Sunday, January 29, 2012

Snow in Azerbaijan…Azerbaijan in snow…

In some countries people long for sunshine…some cities long for sunshine…

I have mentioned zillion of times on my blog that since we have nine climate zones out of eleven winters are different in different cities of the country…

Sheki is in mountains so its winters are real winters, with snow and cold…but snow without wind…snow that makes you feel magical…

In Baku we could have a day or two of snow during winter…snow would usually be with rain and wind so it would be quite difficult for kids to enjoy it to the fullest. Not sure if that’s the global “warming” but this winter Baku is having more snow than usually…Its again not a quiet and calm snow but quite windy…Baku definitely holds on to its name of being “city of winds”…

Last week was a difficult one…My father lost one of his closest childhood friends if not the closest one and pain of loss was not only his. Sad for his friend, Yaqub əmi (uncle), as we called him, for his family, sad for my father who is in his sixties…it is almost unbearable to see how deep his sadness and grief is…Lots of childhood memories came to me…One can grow older, become a parent, have children but there could be always people for whom one continues to be a child…and while they are next to us our childhood kind of still continues, it is still with us…and with those people we can almost behave like a child and cherish that link that is so personal and unique...I felt like my childhood almost ended last week…definitely some lovely parts of it were gone forever…

I couldn’t travel to Sheki for funeral; my heart was definitely there...and then we had snow in Baku at night…it was magical in the morning and kids were so impatient to go out to snow…my little one was analyzing snow on his fingers…couldn’t quite realize what was all about…older one was enjoying it to the fullest…I felt so warm…couldn’t feel the cold until my son and I decided to feel the snow on our faces…it was fun…I felt like my childhood was still next to me but with some other lovely stage…

...sharing with you some photos...

you would always find hot tea in Azerbaijan to warm up your body and soul...end January 2012...photo by Asim Baku...
snow in Baku city center...end January 2012...photo by Asim Baku...
snow in Baku city center...January 2012...photo by Tokay Farajev...
snow in Sheki...make sure you see the rooftops on the background...January 2012...photo by Murad...
my little one trying to figure out whats snow is all about initially on the balcony...and the older one enjoying it to the fullest...
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Friday, January 20, 2012

Independent Azerbaijan...

Another year has passed. Year when nature, economies and politics lived through a lot of turbulence. Years can be different but wishes remain the same: health, peace , love and wealth.

Azerbaijan had a relatively stable year. Today in the new year on 20 January we remember victims of independence. In life very few things are straightforward. One of them is that most of people would wish to be free as much as possible in their decisions. The same is true about Azerbaijanis. You would agree that in life there are very few people that would think about others as much as they would think about themselves. Maybe parents, not of all them either. Nobody is perfect you might say. Exactly. Who would expect empires to be perfect and think about the countries they conquered as much as about their own interests. Probably this never happened.

Historically Azerbaijan was always the target for empires and independence is almost a luxury for our young republic...

In 1990 our family lived in Poland. I remember our conversation with dad when he said that there is a risk that Soviet army would enter Azerbaijan. "Anything can happen" he said "they might close the borders and we might not be able to go back home for awhile. I suggest we go back home now without delay." (I don't think my parents could imagine their life without Sheki). We returned to Baku early January and Soviet troops entered the city on 19 January.

That was it. There was no going back to Soviet regime.

My older son is almost six now and he loves travelling with his parents and grannies and loves travelling back home. He lives in the country where he can travel and live wherever he wants. Probably by the time he grows up it would be hard for him to believe that there could be more restrictions than technicalities to travel and live wherever one chooses...There is only one future for Azerbaijan that he and everyone else will witness and that is independent Azerbaijan.

Today Azerbaijanis mourn for victims and not only of January 1990 but for all who became victims for independence, freedom and well being of their motherland...Let they rest in peace...


My earlier posts on the date can be read here and here.
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