Azerbaijan

I was suppose to go to Azerbaijan for a week, but I messed up my visa (no matter what anyone tells you, you must be out of Azerbaijan no later than the "valid until" date) so I had to leave early. I spent most of my two days there on a train to Baku, then trying to find a way to extend my visa, and finally trying to find a way to leave so Sarah and I didn't have to pay a collective fine of ~$1000. I took three pictures there. This is one of them.

Here's a picture of our room on the train. Not too shabby.

Some pictures I didn't take: Yanar Dag is a perpetually burning fire near Baku. Azerbaijan's GDP octupled in the last 15 years due to the massive reserves of oil and natural gas located within its borders. There are a couple of natural gas fires like Yanar Dag that never stop burning.

Azerbaijan seems to want to turn Baku into a city like Doha or Dubai. They recently completed these flame towers that dominate the skyline.

I stayed in Old Town, where the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Maiden Tower, is located. Built in the 12th century, legend has it a father wanted to marry his beautiful daughter. The daughter, to stall the wedding demanded he build her a tower. Once it was completed, she threw herself off the tower. If I were the Azeris, I might make up a different story for my main cultural landmark.

The other picture I took was of Novruz celebrations. Novruz is the Persian holiday (Azerbaijan and Persian history are closely intertwined) that celebrates the New Year and the coming of spring. People jump over burning fires and make wishes, and parade giant puppets and standards representing the four elements through the streets.

This is the official Novruz, uh, grass patch. I saw it everywhere in Baku.