War Memorials and Petroglyphs

Baku is the largest city in the three Southern Caucasus countries we will visit. Size of the country is about that of South Carolina with a population of 10 million. About a third of them live in Baku. The central city is full of beautiful limestone buildings, many of them built by Imperial Russia in the 19th century. The buildings built by the Soviets (20th century) have been replaced. Some mosques and other buildings that were trashed by the Communists have been restored.

Martyr’s Lane is the memorial and Muslim cemetery dedicated to the people of Baku who were killed by the Soviet army during Black January, January 20, 1990. After the collapse of the Russian Empire, several groups were fighting

for power in Baku. On this day Russian soldiers opened fire on and killed peaceful civilians. The memorial consists of an Eternal Flame and 126 graves and gravemarkers with photos. Other memorials in the area include a military cemetery from the 1988-1994 war with Armenia, a memorial for Turkish soldiers, and a small memorial for British troops who had been supporting Azerbaijan in the 1990 conflict. Great views of downtown Baku from this memorial.

After visiting the memorial we drove to Gobustan, an open-air site which contains petroglyphs of reed boats, men hunting large animals, women dancing. The oldest uncovered to date are 15,000 years old. This UNESCO historical site also houses a small museum. We passed several off-shore oil rigs on the drive back.

Lunch was at a restaurant back in Baku’s Fountain Square area. The underground restaurant was decorated like an caravanserais. Traditional food included three salads, soup, bread, and rice with chicken cooked in a turmeric sauce. Tea and strawberry preserves to end the meal.

The remainder of the day was “on our own”. After a break Barb and I walked back down to Fountain Square which is a large central meeting area for friends and family, shopping and restaurants nearby. Walked around, then sat on a bench and people-watched. We walked back to the hotel via the Seaside Prominade. Since it was Friday evening, there were many families enjoying the cafes, fountains, children’s play areas, just walking around,.
We stopped at a stand for ice cream — strawberry with chocolate sprinkles for me. Final destination of the day was the 24th floor of the Hilton for the view and a beer.