Hospitality

How long can any table be?? As long as it needs to be to accommodate ALL the guests :)

XIX century Minaret

This is the picture of ancient minaret dated 1882 that is currently protected by Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan as national property…it is located in region number 1 of Sheki as well. Unfortunately it does not function at the moment...This minaret proves once more how everywhere around the world people in the past were eager to create difficult structures in complex locations (considering there were no heavy load vehicles…) to prove their beliefs and loyalty…I hope this human creation stays for many more years so that our heirs are able to enjoy it as well…

Taking this opportunity I wish everyone who keeps the fast happy Ramadan.

Absheron...

As you might know Baku is situated on Absheron peninsula. Climate of Absheron peninsula is mostly dry...Therefore there are couple of fruits that grow very well here...One of these fruits is fig. Currently we are having fig season in Absheron. This is the photo session we did last Sunday in our dacha in Absheron so that I can reflect the season on my blog...These are white figs. There are also black figs but we do not have this tree in our dacha...

Thank you nature, thank you, land :)

Why Gagarin?...

This year I discovered new restaurant in Sheki…it used to be there for a long time but I never knew about it…it is called “Gagarin restaurant”…Why Gagarin? Because it is opened in the area that used to be the park named after Gagarin and the owner left the name as it is…

The main advantage of the restaurant is its perfect location…the view that opens up from the restaurant is astonishing…sitting there and sipping tea at sunset may turn into an unforgettable experience…I strongly advise…maybe this is also one of the reasons why the place is named after Gagarin…makes one think of unique view that Gagarin saw…

...Peaceful moment...

Today I am posting a photo that we took when visiting our auntie (it is a must to go and see elder people when one visits Sheki, you can of course not visit but that would show disrespect and would upset the elder)...

This photo was taken when there was a moment of peace and my son actually sat for couple of minutes (this happens quite rarely since children as you know have "energiser batteries" that never finish...God bless...)

What might be interesting for you on the photo is the mattress that I am sitting on (every family in Sheki has mattresses like this. They are meant to be put on the floor for leisure times). See also "mutekke" kind of a pillow that has a shape that you see...This is for leaning purposes also for leisure times...I don't know if you agree with me but although everything is so simple in the room it brings peace and comfort...this is how I felt there...

It is very rare that people would sit now on the floor in Azerbaijan and have meals for example as it used to be before...but for leisure purposes there are always comfortable mattress and "mutekke" waiting for you in every house in Sheki...:)

View...

This is the view that opens up from the square before the mayor's office of Sheki. Apologize for the quality of the pictures.

The little girl on the picture is Munise, one of my cousins who would go anywhere I went, if possible :) Her energy is astonishing...This time Munise and I took one of our relatives to mayor's office as she had to register to be an observer on entry exams...and we took these photos while waiting for her :)

1st region…

The place that I come from in Sheki is called “gyshlag” what means “place to spend winter” as this part of the city is located in the bottom of the city and is warmer than the top of the city called ”yaylag” – “place to spend summer”…

The city is also divided into so called regions…i.e. the first the highest (in location) the most ancient and oldest part of the city is the 1st region…(our house for instance is situated in 21st region)…as it happens very often people rarely go to other regions of the city unless it is necessary…tourists in reverse very often explore the places they visit in very detail and see many places that locals never visit. Although I visit Sheki almost every summer lately I try to find something/somewhere new that I didn’t see before…Therefore this year my husband and I decided to explore region Number 1 of the city of Sheki. It is located on the mountains itself I would say…the roads are/were paved in stones…it is very easy to go down but going up is quite a challenge…can imagine how harsh winters are…here are some pictures that we took while exploring…

View from region # 1

I wonder how the owners put hay up there...must be hard work...

See the top of the furthest mountain...nothing grows there since it is so high and cold...

Two beauties...

Hello, everyone! I am just back from Sheki...thankfully trip was great as always and here I am back in Baku...

Today I am posting photos of two beauties…

To be honest I am not sure what causes the fact that I started to notice beauty around me more: my growing age or my sculptor husband who always draws my attention to everything that surrounds… In any case to my delight I see more and more (this is what I think…I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I realize that I haven’t noticed many things before)…

Ok…my epilogue turned out long…sorry… See if you share my opinion that these creatures are very, very pretty…I couldn’t pass by without taking their photos :)

P.S. Thank you very much for your great comments, everyone!