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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 4 Manat (US$5) was a bit expensive for foreigners but even our local ID cards couldn't get us the local rate. It was pleasant enough wandering around the gardens but the zoo section was quite the opposite. Seeing eagles in tiny cages and a bear going mad in a ridiculously small space didn't keep our attention for too long. It was good to move away from them. The old mansion house was nice though. It was oil baron Muxtarov's country
dacha. The views from the edge of the park towards the sea are good too.
From there
The Boating Lake
With no boats and a rather greenish hue to it!we took a taxi to the beach, although we could have waited for a bus to save money. We were taken to a restaurant overlooking the Caspian Sea where we ate a lovely lunch of sturgeon kebab with our friends Lee and Lala. Afterwards we walked along the beach which was ok, but they are currently preparing them for the summer so we were faced with some maintenance work and the occasional digger!
By Sunday the sun had gone away again. We caught a glimpse of the Azeri Navy walking through the streets of Bayil to pay homage to Heyder Aliyev, the late president. It would have been his 85th birthday. On Monday we had British Bank Holiday weather but when it brightened up later on we had another look around the so-called heroes' cemetery where the aforementioned late president is buried. It's a nice place for a wander but one day I'll go with one of my students and find out more about some of those who rest in peace there.
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