january | 2012
magazine
New year, New you Exploring Sheki Charity in Azerbaijan
magazine
S
o, here we are... 2012. The year of the London Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the US presidential elections and most importantly the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. This is the time for new starts, new resolutions and new targets for the coming year.
Perhaps it’s your time to start exploring Azerbaijan or to start doing voluntary work for charity or simply you have a desire to lose weight or spend more time with your family. Whatever your goals we can help you out in the first issue of AZ magazine this year. This month we take a good look at travelling to and around Sheki, including what activities you can do once you get there. We explore a few of the many charities that operate out of Baku and greatly benefit the people and animals of Azerbaijan and as usual, we take you on a tour of world business, great food, International topics affecting Azerbaijan and much more. Apart from the photography competition where we want as many of the readers as possible to enter and be in with a chance of winning one of our great prizes, we are also eager to hear any of your comments. Let us know what you would like to see in the magazine and what you’re not so keen on! I hope you all had Happy New Year and wish you all the best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!! Liz
Editor Elizabeth Collins liz@az-magazine.com Office & Advertising Manager Kamala Ismayilli kamala@az-magazine.com Designer Teymur Aliyev tima@az-magazine.com Photographer Katya Zhukova Regular Columnists Aygun Samedova, Scary Azeri, Feride Buyuran, Colleen MacDonell, Ulya Ali and John Patterson Contributors Kriss Wegemer, Daniel Thrust, Gwendolyn Burchell, Irina Wegemer, Jackie Lazaruz, Joseph Shekarabi, George Callaghan, Rhine Schlabach, Fiona Maclachlan
magAZine
www.az-magazine.com AZ Magazine Tel.: +994 12 493 4369 info@az-magazine.com
Cover photograph taken by this month’s photo competition winner, Fuad Hacibeyov.
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The views and opinions expressed by the contributors and advertisers of this magazine may not represent the views of the publishers. AZ Magazine takes no responsibility for claims made by any advertisements in this magazine. Copying or reproducing this magazine is prohibited unless written permission has been given by the publishers. All images and text within this magazine remain the copyright of the photographer, writer or agency.
contents January 2012
My Azerbaijan Eurovision 6. Photo competition Check out this month’s new entrants 9. Facts we should know What does the national flag symbolise?
Out and About
26. Progress so far
Lifestyle
28. Problem Page Baku’s agony aunt solves this month’s problems!
10. Nij Exploring ancient Christian traditions 12. Sheki The best ways to explore Sheki 14. Sheki Climbing Centre What happens when 2 Americans find themselves living in Sheki 16. Carpets History of carpet making in Azerbaijan 18. IWC Playground Project The excellent work of the Ladies from the International Women’s Club of Baku
Food
54. AZ Cookbook Feride shares some of her favourites with us 56. Restaurant Review Check out the new London Bar and Grill
International 58. Dubai turns 40! How the UAE has changed over the last 4 decades 60. Scary Azeri 62. Life at Eton One reader’s experience of attending the most famous school in the world 64. San Diego and Baku What does the future hold for the ‘twinned’ cities?
Language
66. Learn Azeri We join Colleen for lesson number 2!
Reviews
68. Movies This month’s best releases
Sport
People
20. Animal Charities Who cares for the animals of Azerbaijan? 24. United Aid for Azerbaijan We catch up with UAFA as they reflect on 2011 and look forward to the new year
30. Out of the Mouths of Babes The things our children say... 32. Expat Childhood George looks back at his childhood on the move 34. New Year 2012 is the year for new starts? 38. Women’s fashion Ulya takes us on a fashion trail of furs and footwear
70. World Sport News 72. Golf Tournament We join the teams in Dubai for the annual tournament
Events
74. BBG Christmas Party
Energy
42. Masdar City Facts on the city 44. Alternative Energy With the population at 7 billion can enough alternative energy be produced?
Business
46. Motivation How to make your workforce more productive 48. Predictions 2012 John offers his thoughts on financial investment over the next 12 months 50. USA report Is the US still the promise land? 52. Ireland report
78. German Christmas Bazaar 80. Rapid Solutions turns 15! 82. Akulina Opening january 2012 |
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Photo my azerbaijan
Competition Another month, another range of wonderful photos of Baku and the rest of Azerbaijan. Please keep the photos pouring in to be in with a chance of winning one of our great prizes. To enter just drop us an email with your photos attached and include your name and contact details. Please send emails to: liz@az-magazine.com
WINNER
Fuad Hacibeyov
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my azerbaijan
january 2012 |
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my azerbaijan
Enchanted Cottage Fair Trade Craft Shop
For further information Tel: 012-437-3286 Email: enchantedcottagebaku@gmail.com website: www.bakufairtrade.com
Sponsored by Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise and International Rotary Club Baku For the benefit of artisans from all the regions of Azerbaijan
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my azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Facts:
Things we all should know! State Symbols
We see them everywhere, the national flag adorns every state building and every patriotic household and the state emblem is instantly recogniseable but what do they actually mean? Azerbaijan’s state symbols are: • The state flag • The state emblem • The national anthem.
The State Emblem:
The state emblem was accepted as the symbol of Azerbaijan on 19th January 2003.
• • • • • •
The branches of the Oak tree symbolise eternity The wheat symbolises abundance The flames represent Azerbaijan as ‘the land of fire’ The star represents the sun The tricolour circles represent the national flag The shield represents the defence of Azerbaijan and it’s people
The Flag:
The tricolour national flag was adopted by the government of Azerbaijan on the 9th November 1918 but was rejected under the Soviet Regime which controlled the Azerbaijan Republic from the 28th April 1920. The flag was however restored as the national symbol of Azerbaijan on the 5th February 1991.
• Blue symbolises Turkic origin • Red symbolises modernity and democracy
• Green signifies Islam • The crescent and the star represent the moon and the sun; eternity and secularity
The National Anthem:
The current national anthem was written by Uzeyir Hajibeyov and the lyrics were written by Ahmad Javad. It has been used as the national anthem since 27th May 1993 when a law was passed by the president of Azerbaijan. “Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan! You are a country of heroes We will die that you might live! We will shed our blood to defend you!
Long live your tricolour banner! Thousands of people have sacrificed their lives You have become a battlefield. Every soldier fighting for you Has become a hero We pray for your prosperity, We sacrifice our lives to you. Our sincere love for you Comes from the bottom of our hearts To defend your honour, To raise your banner, All the young people are ready. Glorious motherland, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!
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OUT & ABOUT
A Visit to Nij by Fiona Maclachlan
Home to the Ancient Udi People With regret we turned down the offer of chay, a regret which is with me still. We had simply run out of that precious commodity – time. The peace, love and warm sincerity which emanated from our host lingers on in my memories.
Azerbaijan’s Nij village is located in what was once known as Caucasian Albania and this region was Christian for hundreds of years before the arrival of Islam. The land was occupied by Albanian people, tall and fair. And so, in the village of Nij, we have a population of people who are direct 10 |
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descendents of the ancient Caucasian Albanians, and they are known as the Udi people. Amazingly, they still have their own Udi language (using 49 characters), and indeed they retain their own ancient form of Christianity. After the arrival of Islam, Eastern Orthodox Christianity survived only in pockets where it had once been prevalent. The religion
spread into Russia and had hundreds of years of varying support and dominance from the state. In Nij, interference from Russia was less, until the time of the Soviet Empire, when Azerbaijan fell under Soviet rule, which generally discouraged all religious activity. The churches of Nij fell into disrepair.
OUT & ABOUT towards them fell away. Today the Azerbaijani people are proud to have the Christian Udis amongst them, and support is now coming from the Azerbaijani government and money is being made available from Azerbaijan’s oil revenues. Udi Bibles are being sourced, and a minister is on his way; he is currently undergoing training. Nij is a large spread out village in the Qabala Region of Azerbaijan, but it is tucked a little way off the main tourist route from Baku to Sheki. For this reason it is bypassed by most travellers. You have to make an effort to go there. I have passed the ‘road end’ frequently. With help from the excellent staff at the Qabala Hotel, I was introduced to some Udi people in Nij who in turn introduced me to the gentleman looking after the churches. His name is Rafiq and he will happily show you around. Just take a translator if you don’t speak Udi or Azerbaijani or Russian. Since the end of Soviet rule, the Russian people in Russia (and indeed the people of other former Soviet states) have been embracing Christianity with passion, rebuilding churches and cathedrals which had been destroyed or neglected. The Udi people of Nij want to do the same, but the process is taking a little longer. Poverty together perhaps with fear of being aligned with neighbouring Christian Armenia, at odds with Azerbaijan over the Nagornah Karabagh issue, has meant that recovery is slow.
But the slow recovery is just in the buildings and in the literature. The Udi people of Nij , in their hearts and in their blood, are still Udi, and still Christian. They speak Udi as their first language, with Azerbaijan and Russian as second languages. They had been praying in their own homes. The first support came from Norway, a friend to Azerbaijan perhaps partly stemming from a belief of common ancestry and shared historical trade routes.
One church, Chotari, is restored (2006) and functioning with services every Sunday (12 – 2pm) attracting maybe a hundred worshippers. There is no singing as part of the service, but in the past there was, and perhaps there will be again in the future. It has a meeting room. One church, Goyin, is now a museum. One church is derelict.
The first church was restored (2003 2006). But some Nij people were still maybe nervous about being aligned with neighbouring Armenia. Some left Nij (there are smaller Udi populations in Georgia and in Russia as a result). This was a worrying time for the Udi people. Gradually the Udi people of Nij began to feel more comfortable, as suspicion
I highly recommend a visit to the village of Nij for anyone interested in Christianity and its history. Words alone cannot do justice to the feelings you get when you visit these churches, to meet the charming and welcoming Udi people, to see and wonder about the many links with other more ancient religions. Enter through the low doorways; bow your head as you go, showing respect to God. Find out about the baptism rituals. Hear about sacrificial practices. Visit the cemeteries and witness the wonderful engravings on the tomb stones. One of my own favourites has to be the ‘Celtic’ knot work design. I wish I could’ve stayed longer.
