TRAVEL TUESDAY 513 - SHADAGH MOUNTAIN, AZERBAIJAN

“Hospitality, as with all the mountain tribes, was - and is still - a most sacred duty; and the man who would slay a chance-met traveller without pity or remorse for the sake of trifling gain, would lay down his life for the very same individual were he to cross his threshold as even an unbidden guest.” ― John F. Baddeley

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Mount Shahdagh (Azerbaijani: Şahdağ; Lezgian: Кас сув) is a mountain peak of the Greater Caucasus range, located in the Qusar District of Azerbaijan, close to the border with Russia. The elevation of the peak is 4,243 metres above sea level. Among the earth rocks found in Shahdagh are magnesian lime, chalkstone and marble. Winter temperatures at Shahdagh average -20°C.

Shahdagh National Park (Azerbaijani: Şahdağ Milli Parkı) — is a national park in Azerbaijan. It was established initially over 115,900 hectares (1,159 km2) in the Quba Rayon, Qusar Rayon, İsmayıllı Rayon, Qəbələ Rayon, Oğuz Rayon and Şamaxı Rayon administrative districts on December 8, 2006. It was enlarged by presidential decree on July 8, 2010 from 115,900 hectares (1,159 km2) to 130,508.1 hectares (1,305.081 km2).

Azerbaijan has a very rich flora, more than 4,500 species of higher plants have been registered in the country. Due to the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus. About 66% of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 396 - BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

“If there were no war, We could construct a bridge between Earth and Mars Melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace.” ― Mammad Araz

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku.  

At the beginning of 2009, Baku’s urban population was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku’s metropolitan area. Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 kilometres away from Baku.

The Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet’s ranking, Baku is also among the world’s top ten destinations for urban nightlife. The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial centre of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there.   The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year. In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the 2015 European Games, the 2016 European Grand Prix, the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017 and UEFA Euro 2020.

The city is renowned for its harsh winds, which is reflected in its nickname, the “City of Winds”.  Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of the Baku port. Many of the city’s most impressive buildings were built during the early 20th century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in eclectic style. Baku thus has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the “Paris of the East”. In the last decade, countless towers have mushroomed, dwarfing or replacing tatty old Soviet apartment blocks. Some of the finest new buildings are jaw-dropping masterpieces.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 395 - AZERBAIJAN

“Paths are long, Paths are short - Does it make any difference In what country, Or on what path you lose your way?” ― Samad Vurgun

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan, [ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia (Republic of Dagestan) to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.

Azerbaijan is home to a wide variety of landscapes. Over half of Azerbaijan's landmass consists of mountain ridges, crests, highlands, and plateaus which rise up to hypsometric levels of 400–1000 metres (including the Middle and Lower lowlands), in some places (Talis, Jeyranchol-Ajinohur and Langabiz-Alat foreranges) up to 100–120 metres, and others from 0–50 metres and up (Qobustan, Absheron). The rest of Azerbaijan's terrain consists of plains and lowlands.

Azerbaijan's flora consists of more than 4,500 species of higher plants. Due to the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus. 66 percent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY #72 - BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

“There have always been people who have felt the necessity of change earlier than others. And this is critical for every society. Nothing is more important than human initiative and the freedom to create… To find and support such people is the great task of literature and art.” - Rustam Ibrahimbeyov   

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us.

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku.

 At the beginning of 2009, Baku’s urban population was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku’s metropolitan area. Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 kilometres away from Baku.

The Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet’s ranking, Baku is also among the world’s top ten destinations for urban nightlife. The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial centre of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there.

 The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year. In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the 2015 European Games, the 2016 European Grand Prix and will host the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017 and UEFA Euro 2020. The city is renowned for its harsh winds, which is reflected in its nickname, the “City of Winds”.

Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of the Baku port. Many of the city’s most impressive buildings were built during the early 20th century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in eclectic style. Baku thus has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the “Paris of the East”. In the last decade, countless towers have mushroomed, dwarfing or replacing tatty old Soviet apartment blocks. Some of the finest new buildings are jaw-dropping masterpieces.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

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ART SUNDAY - HAYDAR HATEMI

“To see the Persia of poets and painters, hiding in plain sight behind the much-maligned Iran of our newspaper headlines, would be my fondest wish.” - Pico Iyer

Haydar Hatemi (born March 3, 1945-Hadishahr – Alamdar) is an Iranian of Iranian Azerbaijani origin. artist whose work is based on blends of classical oriental styles such as miniature and tazhib, with some modern elements. His early studies in art started at Tabriz’s Art Academy after finishing high school in Tabriz, Iran. Hatemi is a graduate of the prestigious Fine Arts Academy of Tehran University. He moved to Turkey in 1983. He is one of the most significant artists of the Iranian and Azerbaijani diaspora. He has been working under the commission of the Qatari Royal family for the last decade.

Hatemi, an Iranian Azerbaijani, started painting aged 14, while he was continuing high school in Tabriz. His early studies in art started at Tabriz’s Art Academy after finishing Tabriz middle school, Iran. It was during this time there that he learned the tazhib technique from Master Abduhl Bageri and studied sculpture techniques from Master Ashot Babayan. He continued his art studies at the Art Academy of Tehran and was privileged to be trained under masters Hussain Behzad and Abu Talib Mugimi.

Hatemi soon gained celebrity status during his sophomore year in college when he won the national award for designing the Takht-e-Tavus medal for the international Cancer Society. This award was presented to him by the Queen of Iran, Farah Pahlavi. Hatemi also taught sculpture classes in Shahnaz Pahlavi Art Academy. During his college years in Tehran University, Hatemi won first place in multiple competitions, which included design of the Logo of the Isfahan University and the Logo of the Shahpur Petro-Chemicals. He also designed the gold coins in commemoration of the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Between 1972-1978, Hatemi established the Design Art Center in Tehran and produced very large sculptures commissioned by the Mayor of Tehran. His statue of Shah Abbas on horseback is on display at Isfahan’s Square and a statue called Birds and the Rock at Argentina Square in Tehran.

After the Iranian revolution, Hatemi moved to Turkey with his young family in 1983. He continued his painting in Bursa and Istanbul and started the orientalist movement within the Turkish art world. During this period his paintings became part of the Sabancı Collection and many other private collections.

Early in his career, Hatemi took great interest in the tazhib technique and miniature paintings in particular. His main goal to apply his style to Ottoman Empire theme was very well received by the Turkish art scene. His admiration for miniature masters and his desire to apply this to a newer subjects lead to the creation of his “Stories of the Messengers” series in the early 2003 which became his most celebrated and famous series. In these series, Hatemi depicts stories of messengers, which are common to Quran, Bible and Torah. He also paints scenes of old Istanbul, which were commissioned by the royal family of Qatar. The Istanbul series are the best example of this genre.

The painting above highlights several of the styles Hatemi is proficient at. A painstakingly meticulous hand that is able to render fine details, trompe l’oeil effects, luscious vistas reminiscent of past times and historical details that playfully interact with modern touches. In other painting series, the art of Persian miniatures and manuscript illustrations is revived, while other series highlight Ottoman portraiture and scenes from the Holy Books of the Islamic, Jewish and Christian faiths.