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

First World Housing Problems

One of the realities of Foreign Service life is moving sight-unseen into a new living space every few years.  Each house has its own little quirks that become apparent as we work to turn the space into our home.  And overseas, there's often the added fun of amenities that aren't designed for our oversized American belongings.

One of the first oddities we noticed in our apartment in Baku was the tall height of the bathtub side.  It's higher than our knees!  As Jeremy is demonstrating below, the tub height allows him to do an excellent Captain Morgan pose!

Jeremy high-stepping into the tub 

Also in the bathroom, the toilet paper holder is positioned directly under the towel bar and our luxurious American bathsheet towels are so long they reach the toilet paper holder.  Not a good recipe for keeping the toilet paper dry!

Towel interfering with the toilet paper

We conveniently have a trash chute in our kitchen closet.  However, we've discovered that our kitchen trash can is the same girth as the trash chute.  This makes it tricky to neatly drop a full trash bag into the chute without pushing and shoving it in.  I usually prefer to avoid manhandling full trash bags!

Trash chute of similar size to our trash can

The bedroom has plenty of built-in closet space.  What's crazy is the height of the closet bar.  It's so high, I can only reach it when standing on tip toes.  I know I'm not a tall person, but that's a tad extreme!

Erica stretching to hang her clothes

Of course, we are extremely grateful to have a warm house to move into.  It certainly beats the flip side - to arrive in a new country with no place to live.  And in the grand scheme of things, towels that are too long and trash chutes that are too small aren't bad problems to have and are absolutely First World Problems.

Pivnaya Apteka

Last night we went to a really hip restaurant called Pivnaya Apteka.  "Aptek" means pharmacy in Azeri and the decor of the restaurant followed a medical-scientific theme.  The backdrop of the bar was filled with hexagonal shelves and diagrams of molecular structures.  The waitstaff wore white lab coats and we saw drinks served in test tubes and laboratory flasks.

"Chemistry" bar with molecular diagrams

Curiously, the restaurant also had a marine animal theme.  We were seated at a tiny corner table underneath a massive whale tail.  Across from us was an octopus chair with a stream of tentacles flowing out behind it.  And the menu featured x-rays of frogs, tadpoles, and other creatures.  We thought the images were cool, but noted that some diners may find them unappetizing visuals to consider while contemplating dinner options. 

Enjoying our drinks under the whale tail

Accompanying all this was a DJ spinning club beats.  The restaurant's only been open for two months and many people haven't heard about it yet.  We felt like we had really found the new "in" place to be!

Angie and Erica lounge in the whale seat