Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Except

Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Except for the fact that it is cloudy and a bit rainy (off and on) this is a cool place.

I’m staying near the center of the city, close to the Caspian sea and a short walk from the old 10th century walled city. This morning I struck out and walked the perimeter of the city wall. Not surprisingly, the rest of the city grew up around the walls. There are parks around about 1/3, major buildings including a building that has to have been a cathedral and shops around the other 2/3rds. It took me about an hour to get around and there was a little hill-climbing involved. The wall looks a lot like the one around Avila, Spain, but is rather shorter and not quite as large around. I took a few pictures, too.

There are lots of shops selling persian (or persian style) carpets and turkish brassware. Every one of them is manned by people who speak almost perfect english (when they want to) and know to the n’th decimal point the exchange rate between the Azeri Manat and the US dollar. Also, they don’t haggle. Prices are firm. The carpets are actually competitively priced at home. That kinda stinks, because I was hoping to find a bargan here.

This afternoon I’ve got to spend some time doing some work, but I’m heading out for a drink with the head of the local office later this evening.