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OUT & ABOUT
by Rhine Schlabach
Ancient Sheki Against a delightful background of forest, this charming little city is nestled high in the greater Caucaus Mountains. The first settlers to this area arrived sometime in the first century, however large scale settling didn’t happen until about 6000 years later when the “Saki” or “Sakas” peoples migrated from north of the Black Sea. Because Sheki is one of the densest areas of cultural resources and monuments and because of its long history it is one of, if not the most culturally important cities in Azerbaijan. If you are traveling to Sheki from Baku there are quite a few different ways to get there. The fastest and most picturesque would be by car. The road winds through the foothills and fields and then into the mountains and forests, providing very enjoyable scenery to watch as the miles fly by. If you happen to be traveling in the fall and catch the leaves changing it is a particularly beautiful sight. For those of us bereft of our own transportation, a taxi can be hired in the range of 40-60AZN, otherwise there are buses that leave at regular intervals for about 7AZN, or you can take the train for around 4AZN. The bus trip is 6 to 7 hours long with fairly frequent stops along the way. However, they avoid the mountain roads giving you almost nothing to look at out the window, so take a good book. The train has an overnight option but sleep may be a bit difficult. The beds aren’t all that comfortable but if you can get used to the rocking motion you may be able to get some rest. (Warning: the bathrooms on the trains are disgusting, prepare yourself and bring some hand sanitizer)! I’ve stayed at three different places in Sheki, two of which I would recommend (the third was camping on the rocks by a river which was fun but definitely not for everyone). If you are looking for a nice place to stay I would definitely recommend the Sheki Saray. This hotel is very nice by anyone’s standards, boasting a restaurant, room service, a bar, and a conference 12 |
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OUT & ABOUT room and a very nice complimentary breakfast. The staff is both pleasant and accommodating, some speak English. The rooms are neat and clean, and
tastefully decorated, and some have an excellent view of the city and the mountains. Even if you aren’t staying in the hotel I recommend stopping by the restaurant. It has a reasonably priced menu and everything that we tried was delicious. Reservations can be made online at http://shekisaray.az/ and rooms rage from 80AZN for a single room to 300AZN for the presidential suite. Prices are seasonal and are higher in the summer. If you are looking for more of a cultural experience the Karavan Saray is your place. Converted from one of the five caravansarais that used to operate in Sheki this is one of the most fascinating locations in the city. The entrance is guarded by a huge wooden door with a normal size door cut into it. As you step through the door and your eyes adjust to the dimly lit interior, you feel like you just stepped back in time. The cobble stone courtyard leads to a bubbling fountain, while the stone walls rise and curve inward to form a cavernous castle-like vault above your head. The rooms are not luxurious but if you are staying there you aren’t going for the luxury but rather for the experience which the arched ceilings and wood and stone construction do a wonderful job of delivering. All of the rooms face a beautiful park-like central courtyard through the twin rows of arches which form the structure of the building. Towards the back there is a delightful teahouse where you can enjoy a very traditional tea, complete with fruits and jams, and an outdoor garden restaurant. The restaurant offers tables both under pavilions or in the open air. They also have an indoor dining hall for colder weather. The food was basic and not really noteworthy but it is a great place to relax (if the weather is warm enough) and have a drink or sip on tea. Reservations will only be guaranteed after payment and there is no online option available, which makes this a better second night option than a first. Rates are from 20-40AZN but there are only two single rooms. Once you have chosen your place to stay for the night and have dropped off your bags there are plenty of places to
go and sights to be seen. Just wandering around the city is worth your while; there is plenty to see and lots of little shops and stores to poke your head into. Be sure to buy some of the local version of baklava, called Shaki Halva, and candied hazelnuts. Must sees include the Palace of the Sheki Khan’s, and the surrounding areas which feature several museums, a fortress wall and the palace itself. The palace was a summer residence of the Khan’s and was built in the late 1700’s. It’s interior is decorated by intricate tile mosaics, frescoes, and painted murals, and sunlight is let in by several large stained glass windows. The Albanian church in the nearby town of Kish is also an interesting stop. It was built originally in the first century over an existing holy site, and may be the first church that was built in the Caucasus region. It has an underground crypt where you can see two skeletons over 2m tall. And while you are in Kish, the Gelersen Görersen castle ruins are just up the hill and the view from on top of the ruins is worth the walk. Sheki is a beautiful city, the people are pleasant and friendly, there is plenty to see and to do. It’s well worth your time to spend a few days there. The Sheki Saray - 5 Star luxury Hotel shekisaray.az Sheki Saray Hotel is one of the most prestigious hotels in the Azerbaijan. Offering five star international accommodation; private banqueting and conference facilities; exquisite dining and much more.
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OUT & ABOUT
by Joseph Shekarabi
Azeri Mountain Adventures:
How Azerbaijan got its first climbing center outside of Baku On May 14th 2011 Mike Pakizer and I sat in our newly completed climbing center debating what kind of turn out we would get the next day; our grand opening. Neither of us were prepared for the response we received. The following day we opened our doors at 1 pm. Locals turned out an hour early, packed the place out, and stayed until we finally closed our doors at 9 pm. We couldn’t believe it! Three months before we had been standing in an empty warehouse filled with grain, birds, rats, and their droppings. Now we were looking at a seven meter tall climbing wall literally crawling with excited foreigners and locals. To our knowledge, we had opened the second climbing wall ever in Azerbaijan and the first out side of Baku.
Getting Started
climbers, but few know the sport.
We are Azeri Mountain Adventures based out of Sheki, Azerbaian. We started in early 2010 with a simple idea:
The Wall
Azerbaijan’s natural beauty + our passion for climbing & outdoor sports = a really great experience. Mike, from Ohio, and my self, from Georgia (the USA one), spent months talking through many variations of adventure sports companies and researching possibilities. We finally boiled down our many thoughts and decided to focus on what we were good at: climbing. Azerbaijan is a country filled with climbing possibilities and Azeris are natural 14 |
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So, we began in February 2011 with a vacant warehouse, not including our feathered friends, and a simple design. That design quickly changed from one climbing wall with four ropes to an L shaped climbing area with 9 ropes, an incline route, a bouldering pit, and a large overhang for a more challenging climbing experience. For three months we worked in the freezing cold and short daylight of an Azerbaijani winter burning scrap wood to stay warm. Everyday we spent at least 30 minutes talking with curious onlookers, answering the question, “what is it?” Several hundred boards, 80 plywood
panels, 700 rocks from the river, and an unhealthy amount of piroshkis later we had finished ‘The Wall’ and our curious neighbors finally understood, “what it is.” However, we quickly found that our work was far from over. We realized we needed other attractions to compliment our climbing center services. So we added table tennis, Foosball tables, and American board games to round it out. Then, two months after our initial opening, we added a conference room with seating for 30 people and a bathroom to better serve our customers.
Specializing With Groups Our facilities and skills provide a unique experience for groups who visit Sheki.
OUT & ABOUT
Azeri Climber
Jeremy Climbing
Whether a client’s needs are for business or pleasure we are able to accommodate them. We’ve hosted several business conferences, providing food, tea, or pastries from local shops. We’ve also had frequent visits of large groups of children from local childrens’ homes, IDP communities, and humanitarian aid groups. These groups come for a day of fun, games, and a new sport that many excel at. Lastly, we are working to provide local and Baku based schools with a memorable educational experience. Indeed, we’ve already run a ‘lockin’ and survival training course.
Exploring the Mountains
Camping In Bash Dash Agil
Mike watches the Horizon in Dash Uz
Joe Jeremy Wade and Mike on a Climbing Trip Wade Setting Rope
Now we are looking outwards towards the massive mountains just behind the city. Many Azeris agree that God is an artist, especially when looking at the snow capped peaks of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, the mountains they grew up with. Mike and I felt like we were part of a privileged few who got to pursue our passions and climb those mountains. We wanted to give others the same opportunity, but where to begin? Mike and I began by taking test trips to the surrounding countryside to find good spots for climbing. We found cliffs, caves, the ancient ruins of castles and churches, and villages full of excited children who acted as impromptu guides to the area surrounding their homes. We were looking for cliffs that could host top rope climbing. This form of climbing requires solid vertical rock faces with strong natural anchors at the top so that climbers can be safely belayed (held with
safety rope) while climbing. This style of climbing is perfect for customers of all skill levels, especially those who are new to the sport. Unfortunately, much of the exposed rock in the Sheki area is brittle and not suitable for climbing. After months of searching we finally found what we were looking for: good solid rock. We were blessed to find several locations that are well suited for top rope climbing.
We Get to Call this Work! Then we took our friends and coworkers to practice our skills and hone our setup time. One day in July I was hanging 20 meters off the ground with my hands crammed into a crevice of a massive slab of rock in order to keep myself there. The sun was shining brightly, warming my shoulders, the roar of rushing water bounced off green covered slopes from the river nearby, and I couldn’t believe that I get to call this work. Azerbaijan is beautiful country filled with countless natural treasures, rock climbing is a truly unique way to experience it. Now we, Azeri Mountain Adventures, get to share it with others. Beginning spring 2012 we will be taking groups to the mountains to climb and experience Azerbaijan in a way they never have before. So if you find yourself in Sheki or are itching to get out of Baku, come by and see us. We’d love to help you make your next trip or event a memorable one. If you would like more information please visit our website: www.azerventures.com
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OUT & ABOUT
by Aygun Samedova
Carpet weaving art Have you ever wandered through the carpet stores of the Old City or been at the first Azerbaijan State Carpet Museum? Have you ever paid attention to them, their ornaments and colors? If not, then you should definitely visit this interesting museum and get to know the history of this mysterious and old art – carpet weaving...
