Novruz

This week, Azerbaijan celebrated Novruz, the spring New Year.  It is an ancient holiday with many customs.  I was lucky enough to participate in a few of them.

One of the most visible, and dramatic, customs is fire jumping.  On the four Tuesdays leading up to Novruz, people light bonfires and jump over them.  By jumping over the fire, you leave behind any misdeeds or ill will from the prior year and start the new year with a clean slate.

Erica jumping the fire

The embassy held a small fire-jumping event where I was able to practice my jumping technique.  With that jump under my belt, on the last Tuesday before Novruz, we went into Baku's Old City to find a bigger bonfire to conquer.  We had to search through the narrow streets, but finally found one.  It was definitely bigger, and a bit intimidating, but after letting our Marine friends lead the way, I gave it a go and had my fire-jumping fill.  (Jeremy twisted his knee a few weeks ago, so refrained from jumping.)

EJ in mid-air through the flames

Soon a band kicked into high gear and we joined the crowd in some traditional dances, including a group circle dance around the bonfire.

Erica and Jeremy master the circle dance

Another very visible custom of Novruz is samani - wheatgrass shoots - a symbol of rebirth.  It is a typical decoration on the Novruz table, and usually included in Novruz gift baskets of nuts, dried fruits, baklava, and other Azeri pastries given amongst friends, neighbors, and colleagues at this time of year.  I love the bright green color of the samani, but love even more the fabulous shekebura (pastry filled with nuts and sweetness) found in many of these baskets!

Gift basket of samani, nuts, and sweets

Novruz Bayraminiz Mubarek - Happy Novruz!

Bowling in Azerbaijan

We've gone bowling once in Azerbaijan, and it was quite an interesting cultural experience.

The first difference was the shoes.  Any American is used to wearing highly stylish bowling shoes every time you go bowling.  I did a little research and learned that bowling shoes serve two purposes.  First, they help you slide along the floor as you approach the lane.  Second, they keep the surface cleaner because bowlers aren't wearing their street shoes and tracking bits of dirt all around.

Azerbaijanis are generally very consious about keeping floors clean.  It's common to enter people's homes and immediately take off your shoes in the doorway.  Most gyms and health centers in Baku insist that you put disposable booties on over your shoes.  So, bowling shoes would seem to fit perfectly into this mindset.  However, bowling shoes were completely optional and everyone around us was bowling in their regular shoes.

Erica celebrating a spare

But more interesting than the lack of bowling shoes was the lack of understanding about bowling!  All members of the family in the lane next to us constantly stepped past the line onto the lane, oblivious to the red light and loud buzzer advising them of their trespass.  They were also intent on perfecting their technique of throwing the ball out into the lane, rather than rolling it.

Adding to the cacophony of the environment was the safety issue of another bowler not understanding the ball returner.  He kept grabbing balls from the neighboring lanes, until his ball returner was overcapacity and nearly started spilling balls out onto the floor.  He did this twice before realizing he should consider reusing the balls that were already there!

Fellow bowler - notice the ball is airborne and
the red foul line light is lit

On top of all that, we questioned the quality of the lanes because Jeremy and I both finished with pathetic scores.  I know, I know...a bowler's always going to say the lane was warped before they question their own skill level, right?!  :)  But I'm unlikely to put my skills to the test anytime soon, because I think my first bowling experience in Azerbaijan will be my last!

Jeremy laments our sad final scores

Skiing at Shahdag

Jeremy and Erica riding in the gondola

Azerbaijan's first ski resort, Shahdag (King Mountain), only opened within the last 5 years.  This makes skiing a huge novelty to most Azerbaijanis.  In fact, many go to Shahdag for the day with no intention of skiing whatsoever.  They go just to see the resort, ride the lift, and, of course, take a selfie to prove they were there.

Non-skiers in line to ride the lift up the mountain

Taking the selfie to the furthest level, some people even rent skis and boots just for their photo. Perhaps that isn't much different than Americans going to amusement parks and paying for Ye Olde Time photos, but something about it strikes me as going a bit too far just for a photo.

Non-skiers playing in the snow at Selfie City

The pedestrians generally only use one lift at the resort.  We now call the top of that lift "Selfie City" because it's where the pedestrians hang out, take their photos, and play in the snow a bit before returning to the lift to ride back down.  Often, every single chair heading back down the mountain was occupied, which was very odd for us skiers to see!

Non-skiers riding the lift back down

Adding to the unique experience at Shahdag was our hotel complex.  It looked like something out of a movie.  I think Grand Budapest Hotel was the most apt comparison, and was an especially good association if you were in a cheerful, whimsical mood.

Pik Palace Hotel looking like The Grand Budapest Hotel

But if you were in a darker, more pensive mood, The Shining also came to mind.  The picture below of the hotel surrounded by white snow and mountain peaks shows the isolated location that could easily be the scene of a creepy horror flick.

Hotel looking like The Overlook Hotel from The Shining

Pedestrians and hotels aside, we were there to ski.  Which we did, with plenty of friends sharing in the fun!

