Tag: taxi

I don’t think I even knew what or where Azerbaijan was until I went to Georgia and checked out the region in my plans. It sounded interesting and I was drawn to the pictures of historic mosques and the walled old city of Baku with super modern architecture rising in the background. It has not disappointed.

A bit of trivia: Azerbaijan is located here:

It is officially the Republic of Azerbaijan and is located in the Caucasus region at the furthest edge of western Asia between Russia, Armenia, Georgia, and Iran. The Caspian Sea lies to the east. It has at various times been a part of different regional empires, often going back and forth from Iranian and Russian control. It was briefly independent in 1918 before it was absorbed into the Soviet Union, where it stayed until the fall. There are portions in the south that are still disputed territories, but we won’t talk about those.

The approximately 10million people here speak Russian and Azeri. The currency is the Manat. Baku is the capital. They have oil.

I arrived from Moscow in the afternoon. I had gotten my visa online ahead of time. (The evisa system https://evisa.gov.az/en/ is very easy to use if you follow the instructions.) Security and immigration were simple and I exited the super modern airport.

There are shuttle buses and taxis (official and not) from the airport. There are also cars you can prebook online to pick you up. They have uber as well. I decided to hire an official taxi from the rank, as I didn’t feel like haggling. They gave me a general price but said the ride would be based on the meter, plus a small fee for going into the old city. The official taxis here are black British style and the drivers wear suits and ties. Smoking is allowed in the front seat but not in the back. My driver never was able to find my hotel, but I was certain that we were close and that I could find it on foot (which I did in a couple minutes). He told me the price was exactly 50 manat, which was about 15-20 manat past ridiculous, but my Russian does not include the words for con artist, so i paid the money. If I were doing it again, I would have taken an unofficial taxi and haggled for a flat fee.

I am staying at “Floors The Housing Space” which is in the old, walled city. The location is awesome. Easy to find (except for con artist taxi drivers), just 30 seconds away from a metro station and walking distance to most sites. It is pretty cheap and has a nice rooftop area. The staff are friendly (though, with my limited language skills, who can say). It is a bit weird though. The decor is quite stylish, which makes sense when you realize that the main business is not as a hostel, but as a bar / shisha lounge. On the second floor they have a small dorm room and two private rooms, but all other areas, including one area on the second floor are used for the bar / shisha lounge. So at night loads of people are coming and going – loudly. At midnight when I walked from my room to the bathroom in my pjs to wash up, there were people hanging out, smoking and drinking. Loud music carried on long after I fell asleep. I think I am the only guest staying there. Weird, but fine.

That first afternoon I explored the old city and took a walk to the sea. The old city is very enjoyable for strolling. Lots of restaurants and crafts shops, ice cream vendors, roving fruit sellers, shisha bars. Also residential areas. The structures are old, some about 1000 years old or so, including fortresses, a palace, mosques, and baths.

It does all feel quite cleaned up. It is not as crumbly as old Tbilisi or as labyrinthine as a medina. I like it, but I might like it better if it was a bit rougher.

I visited the palace, which is now a small museum, but otherwise just poked around.

Around the old city is the regular city, which, in the centre anyway, feels very European.

There are lots of park areas with fountains and benches, carousels, and snack sellers.

It is super hot here. About 35 degrees on the first day. And humid. I see other women walking around, faces powder dry, makeup impeccable. Me? My face poured sweat, my hair stuck to me, i looked like a mess. Arriving after ~30 hours of travel didn’t help.

The lack of sleep and jet lag caught up to me. I walked to the sea, where there is a wide promenade. I sat down, back against a post, looking across the sea, trying to make out Turkmenistan in the distance, and fell asleep.

I don’t think I was out for too long, but on awaking, I knew it was time to rest, so I walked more in search of a cigar lounge I had seen online. Eventually I found it. C. Gars. I got a Partagas P2 and settled in for some quiet, indoor smoking.

After that, the sun was going down and I returned to my hotel for a small rest before going out again at 9ish for diner and a hookah. They don’t have a lot of vegetarian food here, but what I have had has been excellent. That first night I had lentil soup, fresh bread, and a baked dish of eggplant, tomato, potato, and plums.

After, i had a hookah at an outdoor cafe. It was late and I was tired, but the weather was so perfect, that it sustained me.

In that first day, which was really an afternoon, I felt like I had seen much of what I wanted to see and I was not sure what I would do the next day, but I am definitely glad I had more time.