We cannot leave Azerbaijan until the 28th of May. That means that we have plenty of time to explore this beautiful city. The 28th May also happens to be an Azeri holiday - so it may yet not happen on that day.
Below in the park the only young woman I saw all day wearing the headscarf was a drop dead gorgeous young woman wearing a fantastic and colourful outfit - the irony is that although she is obviously religiously observant she was also smooching with a young man.
Jim, my travel companion, at sixty years of age started his first Facebook account. Well he now has hundreds of Facebook 'friends' and more are following his posts every day. His popularity paid off for us when he was contacted by another Welshman ('friend') who said he had ('friends') in Baku. One of those friends made contact with Jim and offered help should we need it. This friend is also a Welshman who just happens to work in the oil industry here in Baku.
Tim, the oil company executive, was very busy and couldn't take time off work but sent his family driver, with Pajero, to assist and drive us anywhere we wanted to go - within reason I presume. How good is that? Jim, Clive and myself got to see some of the city we otherwise would not have seen.
The driver also took us to a large market ( spread over several acres ) where car parts, tyres and wheels are sold. New and second hand. Someone in the car unkindly suggested that this is where all the stolen European cars came to be re-birthed. Who knows - maybe his is right. While I was there I looked for tyres for my trailer - no luck. Plenty of eight inch tyres but only suitable for agricultural equipment.
Nice to have a driver for an afternoon.
It is a beautiful city, as I said, but there are stark contrasts. The traffic is horrendous and grid locked in places. Lanes and signs do not appear to trouble anyone because they are ignored. Surprised just how few accidents there are.
Almost every street in the city has some building project is underway. Some places I had to wonder who was supervising all this activity. The scaffolding on this new build was somewhat dodgy. A four inch nail driven into a stick of timber is all that is between life and death here.
The starkest contrast of all is the oil fields on the southern outskirts. All the easy oil was taken many years ago. Much of the oil was lying on the ground and in rivers of oil and water. The oil producers are having to go deeper and even out to sea to mine the oil now. I did see what looked like a natural waterway that had some oil flowing. I also saw trenches where oil was directed into reservoirs.
There is also a lot kitsch or is that cute on display - but hey who am I to comment. Fake Venice canals together with motorised gondolas and theme parks for the children.
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