Erica and Jeremy at the base

Kelly taking a quick stop on the slope

Jeremy, Dave, and Yaniv at the base

Aleksey and Erica on the lift

Azerbaijani Food - Khash Soup

I've now had the pleasure of eating cow foot.  Khash is a traditional soup made from boiled cow feet, eaten in Azerbaijan and neighboring countries.  It is rumored to have medicinal properties, and some claim it cures hangovers.  Although not part of the daily diet, Azerbaijanis will eat it for breakfast when they are feeling under the weather (if they believe in the medicinal properties), after a big night out (if trying to cure a hangover), or as an excuse for a feast (because who doesn't get a hankering for cow foot every now and then?). 

Erica biting into some cow foot

Khash is prepared by boiling the cow feet for many, many hours until the broth becomes thick and gelatinous.  It is served with salt, garlic, vinegar, and croutons which diners add to their own liking.  The soup itself consists of only the broth and chucks of cow foot, from which you suck off all the fat until you clean the bone.

My bowl of khash

Thankfully a khash meal also comes with side dishes, including bread, cheese, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickles - food items common to any typical Azerbaijani meal.  A "true" khash feast also involves lots of vodka and toasts - a real man's meal, literally, because it's often only men who partake in Azerbaijani khash gatherings.

Yummy bread, salty cheese, and other side dishes

While I am glad to have had a khash experience, I must say it will be my first and last.  I had a tough time with the fatty, oily taste and the thick, slimy texture.  I made an effort, but only ate about one-third of my soup and was "chasing" the last few bites immediately with bread or whatever else I could eat quickly.  Jeremy fared better and may return for a men-only, vodka-soaked throw-down!

New Years in Georgia

Jeremy and I traveled to Georgia to celebrate New Years.  No, not Atlanta, Georgia!  For my U.S.-focused, international-geography challenged friends, the country of Georgia shares a border with Azerbaijan.

We reached the ski resort of Gudauri on New Years Eve and rang in the New Year outside in the snow.  We drank some champagne (straight out of the bottle-very classy!), lit some sparklers, and set off "fireworks" which in reality were just large sparklers.  But luckily for us, there were real fireworks nearby to lend an authentic celebratory air to the evening.

New Years Eve sparklers in the snow

But the majority of the holiday was focused on skiing.  Having been deprived of skiing for several years now, Jeremy was psyched to have a full weekend dedicated to the slopes.  The conditions were quite good...it snowed every night leaving a fresh layer of powder on the slopes...and the afternoons brought blue, sunny skies.  The resort had plenty of runs to keep both average skiers like me and expert skiers like Jeremy happy.  Plus the snow-capped mountain landscape was absolutely stunning!  It was a fun start to 2016.

Everyone's ready for skiing!

Jeremy on the slopes

Erica's ready for après ski drinks

Beautiful view from our condo

Christmas in Baku

Since Azerbaijan is a Muslim country, I didn't expect to find much Christmas in Baku.  Boy was I wrong!

Since early December, there has been a holiday market in Fountain Square in center city.  I heard it's technically for New Years, but it sure seemed to be inspired by German Christmas markets.  Of course, it still had Azerbaijani flair, with speakers pumping out loud dance tunes throughout the day.

Erica enjoying the holiday market

Many storefronts also had bright displays with Christmas trees, gingerbread houses, and wrapped presents.  My favorite was the one shown below.  It had a mannequin with a skirt made of peacock feathers wrapped with a strand of Christmas lights.  Underneath was a sign that read "Mezzy Christmas."  I have no idea what it all meant, but it sure brought a grin to my face!

A very "Mezzy Christmas" to you!

I got to see the Nutcracker ballet for the first time in at least 5 years.  It was an interesting performance, most notably because the same dancer who portrayed Clara was also the Sugar Plum Fairy.  I'm a little hazy on the exact details of the story, but I thought Clara was supposed to be a young girl, and the Sugar Plum Fairy was a grown woman.  Oh well.  I was happy to see a ballet, with live orchestra and choral accompaniment.  Plus I got a free ticket in the 4th row through my embassy colleague who knew one of the dancers, so I really can't complain!

Nutcracker Waltz of the Flowers

I also spied several Santas around town, including this one pictured below who was displayed on the sidewalk next to a popular bathhouse, whose customers stared at us when we stopped to take a photo.  I guess they were not as amused by Santa as we were!

Jeremy was super psyched to see Santa!

And, of course, we had our own little Christmas display in the house, with stockings, a tree, reindeer, and our infamous Christmas hats.  No snow here, thank goodness, but a lovely Christmas nonetheless and lots of good friends to celebrate with!

The Covers hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Journey to the Holy Land

Israel's En Gedi Nature Reserve

Jeremy and I recently returned from a trip to Israel and Jordan.  My pose above is a good summary of my feelings about the trip -- It was amazing!

