Your trip across the Caspian may provide some of the scariest and most fulfilling moments of your entire journey.

— A veteran journalist we met in Tbilisi, Georgia who had seen it all in the former Soviet Union.

Although we are posting this from Pingyao, China, we dial back a few clicks to the beginning of our journey in Central Asia in an attempt to adequately address the images in our mind and the notes in our journals.

Oddly shaped like a damaged index finger or a distressed plume of smoke, the Caspian Sea pumps out oil and caviar in the midst of the surrounding desert and extreme landscape. For most of us, its name conjures images of a faraway, mysterious or mythical land. Our encounter with it was rather practical, however. In order to get from Baku, Azerbaijan to Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, we needed to cross it.

Since there were no schedules, only the Caspian ferry gods knew when and if it might run. Due to a long run of rough weather that had recently plagued the region, the ferry hadn’t left for several days. Although these delays seemed to place our departure date in jeopardy, our frustration was offset by relief to hear that some semblance of safety standards were at work.

A Cast of Characters

The ticket woman holding court at the port didn’t know when or what time the boat would leave, but she sold us a ticket anyway and told us to return the next morning.

When we returned, we spent several hours watching train cars loaded with goods roll into the ferry’s cargo belly. After taking a lesson from the Azerbaijani border guard on Azerbaijani- Armenian relations, we walked the rickety metal gangplank and were securely inside.

We were met at the entrance to the ferry by a woman we came to call “comandante.” To imagine what she looked like, consider a genetic mash-up of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow and Michelin men. Add a wicked skin-piercing Russian accent and a dose of lingering Soviet sadness and you’d have the picture we were too afraid to take.

She quickly seized our passports and showed us to our cabin. In a predictably sad move to earn some extra money, she tried talking us into upgrading our cabin for a few extra dollars, repeating “Room number eight bad. Very bad.” over and over again. We feigned happiness with the windowless, stale inner cabin we had been assigned and declined her offer.

The Evening Show

As the sun began to descend, the sky slowly transformed into a color gradient, featuring rich shades of red, orange and violet. Our craft moved almost imperceptibly to us, leaving only the subtlest ripples in its wake as evidence. The waters of the Caspian were so placid, it was almost frightening. We were surrounded by the kind of silence that provides space – a thought space – into which it's possible to unnecessarily insert images of sinking ships.

Silhouettes of oil rigs punctuated the horizon which formed our circular visual boundary. Although oil rigs don't epitomize fantasy, just about anything takes on a chimerical appearance in this spectacular light. Dwarfed by nature, we continued scanning, rotating our view so as not to miss a single moment. A 360 degree turn rendered the sensation that we were floating on the surface of a giant water glass. These are the moments for which peripheral vision was made.

This was Mother Nature’s show. All we could do was watch in awe. Each time we thought the sunset was at its climax, she would outdo herself once again with darker shades on the horizon and more brilliant iridescence on the water's surface, thereby treating us to possibly the longest sunset we had ever witnessed.

When the sky was finally filled with darkness, we descended, chilled by the evening air and amazed by what we had just witnessed.

Final thoughts

If you can handle the uncertainty of ferry travel and have some time flexibility, we highly recommend taking the slow boat across the Caspian (to Turkmenistan as we did, or to Aktau, Kazakhstan). The sunset alone is worth the trip and offers a dazzling display that you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else. Moreover, the ferry offers an ideal slow-paced transition into unusual Turkmenistan.

