- The teacher aide next door says that she only has water for 2 hours every day.
- Old women are the most common beggars on the street. A tough existence. They do however attract what seems to be a good response.
- Azerbaijan seems to be making too much money in oil. An international advisor suggests that the country keeps the money off-shore so that it doesn’t create inflation.
- This year’s inflation is around 25%.
- The metro still costs 5 qepek – maybe 8cents – to anywhere on the grid.
- The most common flight departure and arrival times are between 2 and 4 am.
- They don’t celebrate Christmas much here, but there’s still plenty of Christmas trees and Santas. Christmas was banned in Soviet times but now they celebrate New Year.
- Eid, which is also celebrated at this time of year, is a big event in the Moslem year. It marks the end of Ramadan, and remembers when Abraham ended up sacrificing a goat instead of his son. Moslem families will often slaughter a sheep and share it with the poor.
- Traffic here is chaotic. If there are three lanes marked drivers will make 5. Drivers toot every block or so, warning pedestrians and other cars that they’re coming. Sometimes I have no idea what they’re honking when there’s no pedestrians or other cars nearby. Gigantic overpasses are under construction for busy intersections.
- Traffic is slowed even further with large and small buses stopping wherever they want and letting out people. There can be three lanes filled with stopped buses.
- Azerbaijan is a contender for the 2016 Olympics. Perhaps that explains the next point.
- All the government buildings are currently being refaced with cream stone. Each building looks good but they’re all starting to look the same.
More snapshots of Baku
December 16th, 2007 · No Comments
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