Autumn days in Azerbaijan

15th-17th of Novemmber:

From the grey mountain steppe we driving down through colorful landscape. It is autum and sometimes the sun comes out which makes us allways really happy. Our last destination before we leave Azerbaijan is Lahic. It is also a mountain village with a unique culture. Old and new stone houses build in their own style. The houses have special constrution. Its walls look like layered, 50 cm stone after that a 10 cm wood layer filled with loose stones (I could see this, because somebody just buil a new house(:)). I was guessing it is because of earth quakes. I asked the guy who was buildiing the new house and he told me it is true. Lahic is also famous for its copper smiths and carpet weaving. The anchestors come from Persia and the local language, which the speak here is very similar to what they speak nowadays in Iran. The village is surounded by mountains and mixed forrest which is now standing there in its most beautiful atumn colors. Nevertheless, the village is not as impressiv as Xinalik. We open our tent at the parking of the guest house with the oldest Hamam in the village. They say it is around 300 years. But what is a Hamam. Instead of going to the Banja as n Russia, now we go to the Hamam, which is some kind of steam bath. This Hamam is under the ground and looks almost like a cave. After deep cleaning we chat long time with the owner and go to bed.

(N 40.84305°, E 48.37744 °)

There is nothing else what we wnat to see on our way to the border, but we have a sunny day and that is why the landscape seems to explode in thousand of colors. I can not stop to make pictures especially at the places where you can see the white peaks of the Caucasus behind. We make our camp at a river with sun and the mountains behind us.

(N 40.94428°, E 47.61391 °)

We wake up and the Caucasus disappeared. Again it is a rainy and grey day. In Shaki we buy an electric Samowar and some special cups Kotomi already wanted to buy in Kazahkstan. She is happy and I am, because in Kazahkstan I told her that we can buy it later. But all the way until here we did not see this kind again. Azeerbaijan was the last chance (:). It is too cold and rainy to do anything else. In a mobile shop we can use the internet and we upload some pictures. Not in the mood for a cold and rainy camp I ask in the Doener shop for some homestay. For 3 Manat per person 1 EUR = 1.2 Manat we stay in the house of a nice Russian woman and try for the first time our new Samowar (:).

(N 41.20032°, E 47.16887 °)

The "President" of Agdara

13th-14th of November:

Baku would offer us the best road to finally to West to Lahic another mountain village, but in my map is a secondary road which leads through the country side. Well we have a good weather and decide for this road as it is for sure more interesting than going back on this high way to Baku. We just manage a few kilometre this day and sleep at a very wind place. (N 40.90846°, E 49.13717 °) When we started to sleep the wind is strong but we and the tent can stand it. But it gets a hell night; almost no sleep; storm from all directions, we call it air bombs. We think the whole car including tent and us will be frazzled into thousand pieces.

From asphalt to stony road, from stony road to muddy road, from muddy road to almost nothing that is what we experience this way as a secondary road in Azerbaijan. Everything apart from the interest of the FAMILY or something which is not touristy is just forgotten area. But again this are the most interesting places for us. On our way through a village we get again invited for the tea and buy there some bread and honey. In the villages it is easy to ask for the way, but mostly the only answer we get is to go straight. for them there is always just one way to go. And in their mind this is the only way you can see. For us it is different, I see a lot of ways and always have to ask again. Then we are in some kind of mountain steppe, sometimes you meet a hunter and only close to villages some farmer. The description here are like: over hill, then down, through the river and then straight. We are coming closer but I have a better feeling after I am using the Russian Military maps. Fortunately I have the maps for this area and since the seventies nothing changed in terms of the dirt roads. To be sure and to ask about the way I drive to the village Agdara that is shown in the map. There we meet Parviz, who cleans up a small river together with some kids from garbage. We get invited from him to stay in "HIS Village". Later he explains us that he will be major of the 100 people village at the 23rd of December. He gives the kids, his loyal followers, some flyers with his CV and a picture. They feel quite important now and putting them around the village. That means there will be some kind of election, but he already said that he will be the major at the election day. It seems he is the only candidate of this forgotten village anyway. When we are walking through the village he acts already like the "President" of the village. Everywhere we have to make a picture with the kids around him; in front of the school, the dirt road, the mosque .... Just for the pictures a kid has to get for him his long black coat. I am ask him what he promise to do for the village and he answers that he want to make the streets better and the usual "THINGS". Well, after seeing his empire, we go to his brother Muschfik where we have good food and a nice time with his family. His father is 83 years old and I tell him that my grandmother is in the same age. He is some kind of dreamer and just has a new idea. He says lets bring them together via internet. I tell him she can not speak Russian or Azeri. He does not care at all. Everything is possible, you know the internet is just translating when they are speaking with each other. That is a nice idea and maybe possible in 10 years or less (:). But the father seems to be very tired, he do not want to live anymore. He tells me tat he has to do nothing and somehow no more reason to live. Just to weak and the need for help. Well, I think luckily my grandmother is still very strong and she is needed from us. She always has to do something, go to some sports group, meeting friends or cooking for us delicious food.