Photo Essay – From Turkmenbashi to Ashgabat

Practical Details: Boat from Baku to Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan

• Getting into Turkmenistan, the boat: To get to the Baku ferry building, ask for Parom, the Russian word for ferry. The overnight ferry leaves Baku on most days (i.e., there is no schedule) in the early afternoon. On the day of your desired departure, arrive around 8:30-9:00 AM to purchase a seat ticket for an arbitrary amount of money between $45-$60. Once you are on board, you can negotiate a cabin (preferably with a window) for another $5-$10. If there is no boat that day, keep trying until a boat eventually leaves. It’s best to bring some food with you on board since you never know if the “chef” will have extra food for passengers. Arrival in Turkmenbashi should be around 9 AM the next day. We’ve met people who were docked outside of Turkmenbashi for an additional 12-24 hours, however. So, you just never know.
• Getting into Turkmenistan, the bureaucracy: Turkmenistan is one of the most difficult countries in the world for which to get a visa. The process is long and convoluted. If you want to stay in the country for more than five days (which is the typical maximum for a transit visa), then you’ll need to book an authorized tour. Your guide is technically supposed to be with you at all times, except in Ashgabat.
• Visa support for Turkmenistan: We used and can recommend Stantours for our visa support (Letter of Invitation – LOI) and tour. The LOI took about three weeks while the actual visa only took a few days to issue from the Turkmen Embassy. Once we had possession of the LOI, we applied for our Turkmen visa at the Turkmen Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia. We highly recommend this location. The process was painless and delivery quick.

In order to control the cost of your tour, let your tour operator know that you are interested in joining an existing tour or adding travelers to your group. This not only helps financially, but you will likely meet some interesting people.

Turkmenistan-interested travelers can be an interesting breed. The characters in our tour group definitely added a positive and humorous dimension to our Turkmen experience. We also gained some new friends.

The post Reflections: Crossing the Caspian Sea appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Before this journey, our experience with the disputed regions in the Caucasus – Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh – amounted to a few news articles and flashpoint body-count news tickers drifting across the bottom of our television screens.

Something bad had happened, people had died, but we never truly appreciated or understood the details.

Laundry lists of personal concerns and modern media’s facile compartmentalization of just about everything made it easy for us to become desensitized and stow it all away. These were simply areas of conflict someplace far away.

Although we didn't venture into Abkhazia, South Ossetia, or Nagorno-Karabakh, we did meet some people displaced and affected by the disputes. For us, their personal tales conveyed a human face to areas that previously only amounted to just another set of flashpoints halfway around the globe.

Abkhazia

The only thing everyone seems to agree about Abkhazia is that it is a beautiful place – the Caucasus Mountains on its one side and the Black Sea on the other. After that, agreement yields to chaos; nothing is black and white about the war, who started it and how it might someday be resolved. The reality is that an estimated 200,000-300,000 refugees from Abkhazia are now spread throughout Georgia. We met just a few.

Abkhazian Refugees at Hotel Telavi

Our first encounter with Abkhazia occurred in the opposite corner of Georgia, in the Eastern region of Kakheti. In search of great views of Telavi and the surrounding countryside, we found ourselves climbing the crumbling steps of the Hotel Telavi, a once-desired address now inhabited by Abkhazian refugees driven from their homes more than ten years ago.

Common rooms on the ground floor are gutted and scattered with trash and rusted Brezhnev-era remains. Extended families are squeezed into old, decaying Soviet hotel rooms. Children have turned the grand ballroom into a velodrome and cycle the long hours of uncertain days away while their parents hang out of the windows, drawing smoke from cheap cigarettes as they watch time drift by. Uncertainty seems certain here; no one knows when or if he’ll ever be able to return home.

So Close, Yet So Far

We met Lena after enjoying an impromptu feast at the Zugdidi market. She was forced to flee her home in Sukhumi (regional capital of Abkhazia) 15 years ago and subsequently settled in nearby Zugdidi. Tears welled up in Lena's eyes as she drifted into the past and described her beautiful home and her former life. She eventually grew silent and her eyes dropped as she returned to the reality of the present. Her hope to one day return home was also waning. All we could do was nod empathetically.

Unexpected Caretaker

A friend in Tbilisi told us about how she used to spend summers as a child at her grandfather’s house in Sukhumi. After the war, borders were closed and her family could obviously no longer take advantage of the summer home.

When phone lines were reconnected a few years ago, our friend dialed the phone number of her old summer home out of curiosity. A man answered the phone and explained that he was a Chechen and now living in the house. He wanted to know whether there was a car that went with the house. He’d found some car parts in the garage and wanted to take full advantage of all the house had to offer.

