Baku- Oct 13, 2022

Photos: The new, lion protector of Azerbaijan. The old: Maiden Tower

Dinner last night was at Qaynanna ( I call it gay nana). There was a diverse crowd of locals and tourists. We had way too much food and now know how to regulate our ordering. We tried Gurza (a lamb filled dumpling), pip dolma ( beech leaves filled with lamb much like grape leaves are), and choban govurma ( a mix of lamb and veggies). Flatbread made to order was the star of the show. We quickly realized this is a two~faced city. The architecture reflects its Soviet past as well as a soaring modern present. When invited to embrace Azerbaijan as part of the USSR, the Soviets stayed until 1991, 70 years. With their departure, the old block architecture was embellished with Moorish trappings creating most pleasing facades. Latif pointed with pride at a towering modern structure the “formerly Trump building. We chatted with Latif about his background. He confessed that he’s Armenian on his mother’s side and was born there. He said they have no memory of the genocide perpetrated by the Turks. He didn’t exactly minimize the horror but mentioned that the Russians claim the total population of Armenia at the time was 1.5 million and that’s how many Armenians claim were massacred. Expert clarification is needed. There is evidence of a Jewish presence since the 7th century. Today there are 20,000 Jews in Azerbaijan. Many of them are Askenazi and came from Eastern Europe in the 1800s. An influx of Persian Jews came in the 1500s. Most of the latter live in the mountains to the north where we’ll go in a few days. In our hotel there is a raucous population of Israel tourists. Israel has a symbiotic arrangement with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan sells 60% of it’s oil to Israel, and Israel sells them weapons. At a produce market we were constantly being asked if we were Israelis. The vendors spoke Hebrew and it became easier to answer in Hebrew than to explain where Ohio was. We started out saying we were from the US. Immediately they asked if we were from California. The geography lesson that followed illustrated where Washington, DC was, which they knew of, and where California was with Ohio in the middle. They knew not of LeBron James. Our strenuous walk through the old city took us up cobblestoned inclines and over practically invisible steps. No one was defeated by either. Jerri from Charlotte, NC and I were the only ones to tackle the 137 steps up the Medieval Maiden Tower, and were questioning whether or not it was worth it the rest of the day. No, the tower wasn’t the site where virgins were sacrificed. It took one suicidal young girl to earn that name. Baku’s reputation as a worthwhile stop on the Silk Road resulted from several ancient caravansari with its abundance of water and wells. The ancient rest stops are now converted to retail businesses. We visited the history museum where the stunning architecture echoed the waves of the Caspian. There we saw artifacts through the ages including musical instruments. The display was interactive. If you stood on a round mat in front of the instrument, a musical recording played. Of course I hopped from mat to mat pretending I was a one person orchestra. I had fun! With the heavy Russian influence here, we noticed one carryover that is positive. Streets are immaculate. Everywhere you see”babushkas” sweeping and tidying up. The war in Ukraine is quite threatening to locals. Russia has occupied the area on and off for centuries and still has a “peacekeeping” force. Latif said Russia has military bases in Armenia and “acts” as a mediator, but it is to their advantage to keep hostilities going as an excuse to stay in the region. If you look at a map, a piece of Azerbaijan is separated from the major part of the country by Armenia. As we tried to absorb it all, the Peter, Paul, and Mary song “They’re rioting in Africa” came to mind. The Turks committed genocide against Armenians,; Armenians murdered hundreds of Azerbaijani. And Russians don’t like anybody very much. On the plus side, most Azerbaijani read Cyrillic, Arabic, and Latin alphabets and speak Russian, Azerbaijani, and/or English. Turkish is a close cousin linguistically and takes a few weeks to learn. Here’s a rundown on our group.. Doug and Vicki are from Austin. Both have been pescatarians for 35 years. She was a librarian and administrator. He’s a retired woodwind professor at university. They’re definitely Austonians (?) not Texans. Jerri is from Charlotte and a retired IT developer turned program troubleshooter. Don’t think she’s right wing. She’s been a strict vegetarian 30+ years. Our avoidance of shellfish and pork is the least of the Latif’s problems. He is dealing with a learning curve that we threw at him this morning. It was group introduction time and we came out about our connection to the LGBTQ+ community. He either looked astonished or horrified. At dinner I asked for a clarification of his reaction... The issue is not dealt with here except to stigmatize and avoid that community. Azerbaijan was to host Eurovision and they told the EU they didn’t want LGBTQ people coming here. The EU told them to pull out. They didn’t and turned a blind eye. We assured him that “homosexuals” were represented. Azerbaijanis just chose not to “know it.” Tomorrow we drive an hour to Gobustan on the Caspian coast. We have a 15 passenger van that was built for children. I will try to sleep. Toby