Baku

Well, I've been traveling again. To start this post, I am going to post pictures
of my trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, as I realized I never posted anything about it. How I ended up in Baku in the begining of November is a very long story that I will explain to you, if you ask, at a later time. Anywho, Baku is the place to be! Azerbaijan lies on the shore of the Caspian Sea and shares a border with Georgia, Russia, and Iran. Baku has a heavily Russian influenced populus and the majority of the people speak Russian.

The history of the city is very interesting, I won't get into it but there's an Old and New town of Baku separated by a time degraded wall and a very old gate. I didn't take this pic but I did see this gate.

The country is supposed to be very rich due to oil, however I didn't see much of that. As I saw the streets of Baku, I was amazed at the difference between every building, even those right next to eachother. Not only did the architecture change from the Russian era to the more modern, but so did the "class" of each building. The following pic is taken from the Hotel Europe where I stayed and displays what I'm talking about.

The buildings closest to the camera are where the majority of the people live. The appartment bulidings are every where. You can also see a Russian church as you move further into the pic. In the distance you can see the skyscrapers being built. Here's another shot from my hotel room.

Now I'll cover the important topic... the night life. One word AWESOME! There's tons to do. Lots of shops, bars, and street vendors. The bars and night clubs are great but they don't start hoppin' until midnight at the earliest. This happening place is known as the Fountain Plaza, containing many sq miles of the above mentioned.

For you math types... BAKU = GOOD!