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Azerbaijan Travel Blogs

Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority-Muslim population - regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 571,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled. To be updated

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By rrruss
May 23rd 2009

Music, modern art and open-air museums in Baku Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

Philharmonia

Lots of photos this time. Please look at page 2 as well! On Friday night we finally made it to Baku's Philharmonia where we listened to an evening of music in a tribute to Leonard Bernstein. It was really nice to finally get inside the building which, apparently, was modelled on the casino at Monte Carlo. Before the music began the US Ambassador gave a speech firstly in Azeri (excellently delivered) and then in English. Then the National Symphony Orchestra began and they were superb. We didn't recognise any of the music though, until they got to the finale which was, [View Full Entry]

By rrruss
May 17th 2009

Georgian Delights and Baku's Zoo Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

Spectacular Dancing

Georgia may not have been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest this year thanks to the possibly political title of their song "We don't want a Put In" (Putin?!) but their music and dance ensemble Erisioni came to Baku instead to give us a taste of Georgian talent. The problem was that the tickets started at 30AZN (US$40) which we thought was a bit expensive. Having given up on the idea of going, Russ received a phone call on Friday afternoon from his Georgian student, Iza, offering us free tickets! Hooray!!!!! It was amazing. We were [View Full Entry]

By JulianGT
May 11th 2009

Azerbaijan Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

Old Baku

Arriving from the east, Baku seems like the gateway to Europe: a quaint European style old town with cobble stone alleys and narrow side streets, big squares and fountains, cafes and restaurants - in all a lovely place to spend a few days. The slight distraction are all the oil fields. Oil and gas are the country's main assets, and perhaps what it is most known for, and step out of the old town and you can see oil pumps all around, in the sea, across the harbour, and just in land. I team up with Graham, a Brit who turns [View Full Entry]

By rrruss
May 11th 2009

A long weekend in Baku Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

The Mansion House

In most of the former Soviet Union Victory Day is commemorated with a huge military parade which must be amazing to see. What did we get? A long weekend and some good weather!! We set out for a day in Mardakan on the Absheron peninsula. It's easy! Get the metro out to Neftchilar Station then look for a 341 bus heading all the way. Cheap and simple!! And it really was. There are no hiccups or hassles to report this time. We got off the bus outside Dendro Park which is a sort of Botanical Garden cum Zoo. We felt that [View Full Entry]

By JulianGT
May 7th 2009

Crossing Borders - Part 4: Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan Asia » Azerbaijan

Turkmenbashi Ferry Terminal

If it takes a beer to tie you over the wait trying to get into Turkmenistan, bring a keg when you're trying to get out. Granted, I did not fly out from Ashgabat airport like most tourists would. Instead I took an overnight train (clearly Chinese manufactured - strangely familiar!) to Turkmenbashi, the coastal city in the far west, to get a boat across the Caspian Sea to Baku. I knew that this would not be a straight forward affair: there is no timetable for the boats, they simply leave as soon as they are loaded with cargo. If there is [View Full Entry]

The last patch of Turkmen land in the Caspian Sea

By rrruss
April 15th 2009

The Baku Spring Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

The Russian Orthodox Church

Unfortunately the photos for this entry have been lost due to a technical glitch at Travelblog. I will get around to reloading them soon! One day it's lovely and sunny, the next it's cold and grey. Everyone says in another month the weather will be stable and the temperatures will keep on climbing until everyone complains it's just too hot. We can't wait! For now, we make every effort to get out and about in the city whenever we can and our most recent wanderings took us to the Russian Orthodox church. From the outside it's not overly glamorous but inside [View Full Entry]

By rrruss
March 15th 2009

Baku - A night at the opera and a day by the sea Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

Aida

Last night we went to the Baku Opera and Ballet Theatre to watch a production of Aida. Aided by stars from Georgia and Belarus, the Azeri National Opera must be feeling quite pleased with themselves for putting on such a good show. The best part of three and a half hours simply flew by and we never once felt inclined to leave early. We left the theatre with the music ringing in our ears. It was wonderful. Today the sun has been shining and it has been pleasantly warm. As a result we decided to jump on a bus to a [View Full Entry]

By rrruss
March 11th 2009

International Women's Day in Baku Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

Enjoying the gardens

March 8th is International Women's Day. In Azerbaijan that means a long weekend! Hoorah!!! Sadly the sun didn't shine so we decided to stay in Baku and see what happened. We also decided to check out a few different places. On Friday night we moved from our regular haunt for happy hour to The Clansman which was rather nice inside and far less crowded. Then we moved on to The Brewery which is a micro-brewery with wonderful beer and excellent (if a bit pricey) food. On Saturday we had an easy day but got to try a new cafe in Baku. [View Full Entry]

By rrruss
March 4th 2009

Baku - Islamic Capital of Culture 2009 Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

American Military Jazz Qunitet

Once again it's been a while since we published a blog. The truth is that it's been too cold to go away anywhere and we haven't really been exploring the city too much recently. The last week though has been much better and we've been out and about a bit. Baku is now officially the Islamic Capital of Culture having had the inauguration ceremony a couple of weeks ago. The parks are still being spruced up and the Bulvar (waterfront boulevard) is far from ready for visitors. You get the impression though that everyone is gearing up for the warmer weather [View Full Entry]

By rrruss
January 30th 2009

Back in Baku - Martyrs and Ballet Asia » Azerbaijan » Baku

Flying home for Christmas

I've had a few emails recently asking me why I haven't posted any blogs! Well, here you are!!! We flew home for our first British Christmas for several years. First of all we stayed in a hotel in London for a couple of days and caught up with friends who we hadn't seen in ages. We introduced Steve to the age-old tradition of moving stray road signs when you have had too much to drink. Oh dear! The rest of the break was a whistle-stop tour of the UK seeing the family. Unfortunately we were riddled with flu for most of [View Full Entry]

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