Before telling you about the museum, let me tell you about the history, to awake your interest for this old type of art. In Eastern countries like Azerbaijan, carpets were not just a way to keep home warm and fill up the empty space on the wall. It was an ancient and complicated form of applied art. Families that had women involved in carpet production were held in great respect by people and every person tried to get the best quality carpet in order to decorate their home. Thus, in Azerbaijan carpets became a very important part of home. 16 |
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Archeological data places carpet making in Azerbaijan as early as 4 B.C. The art of carpet weaving passed from generation to generation. But how are the carpets made? Well, the production of carpet is not easy. It goes through many stages like washing, combing, spinning and dyeing. The best wool for weaving a carpet is considered to be white wool, because it can be dyed different colors. Cotton, silk, golden and silver threads can be used along with the main material. Natural coloured animal wool and yarns can be dyed using different
plants and plant roots, onion skin, flowers and grape leaves. All colours are made purely by boiling these materials. Therefore carpets never change their colours even after hundreds of years because of their natural base. Carpet weaving was entirely women’s work and required talent, patience and hard labour. Carpets were weaved by two methods – with pile and without pile. Thus the surfaces of the carpets were different. Pile-carpets were used mostly
OUT & ABOUT was produced in, because every region has its private design and ornaments. There are four basic carpet-weaving schools in Azerbaijan: Karabakh, GubaShirvan, Gandja-Kazakh and Tebriz. We can see an image of sheep horn in many Guba carpets. It is a symbol of profusion and protection. Carpets produced in Baku also had different ornaments. Among them buta was a symbol of fire worshipping, the religion that was wide spread before Islam. Buta resembles a flame tip. If butas stand face to face in the carpet it is called love buta, if they look on different sides, it is called parted buta. If it stands on small legs, it is dancing buta. for decorative purposes, while pile-less carpets were used in the daily life of people. The loop of pile and pile-less carpet can be from sixty to 440 thousand loops for 1 square meter, while the height of the pile itself - around 3-6 mm. The more density the carpet has, the clearer and more accurate and therefore the more expensive it becomes. Seven kinds of pile-less carpets are known: Sumak, Verni, Kilim, Palaz, Shedde, Jejim and Zili. In spite of the fact that Heyba, Gashlig and Khurjun differ in size, they also belong to carpets. Heyba, Gashlig and Khurjun had the same functions and were used like a travelling bag and worn over shoulders. Pile-less Kilim was even used like a curtain, therefore special holes were kept on them for the light to come through. Jejims were so thin and soft that they were used as outerwear. Meanwhile, compositions in the carpets were mostly constructed under geometrical rules of mirror symmetry. There was a belief among people that carpets bring happiness to the home. So, in the centre of many carpets we can find the sun and moon. There are some carpets with four side elements which describe life based on four elements – water, soil, air and fire. Every element in the carpet has a symbol. For instance, zigzag elements in Palaz, symbolize water. But the symbols and images on Azeri carpets may differ depending on the region it
Carpets produced in Baku and the Absheron peninsula mostly reflected the colour of the sea and sands. In Karabakh weaving school, there were many carpets with images of beautiful horses (because Karabakh was known for its thoroughbreds), dogs and hunting scenes. Tebriz carpets were also very popular. The series of Tebriz carpets ‘The Four Seasons’ have a very interesting plot. Such carpets are divided into four parts with decorative patterns. In the center there is one hero or a poet with his beloved and four different illustrations representing each season with couplets of oriental poems. In carpets green dragons represent the east and symbolizes spring, the eagle represents the south
and summer, the white beaver represents the west and autumn, and the tortoise represents the north and winter. The illustrations from different Azeri romance poems as Leyli and Majnun and Khosrov and Shirin were also often reflected in Tabriz carpets. There are some kinds of religious carpets made especially for performing Namaz, Muslim’s ritual prayer. In such carpets called Namazlig couplets from the Holy Quran are written. Very large ones were made for Mosques where big groups of people were performing Namaz at the same time. At present, carpet production in Azerbaijan still goes on. The central carpet trading stores are in the Old City. Around Maiden’s Tower and the
Caravansaray there are nearly 50 carpet stores, which offer different kinds of wool and silk carpets for tourists who are interested in them. Azerbaijan State Carpet Museum named after the carpet designer Latif Karimov is one of the places in Baku, which is worth visiting. This corner of culture is located in Neftchiler Avenue. Its collection is more than 10,000 objects, including ceramics, metal works, jewellary from the Bronze Age, metal works of the 14th century. Carpets and carpet items of the 17th-20th centuries, gold and silver adornment, national garment and embroidery and applied art works of modern period. Every year the Museum organizes the Republic and International Exhibitions, and publishis catalogues and booklets for many of them. The Museum has a bookshop where one purchase books on Azerbaijan crafts and carpet art. Opening hours are 10.00 - 18.00 every day, except Monday. january 2012 |
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OUT & ABOUT
by Jackie Lazarus
It’s a New Year, it’s a new day and we are feeling good.
The construction drawings are in progress with a full procurement list, we are gearing up to roll out the latex covering for the small football field and cover it with artificial turf kindly sponsored by AFFA. There is a substantial amount of research that shows that play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers.
The International Women’s Club of Baku achieved so much during 2011; with almost 200 members on board and partnerships with MACE International, award winning architect Clotho Hasebe -Spinner and Architect firm BroadwayMalyan, we commenced the construction of the sport and recreational facilities for the children at Mashtaga Foster Home. Many a Saturday has been spent with the MACE team, IWC Ladies and their family members and students and teachers from TISA and Mashtaga Foster Home excavating the football field, scraping and painting the existing obstacle units and getting the site ready for a playground like no other in Baku. Joel Harding from MACE says , “I recall feeling so good after the first Saturday working with the kids and volunteers on the site it was the best Saturday I spent in Baku. Being charitable is therapeutic.” Fundraisers were held throughout the year, Lunches, Raffles, Quiz nights, Fashion 18 |
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shows, Creating craft and climaxing with the biggest and best Christmas Bazaar held at the Hyatt Hotel in November.
As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills. When play is allowed to be child driven, children practice
OUT & ABOUT
decision-making skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. Perhaps above all, play is a simple joy that is a cherished part of childhood. As we strive to create the optimal developmental milieu for children, it remains imperative that play is included along with academic and social-enrichment opportunities and that safe environments are made available to all children. With this in mind the IWC Baku ladies embarked on this ambitious project. In June of 2011, “ we visited a number of orphanages and foster homes together with landscape designer Clotho and
determined that not only did Mashtaga Foster Home have the space but the Director Vugar was very keen on having a natural play facility for the kids under his care says Jackie Lazarus, President of IWC Baku and leader of this Project. “A workshop was carried out and Clotho asked the kids to draw a playground they would like to have. They all drew football pitches. After showing them pictures of other playgrounds the most popular choice were natural play, castles, climbing forts, carousel, sand swings, chess boards.� The first phase of the project is to restore the existing area, grading and recovering the football pitches, repairing the basketball hoop and fencing the small football pitch. The second phase will be to enhance the play areas with seating and tables, with checker boards, installing swings, carousel, climbing forts etc and the third phase will be to complete the
natural play area which has been themed designed around the fable story of Dive. With the help of good corporate citizens we hope to complete phase one and two by May this year and begin a 10-week football training program led by former Manchester United coach Stephen Oates and enter winning teams of boys and girls in the next season of the school football league sponsored by AFFA. In association with other local support groups an ongoing social and personal development program will be part of this training towards enhancing winning skills. Our immediate assignment is to complete the brochure for sponsorship with the assistance of Broadway Malyan, set up a website so that we can keep you updated on the project, and give thanks for the goodwill of the sponsors, volunteers and IWC members who all give their time and talent, and ultimately to promote the teams from Mashtaga. If you wish to be charitable and you need further information please contact president@iwcbaku.org or contact Jackie Lazarus at 050 750 6220. We look forward to sharing the joy of giving with you. Best wishes to you and your loved ones for 2012. Visit our website: www.iwcbaku.org
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PEOPLE
Valeriya Garber:
by Irina Wegemer
“MY HOBBY IS TAKING AWAY MOST OF MY LIFE” animal rescue organisations. The search led me nowhere. Then, by pure coincidence, I met a delightful young lady at the veterinary clinic who was waiting to pick up an injured puppy whom she’d brought in for urgent medical care. As I was waiting for our newly adopted one month old rescued Azerbaijani kitten, I introduced myself to the girl and we started talking. Very soon I felt that she was the one I had been looking for all along. An inspirational enthusiast whose determination to save street animals immediately became a driving force for me to help her with anything I could. The lady’s name is Valeriya Garber, aged 23, residing in a sea side village outside of Baku. An architect and restorer by education, she has been recently involved in The Baku White City Project, designing the French Quarter and one of the future roads of the Project.
Many of us ex-pats living in Azerbaijan noticed soon after arrival that there is a serious problem with stray animals in the streets of Baku. Some of us might even wondered, how can we possibly help these homeless cats and dogs, unwanted, hungry, ill or injured? Then a sudden realisation would come to mind stopping most of us from acting: there is very little we can do within the given time that we are here to improve the horrible situation with stray animals in Azerbaijan. The scale of the problem is truly overwhelming. I have been trying for months to find any information on the Internet about local 20 |
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As we were sat in the reception area, she was telling me about her group’s efforts in saving stray animals’ lives. Here is someone, I thought to myself, who does make a difference in the noble cause of fighting against animal cruelty. I asked Valeriya if we could meet up again for an interview. She invited me to her home in Hovsani which has served as a sanctuary for many injured street animals. Here is what I’ve learned: Q: YOU WORK HARD SAVING INJURED ANIMALS IN THE BAKU AREA. HOW HAS IT ALL STARTED? A: It all began when I was a child. My Mum is an animal lover. She would often
bring me along to feed homeless cats and dogs in the neighborhood. When I was 14 years old, there was a horrible incident which I will never ever forget. I brought out some food for the stray dogs we‘d been looking after. As they surrounded me in anticipation of a good snack, a few men suddenly approached us. One of them was carrying a rifle. They ordered me to step aside, so that they could shoot the dogs. They just wanted to kill anything for sport. When I refused to leave, they pushed me away and opened fire... A few dogs were killed, and I was left standing amongst their dead bodies, petrified and helpless. That shock scarred me for life.
