Bicycling for the Environment in Baku

This weekend, Jeremy and I took our bicycles out for the first time in Baku to participate in a bike event to raise awareness about environmental and eco-friendly issues.  

Erica on the Baku Boulevard along the Caspian Sea

The embassy partnered with a local NGO, Nature Friends Youth Organization, to organize a fun ride through the city. Nature Friends is comprised primarily of Azerbaijani students who advocate for environmental preservation and eco-friendly transportation options.  While most Americans have become used to "going green" campaigns in the United States, environmental advocacy is still in its infancy in Azerbaijan, thus the embassy's interest in participating and drawing attention to this activity.

Safety First!

The event was very well organized, with opening speeches, press, a bicycle-safety briefing, and police escort.  The police escort was key on Baku's hectic roads where bicyclists are an endangered species - officers stopped traffic at every intersection for us!

Our group of American and Azerbaijani cyclists

Although a bike ride doesn't make international headlines like concluding negotiations with Iran, it's actually much more representative of the daily activities of a diplomat - making connections within the community, organizing events, and encouraging dialogue on a wide range of issues.

European Games Sporting Events

After the fabulous opening ceremony of the European Games, our attention turned to the sporting events.  I was very excited to see multiple sports - those both familiar and new to me - live on an international stage.  

Gymnastics has always been one of my favorite Summer Olympic sports.  Therefore it was a must-see for me.  I got my fill with a whole afternoon of both the men's and women's events. 

Women's Gymnastics Beam Finalist

I was also really looking forward to Track & Field, especially the women's hurdles, an event I ran myself in high school.

Qualifying heat of the Women's 100 Meter Hurdles

But, it turned out, I was more fascinated by the events I had rarely or never seen before.  One of them was Acrobatic Gymnastics.  I had never even heard of it before; it is not an Olympic event.  A very simple description is that it's a bit like cheerleading combined with circus acrobatics.  The competition I saw was a team event of three women who tumbled, climbed, flew, and cartwheeled across the mat performing exciting routines of strength, balance, and agility.  

Acrobatic Gymnasts create a human tower

Probably the most memorable event for me was Table Tennis.  I know, I know, seriously?!  Even I was skeptical, particularly when I realized I had a ticket for a five-hour session.  But, it was actually really fun to watch.  Especially because each player had a different serving style and clearly displayed his personality - often loudly and passionately - during play and especially when he scored a point.  

Bulgaria Table Tennis player serves to Italy

Jeremy's favorite event was Beach Soccer, another non-Olympic event.  It is played 5-on-5.  Because of the undulating surface of the sand, the game is played more in the air than on the ground, with lots of fancy air-kicks and headers.

Beach Soccer in action

Throughout it all, Azerbaijan - the Land of Fire - added its own flair to the events with fire machines that breathed flames into the air at key competition junctures.  Although there was some hiccups, Azerbaijan can congratulate itself on a Games well done and we were incredibly lucky to be a witness to it.

Flames add excitement to introduction of Beach Soccer teams

Opening Ceremony Part 2

The Baku European Games opening ceremony continued with a giant pomegranate moving to center stage. The pomegranate is a prized fruit of Azerbaijan, so much so that it's one of the mascots of the Games - plus Azerbaijan holds an annual pomegranate festival (perhaps I'll go and blog about it in the future!) The pomegranate slowly broke open and released balloons in the shape of pomegranate seeds.  Pandomonium erupted as everyone in the stadium tried to claim a balloon seed as their own!

Balloon seeds pour out of the pomegranate

Then the crowd settled back down for the Parade of Nations, with 50 participating countries presenting their athletic teams. There was plenty to look at - the uniforms, the size of each team, the crowd reaction.  But my favorite thing to watch was the ladies lining the walkway of the athlete's entrance.  Rather than just standing still, they moved in unison, marching in place one minute, then clapping their hands to the music, then side-stepping back and forth, continually changing their movements each time I checked back in on them.  It was a small little detail that frankly seemed unnecessary, but fascinated me and added to the whole spectacle of the moment.

Bopping ladies greet each team

With the Parade of Nations wrapping up, Jeremy and I noticed a golf cart drive quietly in from the side with a blond passenger in a white dress.  There had been rumors that a famous pop star would perform at the ceremony.  Could this be true and could this be her?  As she made her way to a flower-draped piano, the emcee introduced...Lady Gaga!  The crowd roared before raising their mobile phone lights high as she sang "Imagine."

Lady Gaga sings to an enthusiastic crowd

Lady Gaga was followed by obligatory speeches about the Olympic Movement and Baku's involvement.  Then the stage went dark.  We watched inspiring tributes to each of the four elements - earth, water, wind, fire - all so appropriate here in Baku:  a city perched on a peninsula of land jutting out into the Caspian Sea, often buffeted by strong winds in the land of fire with an actual burning hillside within an hour's drive.  As dancing flames emerged from the stage, a man coaxed them towards the edge before leaning down, grabbing them in his hands and tossing the fireball up into the air...to light the Games cauldron!

Man harnessing the flames of Azerbaijan's Land of Fire...

...to light the European Games cauldron!

As the cauldron rose higher in the air, the ceremony concluded with spectacular fireworks!

A grand finale of fireworks finished the ceremony

Baku European Games Opening Ceremony Part 1

This summer, Baku is hosting the inaugural European Games.  Continental games in the Olympic tradition have already existed with the Pan-American Games, Asian Games, All-Africa Games, and Pacific Games, but until now Europe hasn't had a similar games of their own.  Three years ago, the European Olympic Committees voted to create the European Games and awarded Baku as the first host city.  Since we arrived to Baku in March, there has been an air of excitement as the city anticipated the start of the Games.

