Trip to Oğuz and Şəki...or How I (Almost) Saw Russia from the Back Porch...

Trip to Oğuz and Şəki…or How I (Almost) Saw Russia from the Back Porch…last weekend.

The ‘back porch’ of Azerbaijan overlooks the countries of Russia and Georgia-- that is if you could see beyond the towering peaks of the Caucasus Mountains.  The Caucasus divide East from West, Europe from Asia (like the Urals), and from which the term ‘Caucasian’ is derived.  What glorious settings the towns of Oğuz and Şeki occupy!

The first adventure was to the town of Oğuz.  I departed by small bus (marshrutka-like) at 8 am, which follow a rugged but breathtakingly beautiful route into the heart of the mountains.  We passed small villages with small stone houses behind their small stone walls lining rugged, stone-filled, muddy paths;  we passed open fields and valleys with sweeping views of the mountains in the background; and we passed the occasional shepherd leading  his flock, as well as grazing yaks and cattle.  I must be getting used to these rides—I was hardly fazed by how cramped and crowded they are, fitting in as many people as possible.  However, good thing I got to the bus station early enough to grab a seat, otherwise the 2-hour ride to Oğuz might have been just a bit too adventuresome, had I needed to stand the whole way.  This particular route follows what is supposed to be a two-lane road, but it is so full of washed-out areas and huge pot-holes that the bus driver must proceed slowly with caution (good thing!) and swerve from one side of the road to another, just to find a decent surface to drive on…and so did the on-coming cars, too, which made it seem at times like a one-lane road, with cars heading straight for us (and us towards them).  Oh, the adventure of it all!  And since we were climbing closer and closer towards the mountains, the engine made very funny noises, indicating that perhaps our marshrutka was a bit too over-loaded for the climb, despite the down-shifting.  At one particularly steep point an on-coming car stopped our driver for directions; after obliging, the driver had a moment where it didn’t seem like our rickety bus was going to be able to get going again.  Well, we did, and soon I found myself in the little town of Oğuz.  It reminded me of little towns in the Rockies, so gorgeous.  After getting directions to the Olympic Complex of the town, I met up with other Peace Corps Volunteers for the youth Frisbee camp and tournament.  I even tossed the Frisbee around some, too, inside a huge gymnasium (but surprisingly NO basket-ball hoops or courts in this gym).  But I mainly participated in spurring on the other PCV’s and Azerbaijani youth in their games.  The team from Oğuz was spectacular, and they won!

 Road as seen from the mini-bus (marshrutka)

 My PCV friend Kathy and I decided it was about time to head to Şeki, which is about an hour further towards Georgia from Oğuz, and which is where she is spending her PCV assignment.  But first we joined up with another PCV Stephan and LCF Tural for a hike to a hill-topped abandoned pilgrimage chapel, most likely an Albanian Caucasus Christian Orthodox church, now in semi-ruined state.  Nonetheless, followers still come and leave red wish-ribbons tied to the tree by the door, believing that when they blow away in the wind, the wish will come true.   Interesting also is the fact that Oğuz has two synagogues, one still active with a congregation…this is a region of ethnic Udi (Christians) and of so-called Mountain Jews, which have co-existed here for centuries.

 Oguz

 Ancient Udi pilgrimage chapel

 Red ribbons tied to branches on tree at right of little church represent wishes, which 'come true' when the wind blows them away

View in Sheki

I loved staying in Şeki.  Kathy lives with a wonderful host family in a centuries-old house, not far from the Caravansaray (the over-night stopping place for those riding along the Silk Road with their camel caravans centuries ago), which today has been converted into a hotel in which to stay, just as in the days of old.  Also centuries-old, is the spectacular Khan Palace further up the hill-side, so marvelous in its design, with beautiful colored windows and walls.  Many scenes on the walls depicted trees of pomegranates, thought to be the fruit of kings, because they are topped with little crowns—look for that, the next time at the grocery store.  Şeki has steep and winding cobble-stoned lanes and alleys, so charming, but also still a bit treacherously packed with snow and ice. (Mingechavir’s weather, being much milder, has not had snow or ice for several weeks, but I forgot about Sheki’s mountain location, and didn’t think to bring the right boots—ah, well…)  The house in which Kathy lives is truly interesting…like many centuries-old homes in Europe, the doors are small and low—so much so, that even I, small-statured as I am, had to duck in the door-ways!  The squat-toilet is outside, built into the stone wall of the yard; there is a sink to wash near the outdoor bucket-bath bathing room, but that sink wasn’t usable, since the water in the small metal reservoir above the single spigot, was frozen.  So you wash and brush teeth in the kitchen, which also has a single spigot faucet below a metal tank, which holds the water (cold!).  To get to the bedrooms, you go outside and up some stairs, and walk across a veranda to the several bedrooms.  Each bedroom, as well as the living room, has a small gas furnace, which in earlier days might have been a wood-burning stove.  The mom in Kathy’s host family is delightful and genuinely hospitable.  Before İ left, she pointed us in the right direction for the shop with the best halva—the local pastry specialty, a fancy version of baklava and most tasty!  I had a great time, but also made a work-related connection with Kathy’s Azerbaijani counterpart, to possibly in the future work on ways to help advance the English instruction in the orphanage and internat that his non-profit organization helps support.  It was a wonderful, worthwhile weekend in many ways.