Q: PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR GROUP. A: Our group is called “Friends”. It was founded on October the 4th 2010, on ‘World Animal Day’. I designed the logo of the group. Even though we are very active, our group is not registered yet due to financial challenges. We are working hard on launching our own web site in the near future. In the mean while our colleagues at www.druq.az (in Russian only) offered us a helping hand by posting the photos of our rescued animals in order to find them suitable homes. We are on the Facebook too. Please check us out at: https://www.facebook.com/media/ albums/?id=183334885010825
PEOPLE sterilisation, then the answer from most people whether they would like to give a pet a home would be a categorical “No”.
When I first set upon rescuing animals, I had no volunteers and no income. Only recently I could finally form a nice group of committed animal lovers whom I can rely on to take some work off my shoulders. My position is the Director of the “Friends” charity. My main responsibilities include co-ordinating everything we do and deciding where the donated money goes. At the moment, there are two administrators in our group: Lyaman Alieva and Ilona Chechyotkina. Evelina Rajabova maintains the database profiles and photo albums of all rescued cats and dogs ready for adoption. Whenever possible, we do our best to make sure our animals are well and happy in their adopted families. “Friends” predominantly rescue and look after injured street animals. We organised a team of foster parents which take care of our animals until we find good homes for them. We feel satisfied if we can place them with loving families. We don’t charge any fees for the adoption process. Frankly, it’s a double-edged sword. For the local people, if a pet adoption is free of charge, then a new owner’s attitude can become dodgy. Irresponsible owners are more likely to return the pets after their children have played enough with a kitten or a puppy, or if an animal has grown up and he is no longer cuddly and cute. On the other hand, if we decide to set up a fee to cover some of our expenses on vaccination and
Q: DOES YOUR FAMILY SUPPORT YOU? A: It goes without saying. I am fortunate that my parents provide all the help I need to continue doing what I feel so passionate about. My Dad’s daily morning routine is to remove animal waste from our garden, or else the feces would accumulate and leach into the soil, contaminating underground waters. He builds kennels for the dogs too. My Mum helps me with treating ill and injured animals staying with us. She comes out with me on our routes twice a day to feed colonies of stray dogs in the neighborhood. I do realize though how worried my parents must be about their daughter’s safety. My active involvement in animal rescue can get dangerous. My group writes
petitions and collects signatures to send to the Azerbaijani governmental officials advocating against inhumane killing of stray animals in the streets of the Baku area. Q: HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT RESCUING INJURED ANIMALS? A: Normally, my phone rings and I know that our help is needed. (On the morning Valeriya and I met up for an interview, she had 45 missed calls on her Blackberry). There are two categories of callers: the “sane” ones and the “mad” ones. The latter would try to blackmail me: “If you love animals so
much, either take these dogs away or I will shoot them!”. Sometimes, dogs would just appear on my door step in a box. I remember a sad story when I found a large cardboard box at the gate of my house and opened it up. A big dog jump out of it, bit me in panic and ran away, revealing two small puppies on the bottom of the box. I didn’t know at the time that those puppies had a serious infection. The disease spread on to my healthy dogs and many of them died. The majority of our rescued cats and dogs are injured strays. The most common injures they have are either from being run over by a car or from being wounded after dog catchers’ brutal shooting. Q: HAVE YOU TRIED TO JOIN EFFORTS WITH OTHER ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANISATIONS IN BAKU? A: Initially, yes, I did just that. Combining good forces of like-minded enthusiasts whose purpose was to rescue stray animals was a worthwhile idea. I did extensive research on how to run an animal shelter. I traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, to learn from the local well-established shelters’ expertise. At first, when we were getting ready to set up a shelter in Baku, all the enthusiasts got together and said: “Let’s get organised, it’s time we did it!”. The only thing we needed was a place - a piece of land - to build an animal rescue centre. This is where my parents stepped in and kindly offered to invest in a piece of land in Hovsani for our future project. To my great disappointment, I soon realised that none of those people who had promised to help actually meant it. The well-intentioned idea fell apart. I was on my own. At the moment, there are three registered stray animal welfare protection societies
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PEOPLE puzzle by Alla Hanum, my most trusted vet who has treated our animals for nearly 13 years. She inserted steel implants into Voltik’s hips so that he could walk again. As far as the food expenses are concerned, I’ll give you an estimate: a well-fed dog consumes about 15 kg (33 lbs) of dry dog food per month. Naturally, a hungry dog off the street would eat much more. I can’t possibly afford these sums of money on my own, so I have to use the “Friends” donations to keep our cats, dogs and multiple colonies well-nurtured. Moreover, we pay for the animals’ sterilisation, medical care and vaccination as well as foster homes boarding services.
in Azerbaijan, and I am involved in assisting one of them, the Leyla Alizadeh’s organisation. Q: HOW MANY ANIMALS HAVE YOU RESCUED LATELY? A: Last year we found homes for 150 rescued dogs (including 100 disabled ones) and 200 cats. Last winter alone we placed 20 puppies with good families. Cats are easier to find owners as they are so self-sufficient. One doesn’t need to walk a cat twice a day, does he? All our rescued cats are kept separately from the dogs. We use the help of Mila Hanum, our cats’ lady, who offered her home and all her time to take care of our kittens until we find loving families for them. The cost of boarding at Mila’s is payable by “Friends” as it would be impossible for her to cope with the cost. Q: WHAT ARE YOUR CHARITY’S AVERAGE MONTHLY EXPENSES? A: It’s difficult to say. It depends on how many animals we will rescue that month or how many will be given to us to care for. Here is an example. The cost of multiple operations and further treatment of Voltik, one of our hardest patients, who was run over by a car and suffered broken hind legs, broken tail, an injured paw and massive skin loss, was 500 AZN. He was literary put back together like a
Q: WHO DONATES TO YOUR CHARITY? A: We rely on donations to make our work possible. There are kind people who donate money to our cause. Embarrassingly enough, the generous people who do help us out are forced by the public opinion to keep it to themselves. They are afraid of becoming a laughing stock. The normal reaction is: “In the country where people’s life is too hard why would you help stray animals?!” A few times a year we organise charity events for fundraising.
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Q: WHAT’S YOUR DREAM IDEA? A: I would like to open a sanctuary for injured and disabled stray animals. But I would only do it with secure sponsorship rather than occasional donations. I need to be certain that animals whose lives depend on me will have a stable financial resource for all their needs. The last thing I want is to have hundreds of ill and disabled cats and dogs living in a full scale rescue shelter and to suddenly find myself without a budget. ….As we were sat in her living room talking, Valeriya was answering her phone from time to time. She was co-ordinating a pick-up of a wounded street dog hurt by the latest brutal shooting. When she had it all sorted, she sighed: “It’s a full-on, all-consuming hard work to save stray animals here and I am to co-ordinate every step of the way.”
Q: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE BATTLE AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY IN THE PLACE WHERE IT APPEARS TO BE THE LEAST PRIORITY? A: I’ve always wanted to make a difference. Before I got involved in
Valeriya’s group can’t stand to see animals suffering. Can you? For those of us who are looking for a way to make a difference, contributing to her cause is the most direct help you can give to stray animals of Baku. If you are in Azerbaijan and decide 22 |
rescuing stray animals, I was a volunteer of an ecological group named “Don’t Trash Our City”. We carried out a few campaigns, picking up rubbish on the beach and posting “Please Don’t Litter” signs. Eventually our posters would be ripped off and chucked away only to add on to a load of rubbish people leave behind every day. So, that was a lost cause. Nowadays, I do other volunteering type of work at a local orphanage and an old folk home.
you’d like a rescued puppy or a kitten, then please, think about contacting “Friends“. Please phone Lyaman Alieva at 050 597 6923 (Azerbaijani, Russian and English).
AZERBAIJAN Lifestyle BAKU PEOPLE
nov/dec 2011 | |magazine september 2011 11 july june2011 2010 | mag mag ine| 75 | 21 35
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United Aid for Azerbaijan: Our plans for the year ahead
The end of the year is the usual time to look back at what has been achieved and think ahead at how much more there still is to be achieved! For a business, this might relate to product development, increasing market share or global domination. For an NGO like United Aid for Azerbaijan (UAFA), our focus will be on how many more disadvantaged children and families can we reach, how can we improve our services for them, and what will be the next steps for influencing State welfare reforms.
participation internationally as members of international associations for skilled therapists and child development experts. International partnerships bring us more exposure to new ideas and research, as well as exhibit the success and efforts made by UAFA staff to modernize the child welfare system. We also hope that these partnerships will lead to the introduction of occupational therapy into higher education in Azerbaijan; we expect to engage the Ministry of Education in this effort next year and there are positive indicators that the Ministry is ready to proceed.
We want to see a future where the quality of service is universal, where a child accessing services anywhere in the country can receive the same service. To this end, we are actively working in services, education and policy reform. In 2011, UAFA lobbied the Ministry of Finance successfully to pilot State contracting of NGOs as service providers. Starting from January 2012, 6 communitybased rehabilitation centres (CBRCs), including the three established by UAFA,
will be contracted initially for one year to provide outreach services for children with disabilities and their families. A minimum target of 400 children and families will be able to receive these services in 5 regions of Azerbaijan. This pilot will introduce transparent funding mechanisms, licensing procedures, performance indicators and peer group evaluation; all designed to create a system that improves efficiency, accountability and innovation in public services. Through this pilot, we will also support the participating Ministries to introduce modern methods of rehabilitation for children and adults with disabilities. UAFA has been using occupational therapy, physiotherapy, play therapy and other methods since 1999 and has built up a strong body of skills and experience. In 2012, we will be certified to use modern methods and systems and increase our
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UAFA will also split up its functions this year and establish a new ‘think-tank’ with a local partner, Centre for Innovations in Education, in order to promote evidencebased policy making. Our main focus is on supporting social policy development and so our first activities in this direction will be the holding of a series of seminars on five main areas of social policy – health, education, housing, social security and personal social services. We will invite international specialists in each of these areas to present on international trends, alongside presentations on the relative situation locally. We aim to prompt debate on how to move from the current
PEOPLE
circumstances towards a social policy that promotes inclusion, reduces poverty and provides equality in accessing services. This series of seminars and debates will form the basis for our advocacy work during the subsequent months. The core of our work remains the same, despite these developments. UAFA continues to be committed to helping children reach their life potential; supporting vulnerable families to prevent breakdown or further slide into poverty. We have been working in the residential institutions for children with disabilities for more than 10 years and we continue to work hard to improve conditions, alongside our partner organization, Friends of Saray. Now that the physical conditions of these institutions have improved significantly, thanks to the Heydar Aliev Foundation, we will concentrate on improving the ‘content’. Together with the Ministry of Labour & Social Protection, we are
lobbying the Ministry of Finance to invest in re-structuring of the institutions in order to increase staff levels, recognize child development practices and improve health and hygiene. We are working with the staff of the institutions to develop Minimum Standards of Care, so that appropriate rules and procedures are in place and enforceable. In 2012, we hope to see less children in care, more supported in their families and care staff who are recognized by the State as the child development specialists that they should be.
and their staff in Azerbaijan who support our work, such as AA Services, Bakcell, Boeing, Intertek, BP staff and Bank Standard. Last but not least, thanks to the amazing expatriate and local volunteers who help us tirelessly and, without whom, we would not be able to reach so many children and their families. Best wishes for 2012 from all at United Aid for Azerbaijan!
