The Village Kish

We are still 7 months from returning to the United States, but our emotional and psychological state is in the winding down mode. To help us recharge for our remaining work here we are planning little activities to look forward to spaced out over the next few months. Our planned trip to Turkey June 14-24 is aimed at giving us the big boost.

This past weekend was one of those recharging weekends. We went to Barda to the home of Bill and Dorothy Colcord on Friday. We always enjoy their company and conversation. Then on Saturday we took a trip to a village, Kish, which is just about 10 kilometers from Sheki and in the mountains. We packed a picnic lunch and had contracted with a taxi driver from Barda for transportation.

The first stop was at the Sheki Silk (ipek) Association’s store. A silk factory is located in Sheki, but tours are not allowed due to it being a working factory. We settled for the store where Linda bought two of the lower priced scarves. The scarves ranged form 10 AZN to 25 AZN with silk carpets running up to the thousands. I did not inquire about the silk suits.

Next was the highlight, we made it to Kish and to an Albanian (not related to the modern Albania) church from the first century. It is the oldest church in the Caucasus, founded in the first century by Eliseus. According to our brochure: “In the year 2000 Thor Heyerdahl gave his blessing to the study, resoration and turning into a museum of the anicient church of Kish. The project which got off the ground in 2000 and was completed in 2003 was a joint venture between Norway and Azerbaijan. Archeologists not only found interesting artifacts, including ceramics, bronze and gold ornaments, but also evidence, including graves, of this location having been used as a cultic center for centuries. The present walls date to the fifth century with evidences of an even older first century church building.

We were able to tour with an English speaking woman, Ilhama. Ilhama and her husband are quite the business people. She oversees the museum, and they own guest houses which can provide for 35 people, a small garden restaurant, and automobile transportation. I was quite impressed with their hard work and promotions.

From the church Ilhama’s husband drove us to the entrance of the trail to “GALARSAN-GERARSAN (come and see) FORTRESS. There are a few ruins of the fortress that was visited by Tolstoy who chose the fortress as the scene of the events described in the novel Haji Murad. The grave of Haji Murad, a legendary warrior is not far from the entrance to the town.

Now, the trek to the actual ruins is quite stressful. Parts of the trail are very narrow with severe drops. One spot we had to hold on to a small tree trunk and swing around to the narrow path on the other side. The driver, Linda, and I made it to the top with other Azerbaijani tourists. The young men were from the age of 24 to 30. They asked our age, at the disclosure of 61, they all applauded that we had made it. The view was spectacular, but the ruins themselves disappointing after the church.

Many of the historical artifacts have been destroyed over the years of conquest and occupation. The Soviets and those who preceded them had either no regard for the culture or wanted to destroy the culture. Now, it is only with international help that important historical sites are somewhat preserved. Gobistan which has some of the oldest cave drawings in the world is supported by the United Nations and Kish by Norway and private funds.

The last picture is of Linda and Dorothy at the magic spot in the church. People hold coins next to this spot, and if the coin does not immediately fall, then you are granted a wish. Linda’s kept falling, but Dorothy got one to stay for about 15 seconds. In my conversation clubs I showed the pictures of our weekend. When I got to the magic spot, they all understood. So, then my question was if their coin stayed for what would they wish? I got a variety of answers from marriage, jobs, long life, a car, and good health. Then, the students as what my wish would be – “That my Azerbaijani friends would never forget me, because I will never forget them.”