Marlys's welcome for Doug and me.
 Elaborate chandeliers are everywhere... |
 Stairs to the sleeping loft in my little apartment next to President's administrative offices and a block away from United Nations House; the flats were carved from a century old mansion. Lots of guards at gates and checkpoints to salaam as I came and went; it got so some recognized me and smiled a lot. (Alison's place has only 2 beds, and hotels run $150-500/night so short-term apt. rental at $200/week seemed wise!) |
 Huge overstuffed furnishings and lots of knick knacks in this apartment. |
 The restored Opera House where we attended Swan Lake by the St. Petersburg Ballet. |
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 Marlys celebrated a 'second birthday' on our arrival, having already had her main party with school friends. |
 Off to explore the city, I first started discovering formal park areas and fountains. |
 Later on a jaunt with Doug, found the old city hamam (public baths). |
 Peeked in a window, discovered a carpet weaving atelier, and this young woman beckoned us inside. A meter of silk rug takes about 6 months to finish. |
 Old city walls, the remaining inner ring ... the outer ring was all torn down a century or more ago during the first Azerbaijan oil boom. |
 Wonderful balconies on some of older homes. |
 Instead of chain link construction fences around building sites, photos and art are blown up and put on fence panels. This set was photos from the Soviet era of 30-80 years ago. Paintings and verses of historic fables and legendary heroes were on another. |
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 The "Maiden's Tower" doesn't have a romantic tale to match its name; it's just a fortification overlooking the Caspian seashore...lower part built 5th or 6th century, upper part dating from 13th century. |
 Pomegranates rotting on the trees. |
 One day Alison's state university rector sent one of her student management assistants, Emil, to play tour guide ... as much so he could practice his quite good English, I think, as for any other reason. He was a delight! |
 Fountain Square is central in Baku ... many of the upmarket retail shops and restaurants are in this area. There are outdoor tea pavillions, children's rides, street vendors, small souvenir bazaar, and people walking, walking, walking in droves almost 24/7. |
 Marlys as Antonio in her school's production of "The Tempest." |
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 Doug and the store clerk with the Azeri national instrument, a tar. |
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 About 50-60 miles outside Baku is a rocky region known as Gobustan. The rock that Marlys and I are thumping lightly with small stones makes differentiated musical tones as we "play" it. |
 Thousands of rock art carvings have been discovered here, dating from Neolithic period, along with thousands of stone hand tools used to create the art. The English-speaking guide is a Moscow-trained historian and archaeologist extremely knowledgeable about this area, which is now a designated World Heritage site. Also at the site are some inscriptions done by Roman legions ... Azerbaijan is apparently the farthest east that the Romans got. |
 Dancing figures, bulls, and boat petroglyphs are scattered on three rocky hills. It's amazing there hasn't been extensive vandalism. Photo credit and Gobustan info.Some feel these petroglyphs are precursors of Viking ships. Thor Heyerdahl visited Gobustan and was convinced that people from the area went to Scandinavia in about 100 AD and took their boat building skills with them, and transmuted them into the viking boats we know from digs in Northern Europe. |
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 Water collectors were hand hewn in the rock by early cave dwellers. Gobustan's findings were researched and used as background material by author Jean Auel for her novels. |
 Credit: Photos of Gobustan, United Nations archives. |
 Baku's water reservoir in Kiralan from college parking lot. |
 Alison handing back test papers in her class at the private college. |
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 Mosaic murals abound, most left over I think from the Soviet period. |
 Various of Alison's friends and colleagues had us to dinner; photos were always taken. |