Azerbaijan means land of fire.

Apparently, the land is actually on fire. Azerbaijan is rich in hydrocarbons that seep up through the ground. A shepard ignited the gas in the 1950’s and it burns continuously as natural gas seeps through a layer of sandstone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanar_Dagh Baku is surrounded by arid, dessert lands and this site is 15 minutes outside Baku.

We visited the Zoroastrian fire temple, Ateshgah, and had a great guide to explain the history. Zoroastrians, Sikhs, and Hindus all considered fire to have religious significance for purification purposes. They shared this space in harmony for hundreds of years in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was great to get out of the city on a beautiful day. For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateshgah_of_Baku

Its interesting to see the oil fields. They are so ugly that they are captivating in a way. Much of the oil is now produced off shore. I have seen some pictures but not been able to get a good look at them yet. I have seen some famous photos and some good art that captures the importance of oil to life in Azerbaijan.

Even the architecture is flame inspired. The flame towers were completed in 2012 and sit on a hill giving them some visual prominence from many parts of the city.

This is an important monument near a war memorial that fits with my flame theme. It is interesting trying to pace ourselves in taking in Baku. We try to have one tourist/educational outing per week, which gives us some time to digest what we are taking in and keep up with school and work. While we still have a lot to see in Baku after only 5 weeks here, I did enjoy getting out of the city.

I have never been very interested in oil and gas, but this place has been built around it and on it. The first oil well in the world was drilled in Azerbaijan. Today, they produce about 800,000 barrels a day, which is a big deal for a country of their size (10 million people) in a hard to reach place. I understand that their reserves are declining and that the Azerbaijani people are aware of a future without so much oil. Next year Azerbaijan will host the UN’s Climate Change Conference, which is kind of confusing, but an important step in promoting Azerbaijan globally.

We are settling into Baku. We have an apartment, marked by the orange X. We like the place and we really like the location. We are one block from the Caspian sea and the nice boardwalk from where we can see all of Baku’s modern architecture. We are one block from the Old City (Icherisheher) and winding paths through historic buildings. We are in the center and close to all the cafe’s and shops.

We do live in a bit of a bubble, I don’t know if its the real Baku or Azerbaijan. I doubt it is very representative. But, its nice to be so near to the main sites and in such a nice area. Many interesting sites are not showing up on the map.