. Now you’re back in Baku. Friday morning here.Lovely way to start the day with call to prayer. Thank you. And to the mundane: how much in NZD was the butter?
NZ$12 !