Finally, we would not be moving towards 2012 with such hope and plans without the continued support of many donors and individuals who help us to makes these hopes reality. Special thanks must go the expatriate community who generously support the German Bazaar Committee, the Irish Society and the Caledonian Society to raise funds which support these projects. Many thanks to the businesses
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EUROVISIOn by Elizabeth Collins
Countdown to Eurovision Less than 5 months to go... Baku`s Crystal Hall which is currently being constructed in Flag Square in order to host the Eurovision Song Contest in May of this year, has attracted much international attention;
Videos quickly circulated the internet courtesy of ‘youtube’ showing the rapid construction of the site. Although the work being performed is intense there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding how exactly the work will be completed in such a short time. There are apparently ‘back up’ plans but the Azerbaijan government remains confident that Crystal Hall will be completed and ready for 23,000 people to view the Song Contest live! German company Alpine were awarded the task last August and have promised that both the exterior and the interior of the multipurpose arena will be completed on the 31st March 2012.
The Broadcaster
Azeri public broadcaster Ictimai TV is in charge of the production of the song contest. It is working alongside the EBU and over 40 other broadcasting companies from participating countries around Europe.
ITV will be one of the few broadcasting companies involved in Eurovision that is not state run or state owned.
The Competition Once each participating country has chosen their own artist(s) to represent their country they will have to go through a number of qualification rounds before making it to the semi finals. There are 2 semi finals that are due to be broadcast on Tuesday 22nd May and Thursday 24th May, each of the shows will be broadcast in 20 countries. There are 10 spots for the final at stake in each event and the viewers and professional juries will each have a fifty per cent deciding vote. The grand final will be held on Saturday 26th of May at 21:00 (CET), that’s an astonishing 00:00 , Azerbaijan time, so just as last year we can expect the mayhem to start at approximately 5am. If you are a newcomer to Baku, ignore the police sirens, the screaming in the street and music blaring – it’s all quite normal!
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EUROVISIOn
The Stage Organisers say this year’s contest will be completely different to previous years as they plan to use far more special effects and lighting techniques, as well as showing off Azerbaijan’s rich cultural history. Aiming to educate the audience at the same time as entertaining them!
Eurovision Museum Azerbaijan announced in early December of last year that the building that is being purposefully constructed to house all broadcasters and media personnel during the contest, will be turned into a museum dedicated to the history of the Eurovision Song Contest shortly after the competition.
Last year’s Winners Although ‘Ell’ seems to be doing exceptionally well, being featured on a CNN special broadcast highlighting the importance of Eurovision in Baku and talking about his forthcoming plans of releasing new material and organising special concerts around Europe, Nigar Jamal has however taken a different route in her career path. She has been sponsored by an insurance company and is believed to have stated that she needed to insure her face for 1 million AZN before she could continue with her performing career – which she has now done!
Azerbaijan’s entry Out of 119 applicants, 72 of them were taken forward to compete in the heats to attempt to qualify for the semi finals. The heats started on the 28th November 2011, one contestant is chosen each week by the jury and the public and the Azerbaijan representative for 2012 will be announced in the New Year!
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Lifestyle
Problem Page There is a new Agony Aunt in town to answer all your problems and offer you the best advice available in Baku. Dating site fun or real relationship search? My partner and I have been together since December 2009, and are due to get married in January 2012. In September this year, I found his profile on some dating sites, advertising for ‘fun’. When I tackled him, he said it was just to get dirty pics. He was very apologetic, said I was his world, didn’t want to lose me, blah, blah... I took the decision to stay, and try and move on, but it’s so hard. I hate that I check up on him, and don’t trust him. Every day feels like torture, even though he constantly reassures me he’s not doing anything now, and he never slept with anyone else. Today he received an email from yet another dating site (he gave me full access to his email account), when I went on to the site (why can’t I just delete the email?), his profile said ‘looking for discrete long term relationship’. He’s angry that I still don’t trust him, fed up with me not being able to draw a line under it, and upset that he knows he’s still upsetting me. Me, I’m fed up with feeling like the biggest mug ever. The site today clearly shows he hasn’t been on there since September; my problem is that I’m really struggling to believe he never slept with anyone else. Well, if you can’t believe that he hasn’t slept with anyone else then it’s time to move on. Checking his emails and monitoring his online activities is not healthy and should not form the basis of any relationship. You talk of getting married, how are you going to be able to walk down the aisle to a man that you believe to have other women on the side? You have 2 choices; either trust him and stop checking up on him or don’t trust him and walk away from the relationship. Only you know how you really feel and whether the relationship has a future or not. 28 |
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Scared of my friends?
friend and she felt really upset as she felt it made her a really bad friend but I think it’s down to me?
I don’t why, but I can’t be myself around my friends, not even my best friend? Is this down to confidence? I’m my complete self when I am with my sister and family, and especially my boyfriend but just not around friends? I have told my best
What are you afraid of? If you can be yourself around your family and your boyfriend then why not your friends? Your best friend was clearly upset when you told her how you felt which indicates that she cares about you and your well-being. It
LIFESTYLE clearly is a problem with your confidence, but if you are surrounded by people who love you then just relax, enjoy their company and simply be yourself.
Can we be more than friends with benefits? This guy and I have been meeting for the past couple of years for sex, but now I want more from him. I believe that we have a real connection and I think he does too. The other day he text me asking if I had enjoyed it as much as he had which he normally doesn’t do. If I ask him for more, am I going to scare him away? Why ask him for more? Why don’t you simply offer him more? Try and invite him to take part in different activities, outside of the bedroom. Try the movies, theatre or go out for a meal. See if there is any spark when the sex is taken away and you communicate about something different. If he’s not interested with seeing you in public with your clothes on then stop making yourself so readily available. Stop, and let him work out for himself how much he misses you. If he doesn’t miss you then move on, he’s obviously a jerk!
know they may be over the moon that at least these kids aren’t yours.
Married the mother too? I got married nearly a year ago to a wonderful man, and everything is fine with regards to that, but I struggle a lot with his family. I’ll be honest and say I don’t really like his mum, or his sister. His dad is fine, a really nice bloke, although I get cross at the way he is incapable of standing up to his wife when she’s rude, or the way he does everything for his daughter who is very selfish, but that’s not really important. His mother is quite rude, selfish and spiteful. She makes comments about my husband all the time, (his weight, whether he’s shaved, what he’s wearing) and demands that he comes to see her, to the point where we have had to rearrange plans to fit her in. She will not come and visit us, despite living ten minutes away. She does very little - volunteers twice a week in charity shop and that’s it - but
spends every visit telling him all about the random little things that happen and never asks him what is happening in his life. After some arguments, we managed to arrange for my husband to visit every Thursday after work for a couple of hours, which works on the whole but still just drives me mad. Why does he have to see her when she is so nasty to me? Because she is his mother… end of question. Imagine how difficult it must be for him to be stuck between his mother and his wife. Have you ever tried sitting down with his mother and working out your differences for the sake of your husband. If you want your marriage to be successful then I suggest build some bridges as he is unlikely to choose you over his mother. You don’t mention how old she is and if she finds it difficult to travel etc. She is only asking for her son to visit, she does not seem to be asking for much more from you. I suggest you stop being selfish and instead be mature about the situation and accept that you marry an entire family not just an individual.
Boyfriend with a past? My boyfriend of eight months is divorced and has two boys but I have not been able to tell many friends, or even my parents, as I don’t know how they will react. I want him to help me tell my parents as he is wanting to let people know about his kids but I am afraid of their reaction. They love him to bits and so do I, but as I still live with them I don’t know what they will think of him now or my choice of partner? Please advise me. It is the modern day now, it is acceptable for people to have relationships that don’t work and go onto have relationships that do work. The fact that children are involved can make things slightly complicated but in general being around children and having contact with children is a blessing. Just be grateful and have the courage to tell your parents, you never january 2012 |
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Out of the Mouths of Babes Lifestyle
Kids on relationships Questions all posed to 9 year olds!
How would you make your marriage work? - Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
How can a stranger tell if two people are married? - You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
What do you think your mom and dad have in common? - Both don’t want any more kids. When is it ok to kiss someone? - You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, cause she’ll want to have videos of the wedding. - Never kiss in front of other people. It’s a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. But if nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy, but just for a few hours. - It’s never okay to kiss a boy. They always slobber all over you...that’s why I stopped doing it.
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What do most people do on a date? - Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
Kids’ thoughts on love and why it happens between two particular people: - No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.
- On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
- I think you’re supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be so painful.
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LIFESTYLE Is it better to be single or married? - I don’t know which is better, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m never going to have sex with my wife. I don’t want to be all grossed out. - It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. What is the right age to get married? - Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
When is it okay to kiss someone? - When they’re rich. - The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn’t want to mess with that. - The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.
