Blown Away
Before talking about some of the exciting experiences I have had so far here, I have to briefly mention the issue of WIND in Baku. Well there are many things to be blown away by in this city, it seems that quite literally, one risks being blown into the Caspian Sea by strong winds that blow off the water into the city. I suppose that the first day I arrived was quite calm, but ever since then there have been stiff winds off the water. Hopefully this is a temporary weather event or I will have to acquire the wind resistance that most other people seem to have already.
Generally speaking, Baku has turned out to be a remarkably easy adjustment. There seems to be a pretty organized and liveable vibe to the city, with just enough hustle and bustle without the annoyances of congestion and excessive traffic. I really lucked out with my accommodation, which is a 1BR apartment right smack in the center of the city. It is nestled on a small side street between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) building and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation building. I am also adjacent to the Old City of Baku, which sounds like a great area to explore.
The general vibe in the city is really nice, it feels like a cross between Istanbul and Tehran both in terms of the city layout and the general look of the people. English is not widely spoken, yet there is a willingness to meet you halfway linguistically that usually resolves any questions or issues. You can feel that the country is prosperous economically, yet in a far more muted way than in Dubai. Old buildings and museums are being restored and some newer ones are being built, but the underlying skeleton, both in terms of urban layout and culture, appears to be quite secure. Although predominantly Shiite Muslim, mosques are few and far between. In fact, I can only recall seeing one mosque and one Orthodox church since being here.
My internship has started off really well. The Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy is a great group of people and already they have included me in various lectures and events. Yesterday, we had the slightly surreal experience of attending the 15th annual Caspian Oil & Gas Fair featuring a variety of obscure engineering innovations for oil drilling in addition to publicity for pipelines which to my knowledge, were not actually being built yet. The highlight of the fair was probably two cheerleader-esque women in tight outfits promoting a drilling company, surrounded by admiring Russian men. Ah, viva Baku!
Generally speaking, Baku has turned out to be a remarkably easy adjustment. There seems to be a pretty organized and liveable vibe to the city, with just enough hustle and bustle without the annoyances of congestion and excessive traffic. I really lucked out with my accommodation, which is a 1BR apartment right smack in the center of the city. It is nestled on a small side street between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) building and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation building. I am also adjacent to the Old City of Baku, which sounds like a great area to explore.
The general vibe in the city is really nice, it feels like a cross between Istanbul and Tehran both in terms of the city layout and the general look of the people. English is not widely spoken, yet there is a willingness to meet you halfway linguistically that usually resolves any questions or issues. You can feel that the country is prosperous economically, yet in a far more muted way than in Dubai. Old buildings and museums are being restored and some newer ones are being built, but the underlying skeleton, both in terms of urban layout and culture, appears to be quite secure. Although predominantly Shiite Muslim, mosques are few and far between. In fact, I can only recall seeing one mosque and one Orthodox church since being here.
My internship has started off really well. The Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy is a great group of people and already they have included me in various lectures and events. Yesterday, we had the slightly surreal experience of attending the 15th annual Caspian Oil & Gas Fair featuring a variety of obscure engineering innovations for oil drilling in addition to publicity for pipelines which to my knowledge, were not actually being built yet. The highlight of the fair was probably two cheerleader-esque women in tight outfits promoting a drilling company, surrounded by admiring Russian men. Ah, viva Baku!
posted by Pearl of Dubai at 8:28 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home