To reassure our friend, he said: “Don't worry. I'm taking good care of the house. If politics change, it will be in good condition for when you return. It's a nice house.”

Nagorno-Karabakh

In Azerbaijan, it would be an understatement to say that feelings run strong regarding Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The continual pain and anger from this conflict finds expression in so many – often bizarre – ways, from the moment you enter the country until the moment you leave.

Offending Guidebooks – Rip Out the Maps!

One of the teams from the Mongol Rally that we met in Uzbekistan shared an apt tale of the Azerbaijani attitude towards this disputed territory. The drivers carried a Lonely Planet Caucasus guidebook with them. The Lonely Planet's characterization of Nagorno-Karabakh as distinctly separate from Azerbaijan apparently did not fit with the Azerbaijani government’s view. As they entered Azerbaijan from the border with Georgia, the Azerbaijani guards confiscated the book, citing the offending map and characterization of Nagorno-Karabakh as an entity separate from Azerbaijan. After considerable discussion, the guards showed their generosity by allowing the Mongol Rally team to continue their journey into Azerbaijan.

We also had our guidebook and map examined by several Azerbaijanis in Baku, Shaki and Lahic. Each paid special attention to how Nagorno-Karabakh was depicted. Fortunately for us, our Trailblazer guidebook and its especially pro-Azerbaijani view (it was, after all, primarily a guidebook for Azerbaijan) and the Avis map (given to us by the Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi) both passed the test. We were kindly allowed to keep our materials and were not forced to travel blindly.

Offending Photos – Hide Them!

Just when we thought we were in the clear as we departed Azerbaijan, one of the border guards pulled us aside. The Armenian visas in our passports drew his ire. Our exit from Azerbaijan included 45 minutes of questioning regarding our activities in Armenia. We assured him that we hadn't visited Nagorno-Karabakh. He insisted that we show our photos on our laptops to prove we were never there. Impeccable logic, eh? Given his tone, we worried that he would force us to delete all photos from Armenia as punishment for visiting the offending country. Luckily, we received a brief lecture instead about Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and were allowed to board the ferry to Turkmenistan.

Although our engagement with these disputed regions was relatively superficial, our encounters with refugees and others affected lend gravity to the conflict and humanity to those involved. This also demonstrates another reason why we choose to travel the way we do. When a place has a face, desensitization begins to wear off. Human connections make these places more difficult to dismiss as “some war, some place, and some people halfway around the world.”

The post This Land Is Not Your Land appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Given that Azerbaijani culture and language is Turkic in origin, it's not surprising that its cuisine also carries a strong Turkish influence. Doner kebabs are so prevalent on Baku's streets that you'd swear they were Azerbaijani by origin.

One thing is certain though. Azerbaijanis like their meat, with shashlik (barbecue) as the style of choice. One meal took us on the tour of the animal kingdom with seven different types of shashlik – ground meat, sturgeon (served with narsharab, a pomegranate sauce), beef, veal, lamb, pork, and even vegetables. As our friend joked, “See, we Azerbaijanis can make shashlik out of anything!” Although the meat was perfectly grilled, we were thankful for the plates of vegetables and fresh herbs to help balance our intake of flesh.

Luckily for our bodies, there's more to the Azerbaijani table than shashlik.

Favorite Azerbaijani Foods

Dovga

A warm soup made from plain yogurt, cucumbers, spring onions and occasional bits of ground meat. Although it's meant to be a starter, we found refuge in it as a light dinner.

Manti

Think large, Turkish-style ravioli stuffed with ground lamb. Served with plain yogurt – and if you are fortunate, a light chili pepper sauce – they are delicious.

Dolma

Grape leaves or vegetables stuffed with ground lamb, rice and spices, eaten with plain yogurt and ground pepper. Our best dolmas experience: the small, grape leaf variety served by our home stay family in the hills of Lahic.