- No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married. - Eighty-four, because at that age, you don’t have to work anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other in your bedroom. - Once I’m done with kindergarten, I’m going to find me a wife.
How do you decide whom to marry? - You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. - No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you’re stuck with.
What would you do on a first date that was turning sour? - I’d run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
What’s falling in love like? - Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life - If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long. january 2012 |
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Lifestyle
Life as an Expat Child by George Callaghan
A Childhood on the Hop
I lived in 16 houses in my first 18 years of life. I did not like to say it because I seemed like a liar. My father was a doctor who worked abroad mostly for oil companies. Being capricious and having a severe case of itchy fate we went on a round the world rodomontade. 32 |
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I was born in my actual country: Ireland and then moved to Libya, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Chad, France, Russia, Qatar, the US, and finally Oman before leaving school. To give me some stability I was sent to boarding school aged 7. There were always three countries in my life – Ireland where I am from, Great
Britain where I effectively grew up and wherever my parents happened to be. This could be said to be the makings of an identity crisis. A friend of mine named Marcus had a similarly peripatetic childhood. He was born in Jerusalem to an English father
LIFESTYLE
and an Irish mother. After leaving Israel he lived in London, Moscow, Cairo back to Jerusalem for a second time and Belfast. Marcus said that as a child who grows up around the world one goes one of two different ways. One either becomes a citizen of the world or one embraces one national identity even more closely. He opted for the later became a British nationalist, an ultra Tory royalist and Anglo-Catholic fanatic. He is now an Anglican priest and recently came out as gay. When I was a tot it did not occur to me to object to my situation. I knew nothing about countries or identities. It was only when I was about 7 that I began to think something was amiss. I said to myself that as an Irish child I ought to live in Ireland and not in Saudi Arabia. Having said that I did to some degree identify with Saudi Arabia even though I was certain that I was not a Saudi and I could not even count the fingers on one hand in Arabic. My parents were always raving about the splendour of Ireland. It gradually dawned on me that there was a mismatch between this rhapsodizing and the fact that they did all they could to put distance between themselves and the Emerald Isle. Now here is a revolutionary idea – if Ireland is so stupendous why not actually life there? This was the 1980s when unemployment was structurally high and taxes were higher. However, property was cheap as chips. As a doctor my father could have had a very good life there as did many doctors at the time. My mother
had she been bothered her barney to work as a teacher (as she was qualified to do) would have had a decent life too. If Ireland was not such a tremendous country there should have been a little less euologising about it. As I grew to adolescence I formed my identity as British and Irish within that. I came to reject Irish nationalism and see that there need be no contradiction between being Irish and being British. I chose to live in Great Britain as an adult not because I am not keen on Ireland but simply because all my friends live in Ireland’s neighbour. Boarding school stretches one’s relationship with one’s parents. My parents are virtual strangers to me. That is partly owing to family rows though and is not solely attributable to me being packed of to school before I could tell the time. I was at school with my middle sister for three years and then she went to a different school from me. I was three years old when my eldest sister was sent away to boarding school. Sending children to boarding school so young is bizarre. Why have children? It is said to make children more independent but in fact it renders them institutionalised. Boarding school in the 1980s was a much more austere proposition than it is now. This is before the internet. We were not allowed to make or receive phone calls except on our birthday. This is now illegal. I was allowed to watch telly on Saturday night only. Consequently I bereft of the major
cultural influence of my generation. Living as an expatriate child can cause the child trouble when they attempt to reintegrate into their home nation. For instance, I knew of a Canadian who grew up in Saudi Arabia. He moved back to Canada as an adult and had trouble adjusting to his own country. It can of course work beautifully. An expatriate child can come to belong to the country where they are resident instead of going back to their ancestral nation. There is no right or wrong outcome. I ask parents to be aware that there child has had a different upbringing from the parents themselves. My parents were decidedly lukewarm about the British identity my sisters and I have. They did not seem to appreciate the fact that Great Britain shaped us because my parents opted for us to live there. I swore to myself that I would never live overseas not even for 6 months. However, I lived in Romania for 2 years and now I have started a 2 year contract in Azerbaijan. Yet still the Thames Valley is the centre of the universe for me. I pine for the British Isles more and more. I feel I am missing out big time. I have migrated for push more than pull factors. No, I did not grew up yearning to live in Azerbaijan. I am here partly for the dosh but I am also a refugee from the political correct oppression and insanely excessive bureaucracy of the Labour Government which Cameron’s Nottheconservative party have failed to reverse. january 2012 |
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Lifestyle
The History of New Year’s Resolutions With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn’t begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had. The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year’s Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year’s gifts. In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year’s Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1. The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. Some cultures have lunar calendars. A year in a lunar calendar is less than 365 days because the months are based on the phases
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of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Their new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquariussometime between January 19 and February 21. Although the date for New Year’s Day is not the same in every culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs to ensure good luck in the coming year.
Ancient New Years The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar. Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary. The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year’s Eve festivities are fairly tame in comparison. The Romans continued to observe the New Year on March 25, but their calendar was continually tampered
with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.
Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions 1. Spend More Time with Friends and Family Many wish they could make more time for their friends and family. This year make your resolution come true by setting aside time on the weekends or after work. Try to have a family dinner with all the members in your family a couple of times each week and make an effort to meet up with friends after work and on the evenings. 2. Get Fit, Exercise More As any gym member knows, the days after Jan. 1 each year are the most crowded gym days of the year. Unfortunately, members quickly cease going to the gym and by February each year the gym returns to its usual volume. This year stick with your goal. Go to gym classes that keep you in shape or sign up with a personal trainer. By having regular times and
LIFESTYLE appointments, going to the gym will become part of your daily rituals. 3. Lose Weight In addition to exercising more, many hope to lose weight in 2012. The only way to stick to your goal is to set clear benchmarks for how much weight you hope to lose each month and by outlining clear steps for making those goals happen. Do not fall into the trap of depriving yourself of sweets and then binging a few days later. 4. Quit Smoking Take the plunge this year. Whatever it takes - cold turkey, the patch, nicotine gum - 2012 is the year to quit. There is overwhelming evidence that cigarettes cause death from lung cancer, gum disease, and heart attacks. Save years of your life by quitting smoking. 5. Enjoy Life, Manage Stress Most complain that they are too stressed during the year. Manage your stress and take in control of your life by allowing for “me” time. If you enjoy golfing, set aside time to golf on the weekends. If you relax by going to a spa or getting a massage, schedule an appointment for early next year. Make 2012 the year where you enjoy life and worry less about work, money and personal problems. 6. Get Out of Debt, Manage Money The past few years have been difficult for many households, worldwide. While the economy has not fully recovered,
you can take control of your personal finances. Set strict goals to get out debt and create a budget for the first quarter of 2012 to figure out how much money you hope to spend and save. 7. Learn Something New Whether you would like to learn a new language, attend a professional development event or take a class on fiction writing, 2012 is the year for you to learn something new. Before the New Year, choose exactly what you would like to learn and set out goals. Sign up for a class, schedule a conference or buy a book to learn new skills. 8. Drink Less Alcohol Faced with the prospect of a night of champagne, many will start the New Year with a resolution to drink less alcohol. Alcohol consumption can hurt your wallet, your liver and your body. Besides the frustrations of hangovers, alcohol has long term negative effects on the body. If you plan to drink less alcohol, be sure to decide what that means before beginning the New Year because it is easy to slip up. 9. Eat Healthier Throw out your diet books and resolve in 2012 to eat healthier without a diet plan. Diets can be tiring and taxing, but eating healthy has the benefits of a diet and will make you feel great. Make a list of the foods you hope to leave out of your diet in 2012 and the foods you hope to eat more often. Jumping into a new health kick can be difficult to keep
up, so start slow, but do not let yourself fall into old habits. 10. Be More Eco-Conscious and Recycle Make 2012 the year you give back to planet Earth. Find the details for your local recycling online. You can also read up on eco-friendly products like shampoos and soaps that won’t release toxins into the water. Buy yourself a reusable plastic water bottle and avoid using plastic bottles. (Just don’t spend too much time on this in Baku) 11. Save Money Not only should you try to get rid of debt, but a popular New Year’s resolution is saving money. Open a savings account and set aside a certain percent of your paycheck each month. As frustrating as it might be each month, at the end of the year you will have a nice amount of savings. At the end of the year, you can use your savings to take a vacation or to invest for retirement. 12. Volunteer to Help Others Many people set out to volunteer more in the New Year, but many often do not commit to the resolution because life can be more hectic and busy than previously anticipated. Even if you do not have time to volunteer this year, donate money to a charity that is important to you or give back to the community by donating books, food and clothing an excellent cause in Azerbaijan
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Lifestyle
13. Read More Books, Watch Less TV Instead of coming home at the end of the day and putting on the TV, resolve this year to read more books. Be a part of the new trend and pick up a book instead of watching TV in 2012. 14. Go to Sleep Earlier Most people feel there are not enough hours in the day and will stay up late to compensate for working long hours. By getting to sleep earlier the day might actually feel longer, because you will be refreshed for a larger part of the day. Instead of staying up late, make your resolution in 2012 to sleep earlier.
Tips for Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions This Year 1. Start small and pick only one resolution Instead of making a list of all the things you hope to change about yourself in 2012, start small and make one straightforward, simple resolution. 2. Make a specific resolution
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It is a lot more difficult to stick to a vague resolution than it is to be consistent with a very specific resolution. If you want to lose weight, for example, set a specific goal about how much weight you hope to lose and by when. If you hope to lose 20 pounds in 2012, set a goal of 2 pounds each month.
apart because people fall back on old habits and cannot stick to their new choices. Avoid repeating past failures by setting new habits and sticking to them. Of course, this is easier said than done, but by taking your new resolutions slowly, you can achieve your resolution rather than jumping into it and expecting too much.
3. Make a plan for how to achieve your goals If you have one specific resolution, you will be able to achieve it so long as you make a plan. Outline a clear plan for how to get to your goal and you will be able to accomplish it.