The father is still talking and seem to enjoy to use his Russian again. He tells us that in the Soviet times it was a lot better than now. Being the boss of the Kolchose at that time still makes him proud. Everybody had good live and now it seems to be worse. At least for this village in the middle of the mountain with bad street connection nobody seems to care.

(N 40.6921 °, E 49.0184 °)

Two Different worlds in the Caucasus

10th-13th of November:

From Baku we go to the north along the Caspian Sea. It is again cold, grey and rainy. In Guba, just before the Caucasus starts, the fog is so dense that we can see almost nothing. We "really" look forward to the night. As usual there are no street signs and I have to ask for the way to Xinalik, which is a small village in the Caucasus mountain. Coincidence again, the guy I am asking for the way has a uncle there and we get his phone number just in case we want to stay there. Furthermore, he tells us good news; going up from the lowlands to the mountains means that there is no more fog up there; just sunny. Right now hard to believe but we decide to drive until the rain and fog stops. Sometimes I have difficulties to find the way. The street gets more and more narrow. We are driving through villages and forest covered in fog. Suddenly we are in a very steep canyon and the fog disappears. Yeeees, it is cold but wonderful. It is already night and the canyon above us is like a gate to the stars. We find a place, which is just big enough for the car and the roof tent. Fortunately their is almost no traffic. After cooking we just go to bed while using all sleeping bags and blankets we have, but knowing the next day will be warm and sunny (:).

(N 41.2158 °, E 48.27761 °)

Sunny morning, yeeeeeessssss. It is long time ago that we had such a nice weather. Just some sun rays and the mood gets so much better. Although this fascinating canyon does not allow that any sun ray reaches our tent we know that soon we will come out of the shadow. You drive slowly out of the canyon and in front of you the Caucasus mountains with its snow covered peaks builds up. I do not know why but for me such a scenery is always fascinating again. I can see thousand of mountains and I never get tired; I see 3 cities and I do not want to see anymore. It is hard to explain why it is like that. Maybe nature gives everybody different interest.

A car which just overtake us comes back showing us that the way will end soon. Well I do not believe it since the other cars did not come back. But suddenly we are in front of a landslide and only a dirt road leads down to the river. In front of the river a TV group makes an interview. They also ask us for an interview and want that we say that this way is impossible, that it is a big problem for us. I just say I think it is possible. Driving through the river is at least no problem with our car. It is funny since the TV "Lady" gets a little bit mad because I am not answering as she want (:). We drive through the river and going on to Xinalik. While washing our plates and pots at a river in the sunny warm air, some hunters with 3 big Off-road cars are stopping beside us. First they are curious and are asking what we are doing here. As they recognise we are just tourists they invite us to come in their mountain hunting house around 20 km Off-road after Xinalik. Nevertheless, they warn us that the way is really bad. It sounds interesting and we decide to go their for that day and after that we will go back to Xinalik. At one hand we will see these hunters that seem to be part of the FAMILY and on the other hand one day later we will be in Xinalik with its unique culture having even their own language.

