http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Azerbaijan , Baku en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:06:24 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:06:24 +0000 And so the time has come for us to say goodbye to Baku. It's been fun but it's time to move on. We've spent the last week saying goodbye to friends colleagues and students and we've also made new friends which is so sad as we were about to leave It's been hectic social and very enjoyable.We thought we should try to get into the old city one more time as it's an area of Baku we haven't really s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-425284.html 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 thereThis 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-413070.html Two International football matches in four days. It was too much to resistFirst 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 fr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-409321.html Lots of photos this time. Please look at page 2 as wellOn 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-401932.html 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 US40 which we thought was a bit expensive. Having given up on the idea of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-400466.html 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 weatherWe 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 hassle http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-400238.html 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 an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-398652.html Unfortunately the photos for this entry have been lost due to a technical glitch at Travelblog. I will get around to reloading them soonOne 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 waitFor now we make every effort to get out and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-390744.html Baku http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-385035.html 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 wo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-381868.html March 8th is International Women's Day. In Azerbaijan that means a long weekend HoorahSadly 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-380767.html 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 spruc http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-378763.html I've had a few emails recently asking me why I haven't posted any blogs Well here you areWe 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 ageold tradition of moving stray road signs when you have had too much to drink. Oh dearThe r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-368692.html Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Seasons greetings from chilly Baku. Subzero temperatures and a few flurries of snow certainly took us by surprise. Anyway this blog is just to wrap up 2008 before we head back to the UK for our first British Christmas for a few years. Hope London is warmer when we get thereFriday evenings seem to have become a regular night out. Happy Hour in the Phoenix Bar brings go http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-354982.html It's been a couple of weeks since the last blog. That doesn't mean we've been idle. When not working we are still getting out and about around the local area.About 10km north of Baku is the tiny settlement of Yanar Da287 but don't expect any taxi drivers to have any idea how to get there As far as we can find out there's no bus either. So what's there you may ask. Well this is where you go t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-351239.html International football for a couple of quid. Well Russ couldn't resist the lure of the game even if Azerbaijan against Albania doesn't exactly sound like the best game you could ever seeI met up with an Azeri friend Moruq close to the Tofik Bakhramov stadium home to the national team and several club sides. The stadium is named after a very famous man in English football history. If you've n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-348727.html It's not all work you knowWe have been getting out and about on the social scene a little. Most Friday nights we try to meet up with a few fellow expat English teachers in a bar or two in Baku. Happy Hour certainly helps and it goes on for 2 or 3 hours in some placesA couple of weeks ago we went to join in the Diwali celebrations with Baku's Indian community. It was a colourful noisy night w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-346912.html My lovely son muhammed http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-345388.html One of the main sights people head out of Baku to see are an hour or so's drive South of Baku near the town of Qobustan often called Gobustan as that's how it's pronounced. For once we had a nice Sunday to make the trip worthwhile and we hired Kamaran one of our school's drivers for the day. It was good as he has enough basic English to explain things for us from time to time and it was good p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-343901.html One of the things that everyone does when they come to Baku is travel to the suburb of Suruxani to visit the Zoroastrian Ateshga fire temple. Last Sunday we set out to have a look for ourselves.Our first destination was the 28th May railway station. This proved a little frustrating as we were passed around from pillar to post before finally discovering that there were no electrica trains on a Su http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Azerbaijan/Baku/blog-337958.html