Caviar

Beluga caviar is still king. Although its quantities are dwindling in Azerbaijan, caviar is still a big industry. The government controls the caviar business, but somehow a little bit always escapes and finds its way onto the black market. The best place to find it is at Taza Bazaar in Baku. From the moment you enter the market, you'll hear hushed whispers of “caviar, caviar” from the shadows as middlemen sidle up to you. Follow them to small makeshift tasting rooms whose coolers are filled to the brim with caviar tins. Sample 5-6 varieties at different prices. The 113 gram pots run from $25-$55, depending upon the type of fish and grade. Our favorite was Beluga caviar – smooth and the least fishy of the lot. No small wonder it's the most expensive.

Ayran

Refreshing, thinned-out yogurt drink, often flavored with dill and other herbs. It's pronunciation is similar to the favorite neighborhood theocracy, Iran. So much so that when a young boy in the market asked Audrey “Do you like ayran?” she responded, “I don't know. I haven't been there yet.”

Kutab

A thin pancake whose varieties come stuffed with meat or with spinach and greens. Delicious alone, but if you find yourself at Chudo Pechka, get creative and team the green-stuffed with the baklijan (eggplant and garlic in sour cream) for your very own Azerbaijani veggie wrap.

Sheki Halva

Not the traditional dry halva you are used to, this regional variety resembles a pie with crunchy layers drowned in a sweet syrup.

Bakhlava

Although Turkish in origin, bakhlava has made its way to Baku, with some of the best served up by the local outpost of the Turkish bakery Gulluoglu. The rolled cylindrical variety are full of pistachio nuts, inside and out. Not too sweet, incredibly fresh, and terribly addictive.

The following traditional Azerbaijani dishes evaded our taste buds, either because of short supply or the wrong season.

Dushbara

Azerbaijani-style miniature manti. Teaspoon-sized mutton, onion and coriander filled ravioli served in a stock. This dish is common in the spring, so we just missed it during our summer visit. Travelers headed further to Central Asia, don’t despair. You'll get your fill of dushbara in Kyrgyzstan, where they are called chochvara and served in a spicy, tomato-based broth.

Piti

Potatoes, chick-peas, vegetable and fatty-mutton stewed with fresh tomatoes or saffron. We're told that you are supposed to soak the juice up with the bread first and then mash the solids into a paste before eating. For some reason, every cafe we tried seemed to be out and offered us shashlik instead.

Word of caution: Some restaurants, especially in the regions, will present an extensive menu, leaving the customer excited by the possibilities of choice. Tame your excitement. More often than not, the only things actually available are shashlik or dovga. For some reason, waiters don't find it necessary to explain “we only have 3 of the 600 things on the menu” up front. Only when they take your order, do they deliver the bad news, leaving you grasping for alternatives.

Photo Essay – Azerbaijani Food and Markets

Recommended Baku Restaurants

• Chudo Pechka: Next to Sahil Metro station on Bul Bul street. An international chain that is Turkish in origin, Chudo Pecka churns out savory and sweet pastries, kutab, pizzas and doner kebabs all day. Pay at the cashier first and then take your receipt to one of the half dozen or so food counters to collect your grub. Extraordinarily inexpensive compared to every other food option in Baku…a blessing for budget travelers.
• Anadolu: On Rasul Rza Street #5 at the corner with Azerbaijan Street. Probably the best street doner kebabs in the city. Inside, Turkish and European dishes are on offer for reasonable prices.
• Anur Restaurant: E. Elizada Street #3, close to the old town on the same street as Mozart Cafe. Good manti.
• Gulluoglu Bakery: Istiqlaliyyet Kuc #35. Heavenly and addictive bakhlava!
• Restaurant “PLANET”: Mehseti Sreet #3, tel.: (+99412) 4234378. A ways outside the city center. It has a nice garden setting with delicious shashlik and live music.

The post Kutabs and Kebabs: Azerbaijani Food appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Lahic was the last of the Caucasus hill villages we visited and it reaffirmed that hill villages often have the most to offer in terms of scenery and real life experiences. They are generally hard to get to and usually involve boarding a Soviet-era school bus that should have been retired 20 years ago.