6. Positive reinforcement Remember that change takes time! The only way you will achieve your resolution is through positive reinforcement. If you slip up, don’t give up. If you can stick to your resolution for at least thirty days, you should be able to reset your habits for 2012.
4. Don’t wait to start on New Year’s Eve Plan before New Year’s! If you hope to start exercising more, get into the rhythm now. If you hope to sleep more, start now. By starting just before New Year’s, it will be a slower transition when the day comes around. 5. Avoid repeating past failures by setting new habits New Year’s resolutions most often fall
7. Make your resolution public Sometimes peer pressure and public shame can help you in moments of weakness. By telling friends and family members your New Year’s resolution, they may encourage you to stick with it and tease you gently if you fall behind. By making your resolution public, you will be more likely to keep it to the end of the year.
Loewe
Artisanal
Gucci
Lifestyle
TASTIC
WINTER
Ulia Ali
Fur is this winter’s instant glamour hit. It has the power to transform every simple outfit into luxurious and fashionable attire. This season designers tried to bring costs to a minimum and gain PETA’s favour by producing more amazing pieces from faux fur. But if you want to go further and be a fashion icon among your friends, go for fur in bold, unexpected hues. And remember to avoid going for head-to-toe in fur unless you want to look like Elmo or Yeti!
Fashion columnist & designer Ulia Ali from
Christian Louboutin
www.viewfromheels.com
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Alice + Olivia
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iu
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LIFESTYLE
Marc Jacobs
Ulia Ali
Fendi
Victoria Beckham
Gucci
Prada
Chiara
Burberry Prorsum
Quiz january 2012 |
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rson Morr Belle Sige
Valentino
Diane von Furstenberg
Take inspiration from 70s and such style icons of the past like Verushka and pair your knee-high boots with anything from micro shorts to maxi dresses.
ison
Topshop
Lifestyle
THE shoeniverse Gucci
Shoe trends for this Fall are as diverse as ever so that every fashionista could find something for her wardrobe, but they’re some hot styles that deserve your special attention. Bold animalistic prints and sexy knee high boots. Eye-catching bright pumps and embellished heels. We will give you the lowdown on this season’s most desirable shoes!
Fashion columnist & designer - Ulia Ali
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Embellish your footwear with sequins and glitter and be prepared to be in the center of attention!
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be a star
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Tory Burch
Reptile leather and leopard print is one of the hottest trend for colder months. The key is to wear them with simple outfits in neutral tones and avoid looking like exotic queen.
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“When I see a woman I always look immediately at her shoes and hope they’re high because high heels make a woman look sexy and dangerous”
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Jimmy Choo
Famous photographer Helmut Newton
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ENERGY The astonishing, highly ambitious and phenomenally expensive project of Abu Dhabi to create a city that runs entirely on renewable energy, and therefore aiding the reduction of worldwide global emissions. It just shows what can be done when you have a spare US$22 billion lying around!
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january 2012 |
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Alternative Energy
ENERGY
by Daniel Thrust
With the population having reached 7 billion last year, is alternative energy going to be able to sustain the world’s consumption? life expectancy has increased from 48 years old to 68 years old. This of course proves to be exciting for scientific and medical purposes but the figure will continue to rise as science and medicine makes further advances. Therefore with people continuing to reproduce the world population is going to get larger and larger at a very rapid rate. World population in numbers • 1 billion- 1804 • 2 billion- 1927 • 3 billion- 1959 • 4 billion- 1974 • 5 billion- 1987 • 6 billion- 1999 • 7 billion- 2011 On 31st October 2011 A baby born in India was declared the world’s seven billionth person by child rights group Plan International. Baby Nargis was born at 07:25 local time in Mall village in India’s Uttar Pradesh state.
Source: UN The United Nations also estimated that on Monday 31 October 2011, the world’s population would reach seven billion. This astonishingly large figure is mainly due to improved healthcare worldwide which has had a direct result on people living longer. It is reported that in the last 50 years, the average world
What does this mean for world energy? It has been knowledge for some time that non-renewable resources are running out and although new oil and gas is being discovered it will not be enough to cater for an ever growing world population. So what is the alternative? Can the world rely on solar, wind or water energy to maintain everthing people have become accustomed to? BP argues NO! On December 20th 2011, BP announced that after 40 years they were closing down their solar energy business. It was once believed to be the business that would carry BP into the future but with the global economic crisis they have found it more and more difficult to run a successful business and they made the decision to cease trading as the sector had become completely unprofitable. BP however are not the only solar energy business to suffer; many others around the world have had to halt their production due to rising costs and a difficult market
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ENERGY place. Solyndra, of Caliafornia and Solon of Germany are two other companies who have filed for creditor protection, also in December of last year.
....A third of all UK electricity is due to be powered by wind by 2020?
BP, although defeated in the solar industry apparantly remain committed to Alternative energy; having invested 7 billion dollars to date since 2005 they are on track to invest a further 1 billion dollars by 2015 however, their focus is now on wind and biofuels – not the sun. (www. ft.com)
Researchers agree on two factors; the first that reliance on alternative energy is a long way off and secondly, that policy makers can accelerate or delay any potential developments.
On the 12th of December the British media reported that findings showed that Britain will have to face a future of pwer cuts due to the Government’s plans to rely heavily on wind farms. The governement argues that it is a long term solution to the energy problem and that generating energy from wind will prove to be a sustainable and cheaper option. But a report by the Scientific Alliance claims that the UK will be in an energy crisis ‘by the middle of the decade’. They estimate that five wind turbines would have to be put up every day to generate the Government’s target amount of electricity from wind production.
The Future:
The size of the energy market is phenomenol; global power consumption was a total of 150 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2010. The utility industry in the US alone produced an estimated 3.7 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2010. Almost half of that was produced by coal, while solar power contributed less than 0.1%.
1.5% of global electricity consumption. Policy makers can speed up or delay these developments. A price on carbon, either a tax or a carbon-trading mechanism, would make new technologies competitive with cheap oil and coal more quickly, encouraging investment in and adoption of alternative energies. Governments can also spend money on research, development and pilot projects, which will greatly accelerate the project from idea stages to reality. Higher oil prices also make all the energy alternatives more attractive to investors and consumers. But will this ever be a reality? Next month: An in depth look into nuclear energy.
Wind power is one of the fastestgrowing sources of renewable energy in the world. But by the end of 2010 there were still only 121.2 gigawatts of generated capacity— representing around
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Motivation
Business
Is motivation in the workplace something that all employers should consider in order to increase productivity or is motivating the staff completely overrated?
Over the years many threories have been compiled which believe that a motivated workforce will lead to increased productivity, improved quality, lower rates of absenteeism and decreased labour turnover all of which result in higher profits. Maslow’s Hierachy This hierachy of needs was compiled by Abraham Maslom as part of his pyschology study in 1943 in ‘A theory of motivation’. His study found that only when the four lower levels of the heirachy have been achieved can an individual have ‘self-actualisation’. This is where an individual is no longer searching to obtain basic needs in life i.e. shelter, food, relationships etc but they actually feel that they have a worth. In a business environment this is when a employee is given responsability, is trusted and feels valued by the management. Once selfactualisation is achieved Maslow believed
that the individual would become far more productive and increase the output and therefore the profits of the company. McGegrors X and Y theory Douglas McGregor published 2 models of motivation in his book ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’ (1960), where he exmained the behaviour of individuals within the workplace:
magazine | january 2012
Existence needs are roughly equivalent to Maslow’s physical and safety needs; relatedness equates to Maslow’s social needs; growth refers to self-esteem and self-actualisation.
Theory X assumptions: People inherently dislike work. People must be coerced or controlled to do work to achieve objectives. People prefer to be directed Theory Y assumptions: People view work as being as natural as play and rest. People will exercise self-direction and -control towards achieving objectives they are committed to. People learn to accept and seek responsibility According to the Theory X model, managers believed that workers disliked work and were basically lazy. Therefore, they need to be told what to do and how by autocratic managers. Theory Y is the contrast to this theory. According to Theory Y, workers enjoy work and especially crave involvement and meaningful work. Workers want responsibility and therfore the correct way to lead is through delegation. While Theory Y is widely believed to be the better operation system, it is generally accepted that not all workers want responsibility and autonomy. Alderfer’s ERG Theory Clayton Alderfer
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essentially modified Maslow’s model by condensing the five levels of needs into three categories: E = Existence R = Relatedness G = Growth
Alderfer sees needs as moving back and forth, not just upward in the hierarchy. Because of the recognition of forward movement, i.e. progression from lower needs (existence) to higher needs (growth), Alderfer’s model is called a “need progression” theory. Maslow’s model does the same. However, where Maslow’s model generally portrays motivation as moving in one direction-up--Alderfer feels that we move back and forth among these 3 needs as situation change. Thus, it is possible to regress from being motivated by growth to being motivated by relatedness. This backward or downward movement means that Alderfer’s theory is also a “frustration regression” theory. Whatever your view, maybe the odd compliment, extra responsability and pay increase wouldn’t go without reward for your company??
