Today we decided to go back to the mud volcanoes of Qobustan. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so most of the photos seem pretty grey. That shouldn't be too much of a surprise though as the landscape really is very grey there! This time we took a local marshrutka to Qobustan for 80 qapik (60p) each, not bad for an hour's ride. Taxis are plentiful when you get there and negotiating a price (15 Manat - £12) was easily done. The local taxi drivers actually know where they are going, unlike Baku-based drivers! The route is not easy to find and [View Full Entry]

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Thanks to Couch Surfing we stayed with Matt and Rachel, two US Peace Corps volunteers, in the lovely village of Ismayilli. We had a great weekend with them and enjoyed a wonderful barbecue, despite the presence of an escaped bull in the garden. It just added to the experience!!! Getting there was a frustrating experience as our bus driver had to stop to check his tyres and to refuel (two separate stops!) within 30 minutes of leaving Baku. Why couldn't he have done that before picking up passengers?! The road is in quite a state too and no matter how often [View Full Entry]

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Kiş (pronounced Kish) is just a few kilometres from Şeki and easily reached on the antiquated number 15 bus! Once you get there it's about 20 minutes up cobbled streets to find the Albanian church which is, thankfully, signposted! The church is thought to be the oldest Christian church in the Caucasus region. It doesn't look like it because it has been completely restored. Now you can see into the crypts through glass screens and explore the church's tiny interior which is now used as a museum. There's lots of interesting information in English about the archaeological project if [View Full Entry]

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Another long weekend in Azerbaijan. This time it was for "Salvation Day" which is apparently the date that Heydar Aliyev was invited to return to Azerbaijan and lead the country out of it's post-Soviet dark days. Who were we to complain, so we took an overnight train to Seki (actually Şeki, pronounced Sheki) hoping to leave behind the now stuffy summer air of Baku. Instead the heat came with us and Şeki basked in a weekend heatwave. At least the fierce winds stayed on the Caspian coast! The train journey wasn't too bad but Şeki's train station is 17km from the [View Full Entry]

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Two International football matches in four days. It was too much to resist! First up was the World Cup Qualifier where neither Azerbaijan nor Wales could qualify, so it was more of a friendly really! We had met some of the Welsh fans in Finnegans bar the night before the match. It turned into quite a late one and the half price Guinness was really good! We made some good friends, especially Lucy from the FAW who couldn't believe Russ was wearing his Bridgend Ravens shirt and wanted photos for her boyfriend to prove it!! Getting to the game proved a [View Full Entry]

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From the new bus station in Baku you can find public transport to almost anywhere in Azerbaijan. You have the choice of bus, taxi or the marshrutka minibus. We took the latter for the four and a half hour trip to Qabala stopping halfway for a comfort break in Shamakhi. It wasn't as uncomfortable as we had feared and we had a good view out of the window. It's just a shame the scenery for the first couple of hours was so boring! When we got to Shamakhi we noticed an old Russian plane in a field, presumably a memorial of [View Full Entry]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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It’s been a long, traumatic season for fans of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club. The prodigal son returned at the start of the season but Micky Adams was a changed man and the midas touch of his previous reign was missing. Sadly victories over the mighty Manchester City and League One Champions Leicester kept him in the job for just a little too long. By the time he decided to go and Russell Slade came in, we looked doomed to relegation to the English basement division. You can keep your Manchester Uniteds, your Arsenals, Chelseas and Liverpools. This is the [View Full Entry]

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