Azerbaijan: Baki At Night

There is something absolutely magical about Baki in the evening.

I think the gorgeous lighting brought out the beauty of the architecture and I had a great time capturing the city in the evening. It did take some patience to get the right exposure and I really wish I had a tripod, but I think these photos do a bit of justice.

The picture up top is the Nizami Museum of Literature, which much to my dismay, was under construction so I was not able to see it :( You can see the mosaic tilework and the the statues of Azerbaijani writers. The namesake of the museum- Nizami was the poet who authored Leila and Majnun (a Persian romantic tale to rival Romeo and Juliet.)

To the left is some intricate stone lattice-work of a government building. This type of work is found all over the city for railings and windows or partitions and is usually made of either marble or sandstone. The government of Azerbaijan has made quite an investment in its downtown. The cobblestoned walkways and the lights on all the buildings shows an eagerness to entice tourists!

To the right is a mosque that Arun just HAD to stop by the roadside to see. It was neat to capture the moon by the minaret.

The city definitely quieted down in the evenings. It's a conservative country, afterall. You really did not see a lot of people milling about late at night (except for drunk Brits singing loudly as they exited pubs.)

However, the downtown was entirely safe, and Arun was pretty happy because there weren't any stray cats or dogs! I'll end this entry with a couple more night-shots.