Back to the capital

Above: Inside the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre. The glossy stairs down are a little freaky..

Travelling back to Baku

Evim Otel had organised a car at 0800 to take me back to Baku as other options would involve a change in Ismaili and would leave equally early.  I had breakfast before 0730 before dutifully waiting outside for my ride.

We set off on-time and stopped briefly at the bridge in the middle of town.  I thought we were there to await further passengers, but nope, we continued with just me!  We took a different route, avoiding Ismaili and after about an hour of beautiful greenish countryside, we joined the motorway to take us to the city.

We reached the outskirts of Baku around 1000 and near the centre around 1030 where the driver had to offload a delivery.  I got off at the the old city’s Double Gates about 1045 and walked to the Old Stone Hotel, reaching it hours before I had expected!  What luck scoring this private ride for AZN20 only!

Carpet Museum

Today was dedicated to doing the “inside” of sights I had seen only from the outside.  First up was the Carpet Museum.  Getting there around midday, the first exhibit was probably a temporary one, of Serbian traditional costumes.

Then I went upstairs to the permanent exhibits of carpets.  It didn’t take long for me to lose interest.  I’ve seen a few too many carpets in my life, having been to so much of the Middle East.

These were all wool specimens, some were kilims.  More traditional stuff made in the countryside.  There was nothing to wow me, eg. fine silk carpets for royalty.  I’m not being a carpet snob as any handmade carpet is hard work.  I’m just a bit spoilt with my experience.

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The staff here, like at most museums, have really boring jobs just sitting or standing, making sure that nobody touches the displays.

I walked next door the Deniz Mall for a wander and lunch.  It wasn’t a very happening place, perhaps because it is daytime.  I had a shwarma in the food court before seeing a restaurant that did a traditional meal for only a little more.  Damn!

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre

From the Deniz Mall, I ordered a Bolt Car to take me to the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre.  I had timed my arrival for around 1400 as some sources indicate the museum was closed for lunch until that time.  But it does appear it’s open all through the day now.

I paid the AZN15 for the standard foreigner entry, opting not to go to the Classic Car exhibition for another AZN10.

Having seen the “work of art” building from the outside, it’s just as impressive from the inside.  The curved lines, the space and the glossy white floors in parts.

• The first exhibits I went to was on musical instruments. While I do have some interest, perhaps I wasn’t in the mood.
• At the second exhibits, on dolls, some of them truly wow’ed me with their intricacy and being life-like.
• The third was carpets! The ones here definitely impressed me more than those back at the Carpet Museum.  Many were more modern pieces that were a lot more intricate.
• The fourth, on copper and ceramic wares, is way too cliché with any museum so I gave it a passing glance.
• There was also a room with printed walls depicting the stained glass windows and richly decorated walls from the Khan’s Palace at Sheki (or similar). I was very happy to be able to photograph these as photography was not permitted at the original site.
• I finished at the section showing Heydar Aliyev’s life.

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After about 1h10 in the museum, I ordered a Bolt car to take me to 28 May metro station where I checked the schedule for the Airport Express for tomorrow night.  It was an easy metro ride back to the hotel from here.

Shirvanshah’s Palace

Around 1630 I headed out again.  It was starting to cool down with overcast skies.  I had planned to go up Maiden Tower but decided that tomorrow, if sunny, might give me a better view.

I continued to the Shirvanshah’s Palace instead, getting there around 1700 which is an hour before its closing time.

I was “done” with the inside within 5 mins but spent a further 5 mins repeating my explorations.  The empty 15^th Century palace, with its bare stone walls, held exhibits of different items which didn’t captivate me, eg. jewellery boxes, pen boxes.

What interested me was the restoration, though.  The interior walls had been plastered over at some stage.  The restoration stripped the plaster off so that the original bare stone walls could be seen again.  They had photos showing the white plaster walls in many parts of the palace vs the original stone walls.

There was more to the palace complex outside of the proper palace.  There is what’s believed to be an unused tomb, just outside.  I then explored the broader area below that fell within the palace walls.

I finished the day with a dinner in a nice restaurant, for a change, next to the boarded up Armenian Church near Nizami Street.  From the hot weather this afternoon, it was now windy and there was definitely had a chill in the wind.  I had seen the orange leaves in the countryside this morning and in a month, there would be snow.  I definitely came at the right time.

I stayed up late chasing a refund with Viva Aerobus in Mexico which had been mis-processed twice already.  Not all departments at the airline was open 24/7 so this was my first chance since leaving Kuching.  It’s good prepraration for staying up tomorrow night for my flight at 0435 to Budapest.

Soon it will be too cold to enjoy dinner in the outdoors.