World I: After Xinalik their is a military control since this area is border zone with Russia. As the hunters already told them that we will come we have no problem to get the permission to go behind.The landscape going up into the mountains is really amazing, but the way is sooo steep. I never drove something like this before. Sometimes we stuck in the mud, we have to drive through a river bed with big stones. Like a snail we slowly going up to the pass, which is still covered with snow. After the pass a wide valley opens. In the end of the valley there is a mountain that looks like a wall. The rocks of the wall are in a shiny red illuminated by the deep standing sun. The valley is like a big pot and the bottom is a grazing ground for the wild animals. There are several ways to go and I am not sure. I just follow the one with the freshest tire prints. And there it is, the luxury hunting house in a side valley. Looks like a house in Beverly hills, surrounded by a fence and having a small security house in front. It feels surreal in this nice landscape. First we get invited by the security to tea, bread and cheese. The hunters already went out to trace the wild something; sorry I do not know the name. After some time they come back and we get to see the inside of the house. Luxury; bath, TV room with big chairs, grate, several sleeping rooms and everything in European style. The funny thing is that everything looks perfect but nothing is working. The heating, the three different satellite dishes and also the grate. Ok it is on 3000 m height with almost no street. Finally everybody is sitting their with warm jackets in the cold. The most important looking guy starts to play with another the game Domino (:). I figure out that actually only this guy is the boss. All others are just his security. Next morning the security finds the wild "something" for him. Then they bring him to the place; he shoots it and everybody is happy. To feel the difference in the peoples live of another country is interesting, but here we feel it is a little bit crazy. One day with these people is enough and we drive back to the village Xinalik, which actually would have been our final destination the day before.

(N 41.22107°, E 48.0366 °)

World II: We enjoy the way back to Xinalik in this beautiful landscape. At the military post we have to open everything. They just want to have some gift and as long as they do not get anything they do not stop searching for something. Taking a tomato can and asking what is in there. Looking at our onions and wondering for what we need it and so on and so on. Finally I just wait and sit there and again we can go on. In Xinalik I call the number of the uncle from the guy we met some day ago. He is still at work but he tells me I should already go to his house. Xinalik is a really fascinating village. The houses have really special stone architecture with a lot of glass wood balconies or stairs. The houses are arranged on a hill in some kind of labyrinth structure. Around there you can see up to the high peaks, which are covered with snow. From the upper houses you can look on to the roof of the lower ones and below the village is a wide valley. We come into the house through a wooden door and going up the stairs to the main part of the house. All this front part is closed with some wood-glass frames painted in blue colour. In the second floor you find everywhere carpets. They explain us that they are all made by the mother. The carpets have original and special Xinalik design. Some years ago they sold one of it to a museum in London for 8000 USD. Kotomi fell in love with these carpets. Next day I asked how much it would be. He starts with 5000 USD and the minimum is 3000 USD. They tell me it needs two years for one person to finish one carpet. I can believe it, since in Samarkand we saw similar ones and there also two people need around one year for the same size of carpet. Anyway, this is not a carpet in my price range and I tell him he better sells it to some rich people, which will pay also the 5000 USD. Apart from the carpets the village is realy interesting. Only here a special language is spoken. The village was in former times so isolated that their are almost no similarities to other languages.

We stay in this magic place for one day and experiencing again great hospitality of the people in this remote area.

(N 41.17954°, E 48.12826 °)

The FAMILY REPUBLIC

9th of November:

On our way to the Caucasus we pass Baku again. I have to do several things in the internet, like extending my health insurance, writing mails etc. Therefore, I need to get the settings for my Azerbaijan SIM card to get it work with the internet. But there is no NAR shop. NAR is the phone company. By mistake I went into a car tuning shop. The owner speaks very well English and helps me to get the settings by calling his brother who is is expert in such things. We get a tea and can use his WLAN for free. I have to do a lot of things and Kotomi too. Finally it is evening again. We leave the place and want to go North, but my phone rings. The guy from the car tuning shop calls and asks if we would like to have a dinner with his family.