Our first stop was Tel Aviv.  As we strolled through the open-air Carmel Market, we came to a stand selling something we had never seen before.  The vendor was only too glad to offer samples of his product -- halva, a sweet, dense confection popular across a wide swath of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.  In Israel, halva is usually made from tahini paste and then flavored with ingredients such as nuts or chocolate.  The vendor, the Halva King, had at least 40 flavors and seemed to want us to try every one of them.  Did I mention that halva is dense and sweet??  We finally called a halt to the tasting and selected two flavors to buy.  The King knew suckers when he had seen them, and cut off big hunks without actually asking how much we wanted.  He wrapped them up nicely and told us the price:  50 USD!  Not having the heart to backtrack on the sale at that point, we gulped, paid the money, and figured we were now stocked up on halva for the rest of our trip.

Jeremy with the Halva King

After Tel Aviv, we headed north to the Sea of Galilee, where we visited several national parks with historical ruins and waterfalls.  In Arbel National Park, we reached the first lookout to find the area filled with Israeli teenagers running, shouting, playing music, taking selfies, and generally being teenagers.  We moved on from the lookout, hoping to get in front of the group.  No such luck.  While waiting at a narrow point where only one person at a time could descend the trail, we realized we were smack in the middle of a large school group.  As the kids continued to play music loudly and the boys jostled each other, creating mini stone landslides, my visions of a peaceful hike faded away and I was about ready to throw in the towel and return to the car.  Then I saw Jeremy talking with some of the kids, telling them his name and where he was from, and they were smiling back at him.  My icy heart warmed a little, I told myself "Serenity now," and I re-committed myself to the hike.  And I'm glad I did, because it was one of the best hikes of the trip, with great views and a fun trail scrambling over rocks or clinging to cliff sides.  By the end, one of the kids even asked for a picture with us!

Erica navigating the narrow trail at Arbel National Park

Then we turned south to the Dead Sea, and the obligatory photo shoot of floating in its salty waters.  We paid for beach access and made our way to the water's edge.  Thank goodness I was wearing water shoes, because the ground was hard and sharp from the salt deposits.  I don't know how Jeremy managed it barefoot.  We each floated and took pictures and then we looked at each other and said "now what?"  The scenery was beautiful with the mountains of Jordan in the background, but the aroma was not fragrant, the water tasted horrible, the salt stung every small cut on our skin, but worst of all, the water left this slimy film on us.  With the photos finished, we left the beach and had a shower at the first available opportunity!

Jeremy floating in the Dead Sea

Having enjoyed some of the natural beauty of Israel, we visited Jerusalem.  We were both struck by the rich history of the city.  And that history was further enriched by the malleability with which it's claimed by different segments of the population.  During a walking tour of the Old City, our guide would stop at a landmark, tell us a story about why it was important and then say "But you may ask, do we know for sure that event took place on this spot?  Well..." And then he would launch into a story about how a different group of people think the same event took place in a completely different location.  He would never take sides.  He would simply tell the multiple stories and say it was up to each of us to decide what we believed.  Fascinating!  We could have spent several more days in Jerusalem, for the history, food, and nightlife!

Jeremy at Jerusalem's Old City Damascus Gate

But, next it was on to Petra, the ancient city chiseled into the cliffs of southern Jordan.  While the landscape of Petra was stunning and the carvings were impressive, I was continually struck by the lack of tourists at the site.  Tourism in Jordan has plummeted in recent years due to general instability in the region because of the Syrian civil war and the rise of ISIS.  The vendors and guides of Petra were quite hopeful for our business.  Within our first hour in Petra, we met a young boy named Omar who offered us a ride on his donkey, Michael.  Despite Omar's excellent English and persuasive sales tactics, we declined.  But we saw Omar several more times and heard several more of his persistent sales pitches.  I'm not sure I ever saw him with a paying customer though.   I can only hope he earned some money that day. 

Jeremy at Petra w/ Omar, his donkey Michael & other friends

From Petra, we continued to Wadi Rum, a desert landscape of towering rock formations and sand dunes.  After a half-day 4x4 tour of the highlights  -- including climbing sand dunes and scrambling around on the rocks -- we were anxious to reach our camp before sunset.  But then the car suddenly stopped, the driver made several attempts to restart it, and then pronounced that we would wait for another car to come get us.  As the sun fully sank, darkness surrounded us, and the cool chill became even colder, my mind thought more and more of being lost and stranded in the desert.  And more and more of how cold and hungry I was!  But eventually salvation appeared in the form of headlights drawing closer and closer and delivering us to camp in time for dinner.

Erica waiting by our broken-down vehicle in Wadi Rum

Those are some of the fun stories from our trip.  I'll close with some more pictures of the landscape, which was stunningly beautiful.  If you haven't been, I highly encourage a visit to Israel and Jordan!

Nimrod's Fortress in the Golan Heights, Israel

Israel's En Gedi Nature Reserve

Jerusalem's Mount of Olives and Old City

Petra Royal Tombs

Wadi Rum Little Bridge

Cityscape of Amman Jordan