European Games Countdown Clock in center city

The Games torch had been traveling throughout Azerbaijan for several weeks and last Sunday it finally arrived in Baku. Figuring this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, we went to check it out.  Our experience was a bit odd, since we happened to choose an unpopular portion of the torch route and watched the torch go by to an absence of crowds and cheers.

European Games Torch Bearer

But the real anticipation was for the opening ceremony.  It started with 1,000 women entering the stadium in fabulous hoop skirts.  As the music began, they moved their skirts a bit like curtains opening and closing to reveal different colors underneath.  It created a beautiful visual that became clear once we looked at the screen showing an overhead view - the colored skirts were arranged to look like a traditional Azerbaijani carpet!  The crowd went wild!

"Skirt dancers" showcase an Azerbaijani carpet design

The dancers continued to flip their skirts to display alternate colors and moved across the stage into different arrangements to create new carpet designs.

Another carpet design

I could have kept watching for hours, enjoying the bright colors and different designs, but the dancers were clearly building up to their finale.  They moved into their final positions and the overhead camera pulled back to unveil...the Azerbaijani flag! The crowd truly went nuts at this point.  Olympic ceremonies always have to have a healthy dose of patriotism from the host country, right?  The next blog entry will bring you the unique conclusion of the opening ceremony!

"Skirt dancers" create the Azerbaijani flag!

Guba Getaway

Jeremy and I were so excited to take our fist trip out of the city last weekend.  We like Baku, but most of our activities take place within the same few square miles of the city and we were anxious to expand our image of Azerbaijan.  The timing was perfect, as a group trip was organized just as we finished the process of buying, registering, and insuring a vehicle - which can be done in one day in the U.S. but took several weeks here!

The trip took us two hours northwest to the city of Guba.  As we entered, we passed a beautiful wall on our left. Unfortunately, it's not an authentic ancient city wall, but it was a great photo op!

Jeremy guarding the entrance to Guba

The primary tourist sight in Guba is the carpet factory.  I've mentioned before that Azerbaijan is known for its oriental-style carpets.  In fact, Azerbaijani carpets are officially a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage.  I read up on carpets before arriving, but still felt woefully ignorant about the craft.  After watching the carpet weavers in action, I started to gain an understanding of the many different types and styles of carpet.  I even ventured out with the group to go carpet shopping, but came home empty-handed...for now.  

Carpet weaver at her loom

Although not mentioned in the guide book, we especially enjoyed the drive along the road leading out of the city.  It was lined with vendors selling fresh meat and produce.  And I'm not talking about beautiful cuts of meats in ice-filled coolers. This was carcasses literally hanging on the roadside.  Some were wrapped in cheesecloth to protect against dirt and dust, but others were completely exposed.

Beef...it's what's for dinner

While the butchered cows and chickens created good shock value, I was more interested in the local produce, especially the strawberries!  Although Kenya and Cambodia had wonderful tropical fruits to offer, strawberries was not one of them, so I've eaten precious few strawberries in the last four years.  But, now I had bucketfuls right at my fingertips...Yum!

Strawberries anyone?

Mission Sushi

OK, it's not remotely Azerbaijani, but there's a group of sushi lovers from the embassy who are on a mission to find the best sushi in Baku.  Although I wouldn't consider myself a sushi lover, Jeremy does, plus who am I to ignore a call for volunteers to participate in a serious research project?

The most economical option is the Thursday night sushi buffet at Eleven Restaurant.  Eleven is in a beautiful location with an 11th floor view overlooking the Caspian Sea and city of Baku.  The sushi is good, but it's not especially exciting because it's the same limited choices each week.

Jeremy and Robert at the Eleven buffet

Last week, our group tried a new "designer" sushi restaurant, Yuka Kaiten Sushi.  We had seats at the bar where we could watch all the sushi being made.  Displaying the true designer nature of their menu, one of the chefs pulled out a blowtorch to put the final "toasting" touch on his sushi roll!

Every sushi chef needs his blowtorch!

It was a delight to watch these chefs literally slide around the kitchen creating their masterpieces.  Everything that came out looked beautiful and tasted great!  It might turn out to be Number One, but it's much too early in Mission Sushi to declare a winner!

Jim readies his chopsticks for a sushi feast!

Baku Old City

I've never lived in a city with a medieval wall.  Baku has a walled Old City that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Old City is surrounded by a 12th-century defensive wall in beautifully preserved condition.

Interior portion of the wall, with a catapult!

Once inside the walls, the Old City is a maze of narrow streets.  Although the streets are lined with houses, stores, and restaurants, it's a haven of quiet from the bustle of downtown Baku.  Many buildings have elegant second-story balconies overhanging the streets.   

Streets of the Old City

The Old City also provides an interesting viewing point of one of Baku's newest buildings - the Flame Towers.  I've already started creating a series of photos I call "Old and New" - juxtapositions of medieval Old City with the modern Flame Towers. I won't bore you with all of them.

The gleaming Flame Towers overlook the stone Old City 

An important monument in the Old City is Maiden Tower.  The origins of the Tower are shrouded in mystery.  It may have been built as a temple by Zoroastrian worshippers, or as a celestial observatory, or as a defensive watch tower.  Today, it remains an important landmark of the city and an interesting tourist sight.

Erica in front of Maiden Tower

I've strolled through the Old City several times now, but feel I've only scratched the surface of what it contains...which is actually how I still feel about most of Baku.  I plan to continue learning more about what the city - both old and new - has to offer.

Erica and Jeremy at an Old City entrance gate