The Carpet Museum and a Walk on the Boulevard

The shopping mall on the Boulevard

Next up on the agenda was the Azerbijani Carpet Museum.

Why, you may ask. Carpets are an important part of Azerbaijani cultural tradition, The Caucasus region was one of the first places on Planet Earth (our planet) (the one we call home) to develop a weaving culture. And it's supposed to be a very interesting and, most definitely, it is a unique museum. And I like museums dedicated focus on non-traditional museum things. And, to top it off, it's in a building shaped like what inside: a carpet! Do you need any more reasons than that?

Well, I don't.

The carpet in the foreground of that line features a camel motif. Camels are important cultural symbols. They symbolize humpin' to get through the drudgery of life. Actually, I don't think that's quote it. Endurance, maybe? Prosperity?

And here a room of carpets.

I once was in a room that was fully carpeted. Even the walls were carpeted. But with deep pile monochromatic carpet. It was the Jungle Room in Elvis's Graceland. This carpeted room did not evoke Elvis or Memphis or Graceland. Cool nonetheless.

This museum, by the way, had the strangest photography policy I've yet encountered. Cameras are not allowed. But you were allowed to take pictures with your phone. Just not a camera dedicated to picture-taking. Sometimes I just shake my head ...

You can see the shape of the building -- the side curve -- on these carpet displays.

This one unusually displays humans, instead of the traditional Islamic geometric designs:

The carpets in this section are separated and placed to highlight local traditions in technique and design.

If you want me to explain what local design traditions are evidenced by the above display, well, that's a above my vacation-level pay grade. You're going to have to hire a knowledgeable tour guide for that sort of information and I, not being as into carpet as some who visit this museum, did not do that.

This was a huge carpet with a camp scene (which included people) in the middle surrounded by the geometric design.

This was one of my favorites:

If the price were right, I would buy it and display it in my house. I like the design, I reminded me of an Advent Calendar.

And we will end with this one:

A carpet weaved to commemorate Azerbaijani victory over (who else?) the Armenians in the recent 44-day "Patriotic War" in 2021. Yes, even carpet-weaving can be timely, reflecting current events.

My feet are now getting tired. The sun is getting hotter. Might be time for a mid-day jetlag-required siesta. Instead, I choose to walk the Boulevard.

This is the pedestrian walk along the Caspian Sea harbor. You could call it a "boardwalk," since actual timber "boards" are not required to make a boardwalk in this day and age.

Lots and lots of small stands. Most sell ice cream, or cold beverages, or hot coffee. But there was an old-fashioned shooting gallery:

Do they still have these in the USA? Are have they gone out of favor? But here, out there on the Boulevard, the shooting galley remains part of the fun scene, Children (or adults) shooting ducks and other small objects (Armenians? This is Azerbaijan after all!) for the thrill of it all. 

Art Cotton Candy! Get your cotton candy dyed and sculpted into various shapes, such as green Ninja Turtle. Because if you are going to eat pure sugar, it might as well be dyed.

And here is the Coffee Bus!

I got a chocolate milkshake and lesson in life. What life lesson did I get at a coffee bus? The gentleman working the coffee bus asked me where I was from and I answered "Las Vegas, United States." He got a huge smile on his face and said something about wanting to see Las Vegas. And here's the life lesson. We in Las Vegas keep hearing that tourism numbers are way down and Las Vegas is on the decline. But wherever whenever I travel and I mention that I am from Las Vegas, it always gets a smile and a comment about wanting to visit Las Vegas some day. So things may be down here, but we're not out. Las Vegas is still a place that people the world over love and brings them a smile. Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Coffee Bus.

And, finally, a giant chess board.

Azerbaijanis love chess. And right along the Boulevard is a giant chess set to prove it. Some toddler had been moving the chess pieces around, but obviously the kid was chess-illiterate. He but both black bishops on black squares. A chess impossibility! I hope his parents corrected him.

Getting close to the hotel, I walk the street behind the hotel.

This is the street filled with restaurants with English language names. You might even have to ask for the Azerbaijani language menu. Some international chains (Gloria Jeans coffee, Cinnabon) or stand-alone restaurants evoking American imagery (the bar called "Friends" no thank you). The people working at my hotel told me not to go to the restaurants on this street and, instead, recommending Azerbaijani restaurants in the Old City reached by walking out the front door. Go west! Not east. At least when you're in Baku, staying at The Merchant, and need supper.

Budapest, Hungary: Recovering from the Tour of the House of Terror

I needed something to recover from the emotionally-draining tour of the House of Terror. So I went for a soak at the Széchenyi thermal bath (Széchenyi fürdő).

This is the most popular and prominent of the bath houses in Budapest. It's where the locals recommend you go when in Budapest, more than any other site. And, notwithstanding that frequent recommendation, this also is where the locals go to soak. The Gellert in Buda, which is just as large, is more tourist-oriented, as it is connected to a hotel. This is the outdoor pool area:

This is the signature shot of Széchenyi baths: people in the pool playing chess, enjoying a soak.

The exteriors of the outdoor pool look great:

Me, I'm used to the Las Vegas heat. So the upper 60s/low 70s temperatures were a little chilly for me to hang outside. I much preferred the indoor thermal pools, of which there were more than a dozen, each a different temperature.

Earlier in the week I visited the Rudas Baths, which did not allow photography inside. The Rudas looked like perfect traditional Turkish bath, in the octagon shape, under a dome, with shafts of light shining through. If I had treated myself to a massage there, I would've felt like a sultan back in the Ottoman Era. The Széchenyi had the bigger, and probably would be great to visit on a warmer day when the outdoor pool would've been more usable, but I preferred the Ottoman atmosphere of the much-smaller Rudas.