Since he is still building his house he is living together with the family of his wife. Mother, father and a brother who can also speak English very well since he is flight assistant. Both young mans would like to leave Azerbaijan. They have the feeling they can not changing anything or it would be to dangerous to try it. That it was also Hartmut told us. Most of the young and well educated people leave or try to leave the country. So what is the reason. The government is basically "The FAMILY". Each department, like tax, immigration ..... is working like a own company. 20 % of the income of each department has to go to the president and the other 80 % are there to run the department. That means just spending the really necessary for the department and all the remaining money goes into the pocket for the department head, who is member of the family. But even between the family members, sorry departments they have to pay. Actually the country is really rich because of the oil. Like every oil company has to sell 80% of their production to the government (family) for a fixed price of 10 USD per barrel. Only the remaining 20% they can sell by their self to the world market price, the other 80% are sold by the FAMILY to the world market price. Unfortunately this money goes in the pocket of the family which means there are a few very rich people and the others just try to survive. Only for the family necessary infrastructure is build, like a street to the president Dacha, all other things are left as they are. The remaining money is spend in this expensive shops in Baku, but that means they are just for this super rich people. Everybody tries to get something from that big money. Like our friend with his car tuning shop. Last time he had a Customer of the family who bought some 20000 EUR expensive car bumpers for one of his 10 cars.

Well that is all politics but with this it is easier to understand why they want to leave the country. Some years ago some people tried to change something, but finally they were in prison or dead.

We have a warm bath and go to sleep at the new friend s house.

One of those Days

8th of November:

Breakfast with Hartmut in his favourite restaurant and after that washing and drying some of our clothing. In the afternoon we go to Baku since we got an invitation from one of the guys who are working at Toyota. He calls us several times and ask when we come. Well finally we are in Baku and we call him to ask where to meet. He excuses and says he need some more time. Almost in the night we get to meet in front of Soviet Dom. His friend and he are around 20 and still studying. As part time the one is working for Toyota and the other one as driver for an oil company. They want to show us the city and we are driving up to some hill where a monument from the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan is located. From there you have a nice view down to the town and the Caspian Sea. All the town is illuminated. Left from us the build a huge hotel in the mountains, which has the shape of a ship. Below us are the super renovated old houses of Baku. Everything is shiny, almost each house is illuminated. Both are really proud of there modern and shiny city. For me it is interesting, but somehow I feel it is too much; it is quite artificial. The town does not have flair, it is just new and renovated. In the city you find a lot of really expensive shops and for normal people as you and me it seems there exist not that much. Of course at the suburb you can find the small shops. From time to time the police closes the street in front of us. Then we know in some minutes the president will come around here with a bunch of cars driving with high speed through the city. Everybody says, now he is coming back from his hard job. If you are living in the direction of the presidents Dacha you can be also lucky since the streets are wide and new. In the other direction from where we came we had traffic jam waiting almost two hours.

It is getting later and the one who invited us gets more and more nervous. Finally we find out that there is a problem to stay at his house. The problem is that he just decided we could stay there without asking his family before. He is still living together with his mother and sister. The father is working in Denmark and I think that is the problem. Inviting foreigners and the head of the house is not there is some kind of Taboo. That is live so we have to find a sleeping place outside the town. We stuck again in the traffic jam and it is again raining. No place to put the car, but we find a muddy road that goes in the step. Would have been better to stay one more day in the Shirvan Milli Park of Hartmut, but that is live.

(N 40.26664°, E 49.59774 °)

In Cold Coffin on Caspian Sea, "Hartmuts Park"

4th-7th of November:

We went around 11 am to the port as the guy told us the day before. And we were lucky this day in the evening the ferry will start. He filled out all documents and then the stamp marathon of three hours was starting. First as usual some stamp from the Customs. But where is the custom, there are a lot of buildings with a custom sign. If you ask then they point in some direction. In this way you have to ask several times again. The papers from the ferry company were filled out wrong. They put my name name as owner of the car, although I told him it is registered on Kotomi. I have to go back and get the corrected documents. 10 sheet of paper get now a stamp at the custom. I asked them for the port police which is the next point on my stamp route. Well I get an direction but this time I need some time to find the building since there are no signs at the buildings. The police is training outside in the cold and the boss from whom I get the stamp is playing a computer game. He looks very serious on me and ask what is my purpose and seems not convinced that I am a tourist. Anyway, I get my stamps and he can play again. Next stamp is from the head of the port in some building there! Hmmm !?!?1? I visit a cafeteria and everybody is laughing when I am asking if the boss is somewhere here in this building. I get a new direction, again nothing written and everything closed, in another building they send me back. Finally, I find an older guy who invites me for a tea and then he tries to call the boss. I stay there some while tell our story and get some more warm tea, which is very nice since outside it is really cold and windy. Yesssssss I got my last stamp. Now I want to bring the car into the harbour but they do not let me in. They do not care that the ferry office guy said we should bring it in. After trying it two times our car is inside the port area. We still have to wait until 9 in the evening. 9 pm the ferry arrives. Waiting again until 12 pm to bring the car on the ferry, wait until 3 in the morning and the ferry starts.