Winters in these remote villages are difficult – roads get snowed out and access to the rest of the world and its goods is limited. Locals reflect their accumulated years of difficulty with an outwardly rough exterior, but they usually soften quickly upon engagement. Even a “hello” in the local language will bring smiles, invitations for tea (or vodka), and possible induction into the extended family.

Although perched in beautiful mountain settings, these villages are left behind as their countries race towards modernity. Nostalgia for the past is often high as the shift from controlled economy to bastardized market economy brings plenty of unemployment and other shortages. Industries collapse and an exodus of the young set off for the big cities.

We experienced this in Svaneti in Georgia and Tatev in Armenia. Lahic, Azerbaijan seemed to follow in the same vein.

The bus to Lahic from Ismaili is an old Soviet machine that looked like it should be headed for the junkyard. At one point, a loud crash from the back of the bus sounded as if the axle had dropped off. In response, the driver exposed a large opening under the drive shaft, adjusted a makeshift something in the form of a carved out 2-liter bottle of Sprite and we rolled along. Hairpin turns, rock falls and recent wash-outs left us within a hairs' breath of the edge of the road and no one seemed to mind, except maybe the chickens cowed up in the back of the bus next to a pile of flour sacks.

Once you arrive intact, the village of Lahic greets you with only one main street. Even for the navigationally challenged, it’s virtually impossible to get lost.

We wandered on and off this main street, poked our heads into courtyards and followed women with their jujums (metal water-carrying vessels) as they collected water from mountain springs. Men on horses topped with big fur hats haul goods up and down the main street. Kids without much to do in the summer months either run circles around you or peer at you shyly from doorways and windows. Coppersmiths and blacksmiths clink away in small workshops. They display jujums and metal platters on the doors of their shops to lure the occasional visitor.

So, get out of town and head to mountain villages. Visits to them will likely provide some of the most culturally unusual and visually spectacular experiences of your travels. Mountain life also offers a glimpse into the reality of life where time has stood still…at least for a few moments.

Photo Essay: Lahic and Skahi, Azerbaijan

Lahic Travel Information: Transport, Accommodation, Food

• How to get there: A marshrutka leaves for Lahic every morning at 7 AM from Baku's main bus station near 20th January metro stop (6-8 manat). The return to Baku leaves from Lahic's main square at 8 AM (5 hours). From Ismaili, a rickety bus leaves at 7, 11 and 2, taking around 1.5 hours (2 manat). Or, you can get a taxi for around 17 manat from Ismaili. We don't advise an overnight in Ismaili – accommodation is atrocious and food choices are limited.
• Where to stay: Several families offer home stays for 10 to 15 manat per person, including breakfast. We stayed with Suleyman's family near the bridge. The Haciyev family also offers a home stay up the hill from the Mother and Child Memorial. Everyone knows everyone, so just ask around to find the right house. There is a foreign aid-funded tourist information office that likely has accommodation information. It was closed for no apparent reason when we were there, so we'll never know.
• Where to eat: Eating with your home stay family is probably your best option. There are two restaurants in town – one is near the square with the Mother and Child Memorial while the second is an outdoor affair about half a kilometer away near the school. Both menus are limited to – you guessed it – shashlik (barbecue), salad and bread.
• What to do: Stroll down the main street, visit the museum, shop for copper water pots and jewelry, and enjoy friendly banter with the local kids. Take in the mountain scenery and fresh air (relief after Baku's pollution).

The post Lazing in Lahic: Caucasus Hill Towns appeared first on Uncornered Market.

While visiting the village of Kish just outside of Shaki, the Azerbaijani long weekend getaway of choice, we struck up a conversation with a newlywed couple – a young dentist and his wife – as they gave us a ride back into town.

“The situation with doctors and dentists is really bad in Azerbaijan. My salary as a dentist is only $30 per month.“

“How could you afford a car like this on $30 per month?” Audrey asked, as she sank back into the deep plush seat of his Mercedes sedan.

“Private patients,” he offered with a smile.

