Blogs from Baku, Azerbaijan, Asia - page 5

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 out to have been a contemporary at uni, and Paul and Scott, two Kiwis, to visit the surrounding areas. Ali, our driver for the day, is full of stories, from how the KGB crippled his ... read more

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 small place about 30 minutes down the coast from Baku. Sahil means seaside in Azeri, so we thought we would check it out, despite warnings that it was a bit grim and there was nothing ... read more

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 to arrive very soon. We haven't seen much evidence of an increase in cultural activities but it's early days yet. Last weekend we went to see a German jazz group called "Berlin Voices". They were ... read more

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Seasons greetings from chilly Baku. Sub-zero 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 there!!! Friday evenings seem to have become a regular night out. Happy Hour in the Phoenix Bar brings good company and cheap beer, usually followed by a nice meal somewhere. So, if you're ever in Baku on a Friday night, you know where to come! Trish seems to have picked up a secret admirer! Outside LSD's city centre office someone (not Russ!) has drawn some graffiti. Sweet eh!!!! Azerbaijan is a muslim country so we have been surprised by a few recent developments. Christmas trees, ... read more

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 see! I 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 never heard of Tofik Bakhramov, take a trip over to Wikipedia for the full story. He was the "Russian linesman" who controversially awarded England's third goal in the 1966 World Cup final. He wasn't Russian at all though, he was from Azerbaijan! The stadium isn't too grand really and it was probably about a quarter full. Even so, it was good to be in a different ... read more