Azerbaijan: Back in Baku

A year ago, I had just gotten home from the trip of a lifetime to Azerbaijan. I’ve written two other posts about this trip, which can be found here and here.

Today, I am finally sharing the third and final instalment of the Azerbaijan reflection posts, as well as the rest of the photos and even a little vlog of the trip.

After spending four days out in the rural villages of Azerbaijan, we returned to Baku for the remainder of our time there. Baku is the capital of the country and is a mixture of old and new architecture and technology.

Once back in Baku, we settled into our hotel rooms and spent the night on the town in smaller groups, exploring and finding dinner spots of our choosing.

The next day, we attended church and then headed out to the Caspian Sea.

Once Monday rolled around, we found ourselves busy assisting various language programs with English practice for their students, meeting refugees and hearing about the difficulties of starting over in a new country, visiting a vocational school and a university, and learning more about Azerbaijan’s rich history.

Now, this is the part where I feel like I should have something profound or deep to say about what my time in Azerbaijan taught me, but I don’t. It wasn’t one thing, one defining moment, one lesson that I can pinpoint and explain. All I can say is that my time in Azerbaijan grew me. I think that any cross-cultural experience does. I look at life differently, and I think about the people I met and the stories they carry with them during discussions on all sorts of topics. Getting out of my comfort zone grew me and grew my understanding of the gospel. Encountering more of God’s people taught me about the diversity of the body of Christ, and how necessary diversity is to his people better imaging Him. Traveling abroad added a new lens to my glasses for life, and I have no doubt that future international trips will add lenses of their own.

Girls at dinner

we were happy for some familiar food if I’m being honest

and what’s more familiar than pizza and ice cream?

Afternoon at the sea

the Caspian Sea

Night vibes

Making friends

Visited a school for disabled adults. They reside at the school for a time and are taught handicraft skills while there as a means of boosting self-confidence and ability to provide for themselves.

A sweet hand-made gift

And another gift, from their school to ours

crafted by a blind man

Atashgah Temple (Hindu and Zoroastrian Fire Temple)

lunchin’

This hill has a natural gas deposit underneath it. Accidentally lit over 50 years ago, the flame a few pictures down is fed by steadily seeping natural gas.