 

 Road to Kathy's work-place

 Exploring the Caravansaray

 The Palace of the Khan

 Kathy's house in Sheki 

 Kitchen...no running water inside the house, tank above sink holds water filled by bucket, turn faucet on spigot when needed

 Hall-way

living room with host mom

 View of courtyard from balcony (veranda); red door in background is for the toilet room

 From the balcony

 Washroom in corner of court-yard/bucket bathroom, sink with tank-reservoir

 Kathy's house in Sheki

Farewell to Sheki

Valentine's Day and other celebrations...

 Last week was Valentine’s Day, and one of the teachers with whom I work gave me a very nice souvenir of Azerbaijan—a little statue showing Azerbaijani musicians playing the traditional Azerbaijani folk instruments.  Then the students in her class also gave me gifts—a snow-globe heart with the Shrine of Mecca inside, and a place to hold my pens/pencils, as well as a desk clock with Arabic writing (from the Quran, I believe), but when I asked what it meant, no one knew—here everyone of course speaks and reads Azerbaijani and most also know Russian, but not Arabic.  I was overwhelmed at the gifts—and that they even knew about Valentine’s Day, but that is primarily due to the teacher who has had a lot of contact with Peace Corps Volunteers for a number of years.  They told me they sought out items they didn’t think I’d easily find in the States!

Last Monday the father in my host family returned from more than three weeks in a sanatorium in Baku.  He underwent some ultrasound tests and then weeks of recuperation and rest.  Exactly what was wrong is not openly discussed, but he has been declared fine.  Upon his return, he brought gifts for everyone—including me!  A little candle in a glass lantern.

A week ago Saturday I went to the post office because the post master told another Peace Corps Volunteer to let me know that I had a letter.  And so I did, the beautiful save the date photo card from Robby and Audrey!  (Caused me even to tear up a bit.)  I was on my way to the Teachers Conversation Club of Mingechavir at the time, which is one of the groups I lead.  The card presented itself as a good teaching prop—I was able to share it with them and with the teachers from AzETA (Azerbaijan English Teachers Association) who met later in the day with me; I explained some of the skyline of Seattle and the family significance of Kerry Park and its sculpture. One conversation activity I employed required that I leave the room, while the group picked a word or phrase for me to then guess, based on their descriptive clues—a variation of ‘20 Questions.’  They gave me many interesting hints, thereby practicing good English, before I guessed the phrase they had chosen—“getting married!”  Aw…  In my host family, nine-year-old Farida is a budding artist, and her favorite drawings are of fashion and fashion models...

 Farida's depictions of Audrey and Robby...

and those who will be in attendance...

Last week, while working in my room, a student came in to chat, but upon noticing that I was eating a snack, asked me if I was hungry (it was still early in the day).  I said, well, yes, and she left the room.  A few minutes later she returned with 2 piroshkies and cakes that she had bought from the canteen for me to enjoy!  I was so surprised.

 

As always, these family relationships, personal relationships, the hospitality and generosity of the people provide positive examples of the rewards of Peace Corps service.  And more will surely be soon in store, since preparations have started for Azerbaijan's most loved holiday--Novruz!  It celebrates the start of Spring, and each of the four Tuesdays leading up to Novruz acknowledges the elements of water, earth, fire, and air.  Last Tuesday was water, and tomorrow is earth Tuesday.

