Filed under: Azerbaijan
Have been in Baku for some days now but didn’t really have the time to post any news. The ferry from Turkmenistan over here was unexpectedly straightforward, also owing to the fact that I ran into an Aussie travel group right inside the Turkmenbashi ferry terminal, making this totally desolate and remote location seem like Southern Thailand.
I interviewed Razi Nurullayev, leader of the stundent movement YOX yesterday, mainly focusing on the upcoming November elections. The material is still left untouched, but I hope to finish something legible soon. There is also quite a substantial bit of work ahead in the form of the Carnival of Revolutions slated to be hosted on this blog on the 5th of September. So, please send links to me or use the submission form here.
The problem with all my plans is just that I can’t find a freaking laundrette at all. I’ve been running through the streets for a good deal of an hour – but nothing! Anyone with some knowlegde of Baku’s street grid – please help!
Apart from that though, Baku is superb. I was very lucky to rent a flat for the time I’m here. Eldar, a connection via Marianna, and his girlfriend took great care of me and we had two great nights out with their friends. Eldar also took me inside the Villa Petrolea, from which you have amazing vistas over the Black Bay with some 70-year-old oil rigs. It was here where Stalin organised workers’ revolts almost 100 years ago.
The world is small, especially in the Caucasus and Central Asia. As my hosts and their friends here work in consulting and …oil! – we’ve been tracking mutual friends and acquaintances all around.
I am going to Lahic tomorrow or the day after. I realised I am about to return to Europe in less than 10 days, so I thought a brief rest in the mountains cannot be a bad idea at all. After that I have planned to go to Saki, then Tblissi.
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