Everyday Exotic Baku

I've been horrible lately about taking pictures around Baku. When I was on facebook the other day I noticed an album posted by a visitor to Baku. He had pictures of the metro, of buildings, of statues around town. And I realized that because I live here I often forget that the market I visit, the dilapidated theater I drive by, the old Soviet-style apartment buildings are all exotic in their own way. So I put my point-and-click camera in my bag and over the last few weeks I've taken some shots of every day life in Baku. Here are a few:



This is the street behind my office building. It is not a major thoroughfare, but it is a well used road. About a week ago they dug up the street and it has been sitting just like this ever since. (It is also the road that used to be home to the now-closed DHL store of which we will speak no more.)



It's pomegranate season. Last year I brought one into the office and my co-worker Parviz laughed as I struggled to get the seeds out of the fruit. Apparently there is a method and I was totally clueless. I had red stains all over my hands. I'm still no expert but I do love digging into a fresh pomegranate. This shot was taken at Keshla Bazaar, a great little market a few miles from our apartment.



Scenes from an Azeri wedding. Last weekend my colleague was married in an extravagant ceremony. Copious amounts of food, local music, and Azeri dancing. My friend Narmin is a fabulous dancer -- and she has great taste in shoes.



There is a great little park that runs between two major roads in the Ganjalik neighborhood of Baku. Tea houses packed with young men playing backgammon and dominoes fill this half-mile stretch of greenery. We decided to take a stroll through it on Sunday. Although we've driven by probably fifty times, I had never noticed this old theatre. It sits in the middle of the park, abandoned but not yet torn down. There is something romantic about it and I can just imagine the Bakuvians who once lined up here to watch Soviet films.