Birthdays

Last week was the birthday of the father in my first host family in Masazir.  I gave the family a call to sing happy birthday over the phone (I omitted singing our family-favorite from Big John and Sparky days, “Today is the Day, I Wonder for Whom…”don’t think it would have gone over quite so well).  They proceeded to tell me over the phone that they miss me, and wonder when I will come to visit.  Well, I miss them, too, and hope to visit them again; then we had a good laugh over the fact that every other day is still ‘elektrik yoxdur’ – no electricity in Masazir—good thing they have a good sense of humor and carry on.

Sunday was the birthday of the mother in my host family, and relatives from other towns in Azerbaijan and from as far away as Moscow  arrived.  She  prepared a big feast of typical Azerbaijani foods, and I helped the other women with the Nar Salati and the Mimosa Salati, though peeling the pomegranates is time consuming; while doing so, I kept thinking of the big tubs of peeled and deveined pomegranates available at Costco—no Costco here, not anything even close to a Costco!  From one visiting family is a little four-year-old boy who hid every time he saw me…understandably, I am different—and look different—than everyone else.  But he smiled and laughed each time--he is so cute, and before the weekend was over, we were friends.  It turns out that his mother is the cousin AND the sister-in-law of the mother in my host family—Vusala-- whose birthday we celebrated.  Not uncommon here, Vusala’s brother married a cousin on the mother’s side of the family. 

The father in my host family announced the gift he would be giving his wife—a sheep for the backyard!  Not your typical birthday present in Seattle!  But she seemed very pleased.  What I did not originally understand was that the men were leaving right then to go to the market to buy the sheep.  Soon it was in the chicken coop in the backyard, and I was invited to come out and take a look…I brought my camera.   The father and little seven-year-old Ibrahim were busy trying to coax the sheep out of the coop when I arrived; as I got closer all the chickens flew out in a wild frenzy.  Then the father grabbed the sheep by its front hooves and pulled it out of the coop, dragged it across the yard to near the patio, and we held it firm as we posed for photos with the sheep.  I thought it was going to be a new family pet.  I was wrong!

Soon Ibrahim fetched some twined and the father wrapped the four hooves together, laying the sheep on its side.  While Ibrahim held the hooves and body firm (this took strength from the little seven-year-old), the father took out his butcher knife.  In less than a minute it was over, and the head lay on the ground next to the body spewing blood.  It happened so fast, before I realized what was going to happen, but I witnessed the whole thing—not for the faint of heart—and when it was all over, the skinning of the sheep and the butchering was made easier by stringing up the carcass on a pole in the yard; the whole process reminded me of dissecting class from college Biology.   At one point during the skinning, the family pet dog got a hold of one of the sheep’s testicles, which had been discarded into a pan on the ground, while the strung up sheep carcass was being properly butchered.  The dog was reprimanded severely with a thrown rock striking it in the hind leg, causing extreme yelping and hobbling.  Later, the pet dog (Ninze) fortunately seemed OK again.  Soon the meat from the sheep was skewered and on the grill; the men gathered round and sampled the first skewers together with a glass of red wine; interestingly, the wine goblets were first rinsed with very hot water so that the wine from the cold bottle could be warmed—here it is considered very unhealthy to drink anything cold!   Hence, hot tea is the drink of choice in winter and in summer, and the concept of iced tea makes most Azerbaijanis shudder.  Later during the evening meal, everyone had some juice, to which the mother added some hot water from the tea kettle off the stove, to make sure we didn’t drink juice that was cold.  The children gave their mom some new bottles of perfume, and I gave Vusala a set of coasters, hand-made, from Kathy—she was very pleased, thanks Kathy!—and also gave her some of her now favorite chocolate that I have introduced her to—Rittersport from Germany!  Fortunately, I found out later, that I showed respect and honor by partaking of the skewers of mutton, but was likewise honored and shown respect by being invited to watch the slaughtering.  It is not an uncommon sight for Azerbaijanis, since every November for Qurban Bayrami, the Holiday of Sacrifice, a sheep is slaughtered as a religious ritual for sacrifice.

It always is a wonder to me how much Azerbaijanis are able to do for themselves…they know how to slaughter and butcher, and they build and remodel their own houses, too!  Amazing!   

Preparing the sheepskin...

The ingredients for national dish...Xash

Chickens enjoying innards...

Skewers on the barbeque

Mimosa Salad

Nar (Pomegranate) Salad