Baku. January 13, 2020

Greetings from Baku –

It was a rainy day in Baku so we decided to have breakfast at the hotel before heading out. Our original plan was to walk the old city, but we postponed that until tomorrow (hopeful tomorrow will be a better day, with some sun and at least no rain). So, change of plans.. after breakfast we decided we’d take the metro and get off at random stops to see different neighborhoods – an activity we’ve done in many cities and most recently in Tashkent. Breakfast at the hotel was actually quite wonderful. We shared a great shakshuka (my favorite breakfast dish) and  birchermuesli which was also good. Then we headed out.

Stopped at the concierge desk to ask a few questions about the metro and it was clear that the hotel staff thought it was really funny that we wanted to take the metro; they were even more surprised when we asked a bit about neighborhoods where wealthy people lived and those where lower income people lived, and which metro station would get us to the different neighborhoods. Anyway, off we went. The walk to the closest metro station to the hotel was uphill and through a really nice park. After about 15 minutes walking in the wind and rain, we arrived at the station. It took us a little time to figure out the system and how to purchase a ticket. You need exact change and the machine instructions were only in Azerbainjani (or at least that’s all we could see on the screen). We finally figured it all out and it turns out that there is an English option, but the button to click to change to English is not very prominent. We got the “cards” and off we went. The system is really very simple – only two lines: the red and the green.

The stations are immaculate; no litter; no gum on the floors; no trash. There is one station monitor who seems to have a ping pong paddle-like thing in her hand – one side is red. We never figured out what she does with it. But once again, she doesn’t look like she likes her job. The trains were quite crowded and looked like 1960s vintage although they have clearly been refurbished and painted. People were polite. One funny thing is that when the train approaches each station, in addition to having an announcement about the name of the station and the next station on the line, classical music plays. Each station has a different classical piece. I suppose this is their way of letting blind people know the station and also a secondary way for all passengers to identify each station. And perhaps it’s also a way to make each station feel very palatial and to have a kind of grandeur to match the stations.??? Oh, as you can see in the photo of the sign—many things are prohibited on the stations and trains, including spike heels/

We decided that we should see the Zaha Hadid building (the Heydar Aliyev Center) which houses a museum and convention areas and other spaces. Frankly, visiting it was like a “check-the-box” decision. We only saw the outside since it’s closed on Mondays. Neither of us were impressed. It’s totally out of context – sort of plopped down in the middle of a neighborhood and I’m quite certain that many people living on that site were probably displaced to create this monument to culture. Mike created a new term called “plop architecture” which is quite appropriate. I guess this is Azerbaijani urban renewal.

By then it was really raining and we decided to take a taxi back to the metro. The taxi driver didn’t speak any English but was very excited when he found out we were Americans. Turns out his son won the green card lottery and now lives in NY (probably Queens) although the father didn’t have an address, only a cell phone number. We did communicate enough to learn that the son is studying computers and that (ironically) he works as a taxi driver in NYC (perhaps to pay his way through his computer course). At least this is what we think he was trying to convey. When we approached the metro station, the driver refused to take any money from us. He was still so excited to meet an American. Another taxi driver remarked in limited English that Azerbaijan was 10% good and 90% not good; America very good. So what can I say?

We then went on our way checking out a few neighborhoods near metro stations and eventually the rain got to us and we headed back to the hotel; decided to try the high tea service in the restaurant and sort of pigged out… Then I did some work in the room… and eventually we went out for dinner.

The concierge suggested a place called Sumakh. It was incredibly good. I think we are making up for all the rather boring meals in Uzbekistan. Menu looked so good, we definitely over-ordered. Started with  a wonderful eggplant appetizer (char burned and smashed to add tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic) served with home-baked bread; followed by a pasta (dumplings stuffed with lamb in a pomegranate sauce – yummy); and then two main courses: sturgeon topped with greens and served with three dipping sauces and garnished with cooked cherry tomatoes and kumquats; and chicken and plum sauce. Again we had a bottle of local wine… and tonight NO dessert. Would have had to roll me out.

It’s clear that Baku has a wealthy class and there are amazing streets lined with high end stores in the new section of the city. The driver of the wealth is the oil industry located here.

What we did learn (as a result of trying to research May 28 – because that is the name of a major boulevard and also a metro stop) is that the country has a very interesting history, including that the Russian Empire was overthrown after a very short revolution in 1917…. And on May 28, 1918 the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (ADR) was created as the first secular, democratic state in the Muslim East. It was founded by Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh who himself has a very very interesting life story, including “saving” Stalin in 1905 when he was hiding in Baku… and later being “saved” by Stalin when he himself (Rasulzadeh) was arrested and brought to Baku. (He had been hiding in the mountains). He was released on Stalin’s orders and sent to Moscow, where he was the press representative at the Commissariat on Nations. Rasulzadeh was a prolific writer and political philosopher/strategist. Eventually, he was sent to St. Petersburg where he escaped to Finland. He ultimately lived in exile in many countries including Poland, Iran, and Turkey. He is credited with saying “The flag once raised will never fall!” and I think this is part of the lingering desire to be independent. During his short reign, the country developed a flag with three color stripes: red, green, and blue. In 1991 when independence was again declared, they returned to the flag, but added the white crescent and 8-point star.

One important accomplishment of the ADR was providing suffrage for women, and granting them equal political rights with men. The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan only functioned for 23 months – amid a very tumultuous political period. In 1920 the Soviet Union invaded. The idea of independence, however, carried on and in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan declared its independence. The country is 89% Muslim but it’s so secular you do not get any sense of a national religion (and there isn’t any; that is made clear in the constitution).

Tomorrow, the old city…

And we are beginning to focus on our return later this week. We’re hoping to be able to watch the Democratic debate tomorrow. We get CNN, but it’s a European version, so not certain we will succeed. And we see from a zillion emails, that Bernie has opened an Oakland campaign office. So we’re trying to keep up. Frankly, it’s been good to be a bit distant.

All the best –

Fern