Blogs from Azerbaijan, Asia - page 9

Working in Azerbaijan can be tough. Long weekends only come about every month or so!! We decided to make the most of this one by taking the night train down to Lankaran in the South for a few days. Using his marvellous Azeri skills Russ had managed to purchase a 2 berth cabin (SV) for the correct day (unlike Jackie and Michael who joined us the following day!!). Although it's only 350km, the train journey takes 8-9 hours for some reason. After photographing the train from the platform, Russ avoided arrest and we were soon laying out our lovely printed sheets on our bunk beds. Despite a prompt departure 5 minutes before midnight we were unable to go to bed straight away. It wasn't the excitement of the occasion, but a refusal by the guard to ... 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

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 practice for him! A free English lesson!! As you leave Baku, one of the first things you see is the Bibi Heybat mosque. It's a beautiful building and a popular spot for drivers to stop and and give an offering for a safe journey. Apparently during the Soviet era here, it was one of two major ... read more

On a glorious day it’s nice to look out over the Caspian Sea. It’s even nicer to take a boat trip out to get a different view of the city. That’s exactly what we did a short while ago. Halfway along the Bulvar promenade two boats constantly do half-hour trips around the bay. It’s ridiculously cheap and when the waters are calm (luckily for Trish we chose a good day!) it makes for a pleasant excursion. We weren’t even subjected to the loud crass music we had expected. As the boat pulls out from the shore you get a good look at the resting cormorants. You also get a terrific panorama of Baku from the bay. It’s quite picturesque but you really get a perspective of just how much development work is going on all around ... read more

There are lots of them all over the city! Here's a selection of ones we've seen so far.... read more