Road camp - Baku – 68 kilometres
The short meander into Baku ran beside the barren Caspian Sea, the world’s
largest lake. I’m not sure why it’s called a sea, not a lake, as the Caspian has no
outflow and only a third of the salinity of normal seawater. Still, it’s a vast body of
water and is said the largest enclosed body of water on earth. Moreover, being
below sea level, it’s the second-lowest natural depression after Lake Baikal in
Russia. I, therefore, feared a big climb out of this low-lying area at some point.
Oil-rich Baku, the capital, was a substantial and modern city sporting high-rise
buildings, and heaps of designer stores, in stark contrast to the rest of the
country. I say “oil-rich” as Baku produced one-fifth of the oil used worldwide
during our visit! That’s a lot of oil and the poor infrastructure plaguing the
countryside is quite inconceivable.
One got a distinct feeling Baku existed in a bubble, unaware of the poverty in the
rest of the country. The Canub Hotel became home for the next few days. Even
though the rooms were substantial, they revealed worn bedding and a somewhat
springy floor, just the thing one would expect of budget accommodation. At least
the room provided a shower and hot water, the most important thing at the time.
The plan was to take the ferry across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan and bike
via Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to China. A dream which turned out far more difficult
to arrange than anticipated. Obtaining visas to central Asia wasn’t easy as one
needed letters of invitation to virtually all countries. Although this could be
arranged online, the process was time-consuming and needed a full itinerary and
money.
We operated in low gear and could explore Baku and its historical sites at leisure.
As with practically all of the region’s countries, Azerbaijan’s history dates to the
stone age. Near Umid Gaya, a prehistoric observatory was unearthed. It consists
of a rock featuring images of the sun and various constellations and a primitive
astronomic table.