Baku, Azerbaijan. Final Travel Note. 1/15/20

Greetings from Baku

Woke up to a really cold and overcast day, with rain pending.

We actually got up very very early (4:00 am) to watch the Democratic Debate – which was interesting, especially from this distance and as we transition home to face the realities of American politics. I’ll hold my opinions on the performances for the moment.

Decided to take a taxi to the trio of Flame Towers – which we see not only from our hotel room window, but also as a backdrop to nearly every part of the city — as they tower above the city because of their height and location at the top of a hill. It’s a love/hate relationship, I assume. The tallest of the three towers is about 600 ft tall. They symbolize flame/fire which is central to Zoroastrianism (fire worship) which has roots in Azerbaijan. One can love the amazing light show it projects nightly and some might even like the architecture; but it comes about because of the narrow distribution of wealth and is an homage to wealth and corporate power. Anyway, given the inclement weather, we figured this would be a good thing to see from the inside.

As it turns out only one tower is occupied by the very luxurious Fairmont Hotel (whose lobby was filled with women in very elegant burkas and hijabs), and makes the Four Seasons look like a hovel. The other two towers are unoccupied, although recently a Lamborghini showroom opened on the ground level of one of the two empty buildings. One building is intended to be residential (but I get the sense that marketing may not be going so well) and the other will be commercial (offices). As of now they are just canvases for the nightly light shows. Once inside the lobby with its soaring 50’ ceiling height, we went to the concierge and asked if we could get to the top floor. We thought there might be a bar or restaurant, but those services are on the lobby level. We explained our professional interest (aargh!) and a young bellman standing near the desk then said something to the concierge and then told us that he would take us up to the top floor to see the view (and also show us the luxurious suite — $1,000 per day – on that top floor from which we would get really good views), just in case on a return trip we might decide to book that suite!

And up we went.. stepping out of the elevator to an amazing view of the whole city (we could see our hotel and the entire old city), including parts we had not yet visited. The young guy is a film student and wants to create action movies (!!) and loves American film and the US. He spent quite a bit of time with us. We found out that the buildings took three years to build and cost $350 million, which is incredibly cheap compared to what it would cost to construct in the US. From this vantage point we could also see the Carpet Museum (whose design looks like a rolled up carpet in section) and the Music Museum which are both located close to the sea — a rambling walk downhill through a series of parks from the Fairmont to the Caspian Sea. Given the weather we thought we might visit; we were told we could take a “cable car” from just across from the Hotel all the way to the museum… Turns out it is a funicular.. so we navigated crossing the street to the funicular station (which I think was probably funded by the Fairmont since its logo is on the entryway. Naturally, when we got to the entry of the funicular, it was closed for lunch so we hung around—checked out the Turkish mosque. Another man was waiting for the funicular; he was visiting from Pakistan (he carried a selfie stick and took nonstop photos – including one with us and one with him and Mike).

The funicular was spanking new and delivered us practically to the doorstep of the Carpet Museum, which turned out to be far more interesting than we anticipated. We also encountered a very cute school group of 2^nd graders (I’m guessing) who had never before been on an escalator… It was delightful to watch the teachers explain how to use the escalator and to see the kids excitedly try it out. Kids wore school uniforms. After scoping out the museum, we were headed to the music museum but it began to rain and got very windy, so we ducked into the museum for a quick lunch (soup) and then decided it was best to head back to the hotel to pack. By then we were pretty beat and decided to cancel our dinner reservations (would have had to walk in the rain and wind) and just eat at the hotel so we could get an early start tomorrow to get to the Baku Airport.

With regards from a city that can mix oil money wealth with 12^th Century ruins and carpets with cuisines…. From a totally unfamiliar language to incredible hospitality and politeness.. from underground passageways and walkability… from restrictive politics and gleaming new buildings… from a new law that enables the president to have an unprecedented number of terms of office… Good-bye Baku; Good-bye Azerbaijan.. we had but a glimpse of the best of you.

So this is the end of our trip and of my notes to you. We leave in the morning.. homeward bound…. Via Istanbul and Frankfurt.. and eventually SFO.

Take care.  See you stateside.

Fern