Handwritten

A marathonic flight stopping over Frankfurt and Istambul from Mexico City, finally landed me into the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. This is a small, one-story building, serving a nation of 9 million and its capital of almost 3 million people. The only Muslim country in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan prides itself in being a modern, secular country. No burkas or hijabs at sight indeed. A limpid sky and one minaret on the background of the airport´s parking lot. As a matter of fact, purple cabs looking like London taxis, and actually TX4 models made in China -recently introduced for the Baku Eurovision song contest- make you feel more in western Europe than in an ex-soviet republic. As we are driven from the airport into the hotel area, we pass by what looks like a white UFO with its broad and round-shaped base and its tubular top, standing like a snow-capped mountain top into a melting bowl of yoghourt. It tourns out to be Zaha Hadid´s Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. Not open to the public yet, which explains why only construction workers are around. The freeway is jammed with brand new Mercedes and SUV´s that confirm that the oil boom in Azerbaijan has spread its prosperity among many azerbaijanis, at least in the capital city. Shirivansha´s Palace is the main historic site in Baku´s old city. If somebody asked me how the average azerbaijani looks like, I would give them a blank face. This are the most diverse looking people, at least in this part of the world. Before coming here, by the Caspian sea, I would have said Brazil or Colombia were the countries where, visiting a school even outside the major cities, one kid wouldn´t look like the the other in the same classroom. So maybe ancient immigration caused by Azerbaijan´s strategic location in the crossroads of Asia, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East make this country´s gene pool so incredibly diverse. And just as dissimilar appears to the visitor the area surronded by Sirivansha´s Palace. Its defensive walls date back to the 12th century, while the mausoleum and the bathhouse are a couple of centuries newer. But just across the main gate and from practically any point of the palace, the three flame-shaped buildings stand like surreal Caspian penguins aiming their peaks towards the cold Caucasian mountains. And before the sunset, these giant glass birds light up their bodies in red and yellow to honor this land of fire, Azerbaijan. I catched this moment with my camera and heart