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.”

The President of Azerbaijan Visits Shirvan

Last week on Thursday, Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, visited Shirvan. The purpose of the trip was to dedicate the Heydar Aliyev Center, and open a factory in Shirvan. The official news was that he toured the factory and offered his insights into the factory which will hire 70 people. His day began with a memorial wreath laid at the monument of his father, Heydar.

My day began trying to get to work at the Library. The police stopped me and said my way was closed. I tried an alternate way, and it was closed by the police also. A man came up to me and said no work today. I returned home, and spent the day working on future conversation club sessions.

Now the few days before the President’s arrival, street lines, curbs, and light poles were painted, flags were put up all along the park area, flowers were planted, grass trimmed, and you get the picture easily – everything was to look in top shape for the President’s route around the city.

I have not met anyone who personally saw the President in Shirvan. It was covered by television media, and the only people around the President were local political leaders.

My observations: It was so disappointing that the President is sheltered from the people. It was very important for the local government to look as if they were doing many things for the people. We had as good a quality of water that day as we have ever had, and natural gas pressure. Since he left – not so much. Last week I posted a picture of the construction site of the new Olympic Center. The picture above is now that site – the open field. The fencing is gone, the signs of construction are gone, and nothing is happening there. If one were cynical it would look like the local governing authorities care much more about appearance than actually improving the lives of its citizens.

On a positive note since we have been here in Azerbaijan there have been major highway improvements in some areas. Our electricity has become reliable. And, the number of products available in the markets has increased.

On Friday my program manager, Tarana, came to visit me at site. She had visited before, but this was the first time she could observe me working. It was a joy to see the Conversation Club respond. She asked if we would consider extending our service. If a Peace Corps Volunteer extends their service they receive a 30 leave and other benefits. I appreciated her encouragement, but insisted that we missed our family and friends and would not be extending. We love our work and people of Azerbaijan, and we know we will miss them from the moment we begin our journey home, but we miss our sons, immediate family, and scores of friends now.

I will not post another blog until April 24. Next Friday we will be traveling to Barda to visit our dear friends and fellow Volunteers, Bill and Dorothy.

Spring Break

From March 20 until March 29 Linda and I did not have to go to school or the library. It is Novruz - spring holiday. One of the customs of Novruz is for children to throw there hat down in front of a door, knock and hide. The owner of the home is to open the door, take the hat inside, fill with nuts, candy, maybe money, fruit, baked goods (palkhava or shakarbra), and return the hat to the door. Most of the students in my conversation clubs said that they had 3-6 children knock on their door. We had more than 60. We felt bad because we did not have the expected treats for them, nor could we have afforded it for 60 plus hats. So, consequently we quit answering the knocks for a couple of days.
After the actural Spring Equinox we relaxed and one day went to Baku so that Linda could get a hair cut. We could buy season 4 of House. Eat a nice hamburger and fries. We also walked for a couple of hours along what is called the Boulevard. It is a national park for about 3 kilometers along the Caspian. We walked from one end to the other, plus a bit. It was beautiful, but windy. The good weather and the holiday brought out many people. There is an amusement area in the first two picutres. If you look very closely there is a sign "Six Flags over Azerbaijan", or maybe I just imagined the sign.
During the break most of the Volunteers travel and visit each other. Two Volunteers from Salyan came to spend a day and night with us. Leslie is the older Volunteer and Beth is the younger. We walked all around Shirvan, ate at a Turkish cafe, shopped and showed all the sights of Shirvan to Beth since it was her first trip to Shirvan.
We have said many times how brave young female Volunteers are. I have become more aware of the difficulties of the Asian-American Volunteers in Azerbaijan. Everyone says Beth is from Japan or China when actually she is an American of Korean decent. We always emphasize to everyone we introduced her to, the American. They would attempt to correct us. There are Chinese immigrants that come to Azerbaijan and sell items on the streets. Most Azerbaijani people assume that the Asian-Americans are part of these sellers. Beth has been stopped by the police in Salyan and asked what she is selling. She has riden in a taxi and asked what she sells. She explains that she is a United States Peace Corps Volunteer and works at the library in Salyan. The driver then asked, "so, what are you selling?"
The people of Shirvan are very kind to us, and we feel very accepted, but when we walked with Beth there were many stares that were not as friendly. Linda and I both noticed it. Every American should be exceedingly proud of every American that volunteers with the Peace Corps, and especially proud of the Asian and African Americans who so much share what America is to be about.

The last two pictures are of our future Olympic Center in Shirvan. Almost every city in Azerbaijan has an Olympic Center. They have exercise equipment, swimming pools, basketball courts, and football field. Citizens are allowed to use at no costs. There is a hotel in each Olympic Center and the cost is set at 50 AZN a night. Now, the reality, ours has begun with ground leveling, a small basement, and fences with picutres of Olympic competitors. Where there are Olympic Centers they are primarily unused and many times money is extracted from patrons. Girls rarely use any of the facilities. In Barda we have Volunteers who have promoted the use and given swimming lessons. The facilities quickly deteriorate, but are still the nicest sports facilities around. I commented to a Volunteer in another city that when we come to visit, we will stay at the Olympic Center, and her response was that was where the prostitutes worked in her city.

Next week - the President of Azerbaijan visits Shirvan.