Fourth of July Revisited

The photographs are all of Haggia Sophia which was a church built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It was built on a site which had previous churches destroyed by fire and earthquake. It was the largest church in the world at its time. When Justinian walked into the church the first time, he was reported to have said, “Glory to God that I have been judged worthy of such a work. Oh Solomon, I have outdone you.”
The architecture is remarkable with no pillars of support for the dome. It was a church until 1453 when it became a mosque and the Christian symbols were covered. Then, in 1935 it became a museum and restoration began.

Next week will be pictures from old Ephesus.

We hope each of you had a great Fourth of July. We had originally planned a quiet time at home, but on Thursday evening we received an email inviting us to be two of ten Volunteers to go to the United States Embassy in Baku for ice cream, soft drinks, and patriotic music to celebrate the holiday. And, the guest of honor was the Secretary of State.
As many of you may know, Hillary Clinton had been on a very strenuous tour of several countries in our area. On the fourth she flew in to Baku and was greeted by the Foreign Minister. They then met with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and his wife Marhiban. After the meeting with the Azerbaijan President, she meet with a group involved in the freedom of the press in Azerbaijan. Last year, 2 bloggers were arrested and are presently in jail. There have been some calls for their release. During the meeting this situation was brought up by the organization.
We have had many conversations about the importance of freedom of speech, responsible journalism, and news reporting. It was very encouraging and inspiring to see this issue addressed. Of the leaders of the organization, half had been educated in the United States. One of my conversation club members wrote “Democracy cannot be brought to any country from without, but only can be achieved within by its citizens.” The United States cannot bring democracy to any country, but can only provide for citizens education and help enable citizens who want a democratic process to achieve that themselves. That is one reason Linda and I teach children, youth, and adults, and try to represent you the people of a more perfect union.

We have a picture in the library of one of the monuments dedicated to the victims of Soviet violence against the people of Azerbaijan, and its title is “Freedom Is Not Free”. We are thankful for all Americans who have worked and died for our freedoms.

After the meeting with the journalists, Hillary came to the Embassy on her way to the airport and Armenia and Georgia. She only had a few minutes to address the approximately 300 people. The participants were Embassy staff (American and Azerbaijani) and their families, American organizations working in Baku staff and families, and the Peace Corps staff, family, and 10 Volunteers. Two of the Volunteers also brought a softball team of Azerbaijan youth which represent one of their projects.
The Secretary of State had only a few minutes, and she spoke briefly and essentially affirmed the importance of this young republic and thanked all those working to help the country’s democratic process mature. It was one of those “Peace Corps Moments” for us. She had her picture made with the youth of the uniformed softball team, and walked the garden area shaking hands. Yes, Linda and I both had the privilege to shake her hand.