Another example of what we came to call “Caucasus Math,” where appearances, stories, quoted salaries and the cost of living simply didn't add up. In this case, private clients heavily subsidize an “official” job so that a dentist with a salary of $30 can afford a big (albeit used) Mercedes and take a one-month honeymoon with his new wife.

From what we can tell, this is normal and it's the way things work in the Caucasus. This is their new economy.

Easier to Drive a Taxi

Our taxi driver, Samir, told us his story on the way from Sheki to Ismaili. He was a calm, friendly English-speaking driver – a profile you would be hard-pressed to find in taxi drivers in this part of the world.

As Samir tells it, when the Soviet Union collapsed, he used the opportunity of free movement to work in Yemen as a doctor. A few years later he transferred to St. Petersburg. He tried working there for a while, living with his wife and newborn son and sending money home to his parents. Later, his wife and son returned home to Azerbaijan. He continued to work in St. Petersburg, but eventually missed his son too much and decided to return for good.

We asked the obvious question: “If you are a trained doctor, then why are you working as a taxi driver?” Samir smiled. This question exposed our western sensibilities. For us, it didn't quite make sense that a doctor would choose to be a taxi driver.

Samir explained that in Azerbaijan it was more lucrative and less stressful to work as a taxi driver than to juggle working for the state as a doctor while finding enough private patients to make ends meet. Another crack in another public health system and proof that not having enough money to pay doctors on the side in Azerbaijan can be dangerous for your health.

Most people go to Shaki, one of Azerbaijan's top tourist sites, to visit the 18th century Khan's palace and stay at the Caravanserai Hotel. We did all that, and enjoyed a side trip to Kish and teatime with some grandmas in their rose garden in Shaki. But conversations like this give us insight into how real people live in post-Communist Azerbaijan today as the country’s economy continues to evolve.

Photo Essay: Shaki, Azerbaijan

Shaki Accommodation and Transport

• How to get there: Overnight train (or bus) from Baku to Sheki. Only third-class sleepers were available when we bought our train tickets. Very cheap ($1.50/person), but it's open sleeping (no cabins) so beware of flapping random body parts as grandmas change into their nightgowns en plein air. When you arrive, the Sheki train station is around 20 km outside of the town. A taxi should cost 7-8 manats ($9-$10). Warning: taxi drivers may indicate that the distance is 35 km and increase the price accordingly. Embarassing the taxi driver about his lies in front of the police seemed to instill some new-found honesty.
  Where to stay in Shaki: Caravanserai Hotel is the place to stay and one of the draws of Sheki. It's a renovated caravanserai that housed traders, their goods and camels during the 18th and 19th centuries. 20 manats ($25) gets you a basic, but comfortable double room. Call ahead for reservations – this place is often booked with weekenders from Baku. 0177-4-31-724-4814. Compare prices at other hotels in Shaki here.
• Where to eat: There are a couple of cafes full of men drinking tea and eating shashlik and dovga near the market (Taza Bazaar). Audrey was the only female in sight. The restaurant in the park near the center has an extensive menu, but only a handful of items available to order. Ask in advance what’s actually available before overextending your hopes.

What to do in Shaki:

• Visit the Khan's palace – beautiful Persian-influenced paintings and shebeke (colored glass) windows cover the interior. It's worth spending the extra 2 manat for the permit to take photos.
• Eat Sheki halva at the Taza bazaar.
• Take a rickety bus to Kish and visit the Caucasian Albanian Church. Note: Caucasian Albanians are not related to modern-day European Albanians.
• Wander Shaki's back streets and have tea with the locals.

The post Visiting Shaki, Azerbaijan: From the Khan’s Place to Local Conversations appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Sometimes quotes are the best way to describe a place. Here are a few from our friend, Yahya, about Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

Posing as Estonians

The influence of Azerbaijan's current oil boom (its second, the first occurred in the early 1900s) can be felt just about everywhere, not least in the price of accommodation which happens to be geared more towards oil executives with large expense accounts than independent tourists. Based on our research, hotels were out of the question. Baku didn't seem to have a network of homestay families as in Tbilisi and Yerevan, so we opted for a short-term apartment rental.

