Mardaken

Feeling inspired by the weather and a whole twenty-four hours of keeping down all of my food, Liam and I took a little road trip yesterday out to Mardaken. The town sits on the north shore of the Apsheron Peninsula and is Baku's version of St. Michael's on the Eastern Shore or Martha's Vineyard. It is where the rich go to play in the hot summer months. Unlike St. Michael's or Martha's Vineyard, a layer of desert dust still manages to cover everything.

Most of the expensive dachas are kept tucked away behind large concrete walls. We found our way to the beach and set up shop at a table right on the beach. Like Baku, everything in Mardaken is overpriced. So for a mere $12 we enjoyed a pot of tea and a bottle of water.



The seaside is occupied by a dozen or so private beach clubs. You pay to park your car and for a little cabana. The resorts look like they were built about thirty years ago and the entire coastline has the feel of a run down summer camp. When we drove up we saw a group of young men, dressed in very tight swimming trunks, playing soccer on the beach. Between the physical setting and the swim attire I felt like I had stepped back in time.



After taking a really nice, barefoot stroll on the beach (where I managed to firmly step on an broken, exposed plastic pipe, but luckily missed the rusted metal one next to it) we drove through the town.



We were surprised to find that Mardaken boasts one of the nicest shopping centers we've seen in Azerbaijan. It contains a Turkish supermarket, an "Apple" Store (which is now called the Alma Store after Microsoft came in with copyright laws and all that stuff), and McDonald's! Since I was in desperate need of a clean bathroom, I broke my four-year or so stint of no McD's and ordered a small packet of fries. Oh my. Now I remember why Ronald was my childhood hero. They are still as tasty, even in Mardaken, Azerbaijan.