On the ferry you find no warm place, the blankets are dirty and even you paid more you come in a 4 person cabin. Of course they offer you another one if you pay additionally. Anyway the ferry feels like a cold coffin from inside on the Caspian Sea. Almost one day we need to go to Baku and the sea is not so calm. Early in the morning we arrive in Baku but the ship stops and waits until 7 to go into the port.

Customs as usual. But port officer that is new. A surprise they want that we pay for the length of our car. 40 USD per meter. Well I was wondering why the car in Aktau just cost 20 EUR. This was just the fee for the paperwork in Aktau. In Aktau I asked them if there are any other costs but they said no. Another 50 USD we have to pay for insurance and street usage. Another 10 USD bribe, because they say it is not allowed to have a car with the steering on the right in Azerbaijan for more than 3 days. I am telling them we have a lot to repair at the car and that it is impossible to leave Azerbaijan in 3 days, With 10 USD and a lot of crying (:)we get the car custom paper which is valid for 1 month (:). With all this we got some help from Aleksei with whom we had a nice time on the ship. He is coming originally from Kazakhstan but now he is living in Germany. We have to go to the custom boss, he looks strange on us, as if we are criminals. Anyway it seems he do not want us to pay anything, but the other Kazakh guy has to pay something for whatever.

Just if somebody else want to do this trip: the ticket price for one person is around 80 to 100 USD. Ask for the cheapest since although you pay more they put you first in an dirty cabin. For some 10 to 20 USD more you get a better one.

In Baku we meet Hartmut the father of Stephan. I do not know if I wrote about him but we met Stephan in Irkutsk. Hartmut made the invitation for the Azerbaijan visa for us. (Unfortunately we did not know that there is an Azerbaijani consulate in Aktau. There you get visa same day without invitation!). Together with us he drives to the Toyota service to find some new shock absorbers. It seems impossible since it is a Japanese version of the Landcruiser and not a European version. Anyway the second Toyota service can help us, but one spring is broken (This was the strange sound I heard in Aktau (:(( ). I can not get this spring it in Baku; same problem Japanese version. They weld it with no guarantee; of course. In Germany nobody would weld a spring. I just hope it will hold until Germany, although I am sure it will not. At the service the people make tea and bring a cake for us. They even wash the car. Toyota hospitality!

We do not want to stay in Baku. it is just an expensive city. Except the old town which looks perfectly renovated there is nothing. Just 100 km in the South there is the Shirvan Milli Park (national Park) in which Hartmut was director. We can stay there in a weekend house. This is quite nice since it is rainy and cold outside.

The next day Hartmut comes and makes an excursion with us. It is really fascinating with how much energy he tries to change something. His explanations make the flat steppe to a really interesting place for us. We see Gazelles and several birds who's names I forgot. We get a lot of background information related to Azerbaijan's "Family Republic", nature and people.

(N 39.75193°, E 49.14892 °)

Big Hallo Again in Aktau

3rd of November:

Again we have around 100 km of this terrible road but then thanks god or the Kazakh government we have a good road. My father is calling me at the phone and I stop at the side of the street. After some while a car stops in front of us and a man jumps out. He looks really happy and I recognise him. It is the guy we met almost two month ago. He, Volodja, was driving with his Suzuki motorcycle through Kazakhstan visiting his friends. I am really happy to see him and he too. Anyway we wanted to call him that day anyway. We decide to go to the harbour to check the ferry schedule to Baku. After that we go to a Banja to warm us up and to clean. After Volodja came back from work we meet again. He already organised a place to stay for us. One of his motorcycle friends has a hotel and we can stay there for free until the next day. In the evening we have a chat together with him and another friend who can speak very good English. And one good thing we can get the ferry next day and do not need to wait for 7 or 10 days as other people told us.

(Somewhere around here N 43.65345°, E 51.1702 °)