“Don't speak English when the woman comes. I told her you were Estonian. We get a better price this way.”

Yahya gave us these instructions just a few minutes before the apartment agent arrived. Audrey's Russian skills matched the stereotype – Estonians are known for speaking Russian poorly. Estonians are also known for being reserved. Dan fit this role nicely, throwing in a reassured “da” (yes, in Russian) here and there.

(Note: Audrey lived in Estonia for over two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, so she knows a thing or two about imitating Estonians.).

Yahya did the bargaining for the poor Estonians. The agent looked us over, telephoned the landlady, acted as our advocate and asked whether it would be possible to give a discount to a “kind couple from the Baltics.”

We admit it. We posed as Estonians to take full advantage of the residual nostalgia for Soviet times…and we got our discount. Given how expensive Baku is these days, even we became nostalgic for the “good ol' days.”

Touring Baku

Yahya acted as our impromptu tour guide, showing us his city on the way to and from our multiple visits to the Uzbek embassy and our favorite bakhlava shop. One evening, we went together to Shirvanshah's Palace, one of Baku's several UNESCO sites.

“You must get a guide. A guide will show you a pile of rocks and explain that it was once a toilet. I will tell you just a pile of rocks.”

The truth throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia is that much of what you see is likely the effort of reconstruction. Such is the reality when you happen to live in the greater neighborhood of epic preservationists such as Genghis Khan and the Soviets.

Baku's old quarter is no different. Shirvanshah's Palace has recently undergone “Euro-Remont,” as the locals affectionately call it. Athough the walls are in-tact, the place has lost much of its soul under layers of new cement. Not able to resist Yahya's advice, we got a guide. She took us around the palace, feeding details to our imagination about what the place must have felt like hundreds of years ago when it was in use. The toilet has yet to be “Euro-Remonted” – it's still a pile of rocks from hundreds of years ago but now we know their secrets.

Competing Brands

Baku is a fast-growing and prosperous city where old and new compete for space. Construction sites dot every other corner. Skyscraper apartment buildings and office centers are the latest trend, crowding turn-of-the-century European-styled buildings from Baku's first oil boom. As anywhere, cars (and their brands) are an important status symbol. No wonder that traffic and pollution are growing problems – more than half of Azerbaijan's population is currently in Baku trying to make it in the new economic boom.

“The biggest difference between Baku and Tbilisi is that we like Mercedes and Georgians like BMWs.”

A startling amount of German luxury autos ply the streets of major cities throughout the Caucasus (Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Baku) Some of these wheels are for real – that is, new purchases made by oligarchs and oil barons. Wanna-be barons opt for one of the endless stream of cars that fail inspection in Germany and are then shipped eastward to the far flung states of the former Soviet Union. And unless our eyes are playing tricks on us, the majority of the throw-away BMWs seem to go to Tbilisi and the Mercedes to Baku.

For your next visit to Baku…

Our advice is to enjoy Baku to the fullest – brush up on your broken Russian and act the part of a citizen of a former Soviet Republic when negotiating for an apartment, take a tour to see the royal toilets that are no longer there and drive yourself home in a luxurious, newly uninspected Mercedes. Most of all, try to find a friend like Yahya.

Baku Photo Set

Baku Travel Tips: Transport, Accommodation, and Food

• How to get there: Overnight train (around $30/person for a couchette) or flight from Tbilisi, Georgia. Overnight boat ($55/person) from Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan.
• Where to stay: Apartments in Baku are outrageously expensive. Even without Yahya's help and pretending to be Estonian, you can rent a furnished apartment in the center through this company. Or, you can compare hotel rates in Baku here.
• Where to eat: See our Azerbaijani food post.
• What to do: Visit the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower in Baku's Old City, admire Baku's early 20th century architecture, take a ride out to Gobustan to see the mud volcanoes and rock drawings, sample illegal caviar at the bustling Taza Bazaar.

The post Baku, Old and New appeared first on Uncornered Market.