Baku - Here are a few pictures from a recent trip.
A walk along the Caspian Sea
View from a restaurant
Lot's of little restaurants on the Caspian boardwalk, part of it forested
The Flame Towers reminded me of the creatures from the war of the worlds the way they towered over the city
One of the few surviving structures from Soviet times along the Caspian - people parachuted off this for entertainment before the fall of the Soviet Union
The old town
City gates
more of the old town
old town
Restaurant in a croded pedestrianized area
Pedestrian area, not busy at 11:30 AM but by 1:00 PM it was hopping
same
old city
Typical urban street scene
Baku's a nice place, people are friendly and city is beautiful with a European flare to it. Azeri's think of themselves as Europeans and they are very friendly but not many speak english. Traffic is horrendous and chaotic and the city is not very walkable over longer distances despite its density...just too dangerous crossing major streets for most westerners and even Azeris. It does have a subway system that I did not use and plenty of buses (which I also did not use). I saw zero bicycles, they just are not used as a form of transportation - probably because of the traffic chaos but an Azeri told me riding a bike was also a negative status symbol. Lot's of good restaurants. The population is nominally muslim but the people are big vodka and beer drinkers. I think I saw only a single headscarf in the several days I was there.
Baki, Bakou or
- Highlander
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Re: Baki, Bakou or
WOW! I want to go.
Re: Baki, Bakou or
Very cool pics. Baku is one of those random places I've been wanting to go and I'm not even exactly sure why -- I'm sure at some point I just heard something about it and thought it sounded cool and off the beaten tourist path and then it just lodged itself in my mind after that. It's disappointing that it sounds so car-centric, but you wouldn't know that from looking at your photos, seems like you did a great job capturing the city's good side.
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- Colonnade
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Re: Baki, Bakou or
Looks like a really nice city.
Maybe you were pointing your camera in the right places, but I seriously did not expect Azerbaijan to be so... shiny.
Maybe you were pointing your camera in the right places, but I seriously did not expect Azerbaijan to be so... shiny.
Sorry to disappoint you more but it is a pretty sure bet that any emergent nation will be car-centric, especially in the urban areas, and the term "pedestrian right-of-way" is a laughable concept.phuqueue wrote:It's disappointing that it sounds so car-centric, but you wouldn't know that from looking at your photos, seems like you did a great job capturing the city's good side.
- Highlander
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Re: Baki, Bakou or
Most of my pictures are from the pedestrian part of the city and the walkway along the Caspian (which you have to brave a rather alarming pedestrian crossing to get to). They do have a subway system which I did not take and a bus system with old buses packed to the gills at rush hour. When I was there, they were in the process of building pedestrian under/over-passes on some of the main roads to cut down on the risks pedestrians have to take crossing the street (although I am told by an Azeri that, where finished, people do not use them).phuqueue wrote:Very cool pics. Baku is one of those random places I've been wanting to go and I'm not even exactly sure why -- I'm sure at some point I just heard something about it and thought it sounded cool and off the beaten tourist path and then it just lodged itself in my mind after that. It's disappointing that it sounds so car-centric, but you wouldn't know that from looking at your photos, seems like you did a great job capturing the city's good side.
Traffic jams there are just incredible. It's every man for himself on the road, almost like a thousand games of chicken on the road where someone always relents at the last moment. I was surprised we didn't see any accidents. It can take hours to get across town at rush hour.
That said, the place and people are endearing. It's a combination of a trendy European wannabe with a lot of oil money saddled with a soviet era bureaucracy. Incidentally, what a difference a national boundary makes. Most Azeris live in Iran. There, they are pious muslims that abide by the tennents of the Islam (or are at least forced to) while to the north, Baku is a pretty free wheeling city with an active nightlife, a lot of drinking and western decadance.
- FangKC
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Re: Baki, Bakou or
I enjoyed the photos Highlander. Looks like an interesting place to visit. A nice mix of old and new.
I've been aware of Baki for awhile because there is a lot of coverage of their new architecture on ArchDaily.com.
I've been aware of Baki for awhile because there is a lot of coverage of their new architecture on ArchDaily.com.
Re: Baki, Bakou or
pretty cool photos. never made it there, although I traveled pretty close. this part of the f. ussr was famous for crazy driving, even before they had this many cars.
Re: Baki, Bakou or
I just noticed this thread. Absolutely beautiful pictures. What a place to visit! You are indeed fortunate. That building with the green glass reminds me of the Kansas City Star building.
Re: Baki, Bakou or
Just found another set from Baku, oil money does wonders.
http://sergeydolya.livejournal.com/396842.html
and here is a whole catalog of posts, either run through google translate or just click on thumbnails
http://alexcheban.livejournal.com/48376.html
http://sergeydolya.livejournal.com/396842.html
and here is a whole catalog of posts, either run through google translate or just click on thumbnails
http://alexcheban.livejournal.com/48376.html
- Highlander
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Re: Baki, Bakou or
Thanks for those pictures. The oil and gas exuding mud volcanoes in the area are really unique.kcmeesha wrote:Just found another set from Baku, oil money does wonders.
http://sergeydolya.livejournal.com/396842.html
and here is a whole catalog of posts, either run through google translate or just click on thumbnails
http://alexcheban.livejournal.com/48376.html