Business
by John Patterson
Financial prediction of 2012 Okay, here are MY predictions for the early part of 2012 on certain assets and asset classes. This is the kiss of death therefore for some, however here we go. The Euro; Sell the Euro. It is a dead duck that surely can’t be stronger in the next few months than it is today as the people of Europe won’t let it be and the politicians are quite simply not up to the job – so the problems that it faces will not go away, hence increased weakness. The US$; Buy the US$. For those investors who are holding Euro’s, when they sell, they will buy the $. Hence the $ will rise. US Treasury Bills; Despite the fact that the US is moving closer and closer to bankruptcy, in the very near term, US government bonds will be the place to be right now. If you have lump sums to invest, this is the place for right now. Buy now, as the Euro weakens, this is where people will go as everyone knows that the banks are in trouble, could still go bust, so here is the place to be safe and as everyone rushes in, so the price will rise. US Corporate Debt; Give it a few months and this will be the place also. The value of treasury bills (US Govt debt) will rise and so become a place that is too expensive. Moreover, the stockmarkets will be very volatile, so more funds will flood to treasuries and then subsequently to Corporate Bonds. Western Stockmarkets Get out of these now. Sell, buy T Bills, wait for the prices of shares to drop (substantially) and buy back in. If you are investing on a monthly basis, then buy stocks and keep buying as their price drops. When the price comes back up you will do well without having the indexes making any positive moves – dollar/pound cost averaging. Emerging Market Stocks In general for teh first few months, sell. Wait for a big sell off, then get back in – 48 |
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again, regular premium investors, should just keep going. The growth is here over the next 5- 10 years, however there is not much value in these markets now, so wait. Emerging Market Bonds In general, avoid these for now. Wait for T Bills to peak, then buy. There are exceptions, maybe Abu Dhabi and Qatar, but you need to buy debt from countries with little to no debt. Property Avoid all property like the plague for a good few years. It is still so expensive it is untrue. The banks are broke. They have no money to lend and their positions are not being helped by the Euro Crisis – any bank. Obvioulsy there are exceptions, (Central London maybe due to a lck of supply), however property will make you no money for years to come.
Commodities. Useful commodities like copper will likely drop price, however the long term view on all commodities is that due to lack of supply, they will do well. So buy on a regular basis, sell all current holdings and then buy back in – you will know when.......................... Gold and Precious Metals It will be volatile, but the reason why it has done so well recently hasn’t gone away (US fiscal policy). Maybe hold on to this for the long term, however each time the $ rises, Gold will drop and then come slowly back up again. Let’s see what happens to all of this – it isn’t going to be a pretty year whatever happens, better to be safe in the short term so that you can buy the bargains in the longer term, because there will be plenty of them everywhere.
Business
Through the good and the bad times In Baku since 1998
Baku Branch - John Patterson E-mail: jpatterson@i2offshore.net Telephone: + (994 12) 4928173 Mobile: + (994 50) 2132267 nov/dec 2011 |
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Business
The Land of Milk and Honey?? The USA has become split into two irreconcilable ideological groups so near equal power. That isn’t news. Republicans and Democrats are the two competing schools of thought. What is rare about the situation now is that the two groups are so close in power and so completely opposed in views. It has been impossible for America to act decisively on this simplest thing for 2 decades. Through neglect and indecision, we have strayed from the principles that made the USA strong.
by Kriss Wegemer
The situation America finds itself in today is both interesting and frightening. Looking from the outside in, it’s easy to see how it is perceived as an economic problem. As an American, looking from the inside out, I would argue that it is a political problem, with horrible economic implications.
It is no mystery what caused the economic problems in America. On 10Oct-2000, Bill Clinton granted Permanent Favored Nation Trading Status to China. That was the death knell for nearly all American manufacturing. The only surprise was the speed with which all American manufacturing could be shut down. The loss of the US’s manufacturing base resulted in a huge portion of America working, frankly, menial jobs. The US government employs more than
twice the number of Americans as does manufacturing. The reverse was true 30 years ago. This growth of the government is simply a hidden form of welfare. An often heard phrase that will tell you how the average working American views this is “The tick is now twice as big as the dog”. So, with a huge number of Americans now working at McDonalds, Walmart, the US government, or going on welfare, the economy made a sudden, significant change for the worse. The second curse hidden in the deal with China was the huge influx of cheap goods. Americans could maintain their lifestyles on their new, lower incomes. But, what the average American didn’t realize was that when you are living on imported goods, you are simply exporting all your money. It is the same as living the good life on a credit card. Sooner, or later, you hit the limit and have trouble even making the interest payments. Jump forward in time to the end of George W. Bush’s administration, late 2007 and early 2008. America had hit the wall. The first evidence was the banking business getting caught in its own trap by gambling on the housing market in late 2006. Major banks were giving loans to families with an $80,000/year income to buy $600,000
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Business homes. That’s irresponsible. That family simply does not have the resources to settle that loan. Ever. The families were gambling on the same, obviously artificial, housing economy as were the banks. In the areas with the fastest climbing house prices, the loan would only have to be managed for 2 or 3 years, and then the house sold for a $100,000+ profit. I saw it with my own eyes while living in Bakersfield, California in 2005. Long story made short, the bubble burst, a great number of these loan holders defaulted on their debt, flooding the already falling housing market with foreclosed homes. The banks were left with a $600,000 loss and a home that was now worth less than half of that. The classic American philosophy has always been that the USA is a land where you can work hard, apply your efforts wisely, and make a better life for you and your family. The benefits that you could secure for yourself were tied directly to the benefit that you created for the general populace. That’s capitalism. If you don’t have a product or service that is desirable enough that someone will pay you a fee that affords you a profit for your contribution, your business will fail. Many, many do. That’s also capitalism. It is, in fact, natural selection. It’s not an analogy to natural selection. It is natural selection. The banks gambled and lost. But, these gamblers had a champion, the US government. George W. Bush started the government bailouts of private business with tax payer’s dollars. This, however, was taken to levels never imagined by the Obama administration. Taxing working families and giving the money to failed banks was a pointless waste of trillions of dollars, as well as unethical, un-American, and possibly unconstitutional. Many of President Obama’s former supporters now recognize this. He raised the limit for the irresponsible credit card user in our analogy, at the expense of the American taxpayer. The idealistic split between Americans is how this mistake happened. In rural America, people are largely 5th or 6th generation Americans. Their roots reach
back a very long way into the past. Some family lines go back to when Pennsylvania was the Western Frontier, hundreds of years ago. They didn’t want this bailout. They believe in survival of the fittest. This applies to business as well as life on the frontier. These are people who can care for themselves. But, the other, faster growing, half of the American population lives in the largest metropolitan areas, urban America. Many of these people are immigrants themselves, or first generation Americans who were raised by parents that were immigrants largely isolated from American ideals by urban living. Urban life was often within neighborhoods populated by people from single ethnic or national groups, living as much as possible as they did in their homeland. There is also a significant portion of Americans descended from families that relocated to urban areas multiple generations ago, also isolating themselves from rural America. These groups focused on the perceived hardship that would be brought on by the failure of these financial institutions. They thought the bailouts would stabilize the country. These are people who need the system people who can’t do for themselves. So, Barak Obama started with a national debt that took 200 years to reach, and increased it by more than 50% in a matter of months. This stunned America. Even the people who were strongly in favour of the government stepping into the middle of private business,
were shocked at the cost. And all were disappointed in the result. America is now standing on the brink. One move in the wrong direction could be the last move we make. I can tell you that many Americans believe this. More procrastination is unaffordable. One side must emerge as the winner in the 2012 elections, in a clear and profound way. Which side will win? As many Americans as you ask, as many different answers will you get. I can only offer my own opinion. The people who hold the 300 year old individualistic American set of ideals are quiet, unobtrusive, and slow to anger. They work hard and worry about their own problems. This results in them being underestimated. Though slow to be forced to speak up, they are decisive when they do. I’ve never seen America this angry. And right now, we are angry at ourselves. I predict that the Legislative and Executive branches of the US government will see massive turnover in 2012. I predict that America will begin to keep more of its money at home. Americans will pull their money out of the stock market and start building family businesses again. They will find investors interested in keeping their money at home, as well. They will tell their representatives that they are less interested in spending our money to solve, or complicate and aggravate, problems around the World. With the discovery of new petroleum resources, America is closer than at any time in the last 40 years of developing energy independence. American politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, will have no choice but to start concentrating on problems at home, if they want to keep their jobs. january 2012 |
magazine | 51
Ireland: Business
by George Callaghan
from Celtic Tiger to Celtic Kitten The Republic of Ireland was once the economic basket case of western Europe. Like Spain, Portugal and Greece it has funds lavished on it by the European Union. In the early 1990s the Republic of Ireland began a sustained economic boom that was to continue until late 2008.
The 1991 hit film ‘’The Commitments’’ shows Dublin just before the boom. One wag in the film collects his dole money and wisecracks about his lack of a job, ‘What can you do, Ireland’s a Third World country?’ It was a joke even then, but this would not have worked as a joke ten years later. Infrastructure such as roads, airports, port facilities, sports centres and hotels improved immeasurably. By 2004 it was reported that 20% of the houses had been built in the last 10 years. Therein lay the problem. People became hooked on the notion that the price of property could only go one way. There was a massive oversupply of property. A debt double was built on construction and speculating on residential property. The bubble was to burst with spectacular results. It all came crashing down in late 2008. The Fianna Fail Party had been in government since 1997. They had been the largest party since 1932 although they had not been in office all this time. However, in the March 2011 parliamentary election, they were beaten into third place and secured only 16% of the vote. In the November 2011 presidential election they were still licking their wounds. They did not even dare field a candidate for the presidency. For those with capital, the Republic of Ireland is still an excellent place to invest. The Republic of Ireland is of course English-speaking and is a member of the European Union. The currency is the Euro and unlike in Greece there is no talk of leaving the Eurozone. There is a young workforce hungry for work and 52 |
magazine | january 2012
more willing to accept lower salaries than in the past. It is also one of the best educated workforces in the world. 55% of young people go to university. This is the highest university rate in the EU and one of the highest in the world. Admittedly, the quality of Irish universities varies from outstanding to mediocre. There have been a few positive effects of the crash from a business point of view. All bank deposits no matter how large are guaranteed by the Irish Government, should the bank fail. Property prices have tumbled. Rents are cheap for workers. Those who wish to buy or rent warehouses, office blocks and workshops will find that the prices are now affordable. The Republic of Ireland has excellent links with other countries such as the United States and Australia, because of centuries of Irish emigration there. There are large Irish descended communities in the US, Canada, South Africa and Australia as well of course as in the United Kingdom. Those who have so much as one Irish-born grandparent can get Irish citizenship automatically. Some of the people working in Ireland are Americans with Irish citizenship through a grandparent. There is a strong tourist sector with Americans being the largest tourist nationality. The low corporate tax attracted many companies to locate there. There is a thriving IT sector. Financial services companies have also located to Dublin. There is also some oil off the Atlantic coast but so far this has been found to be not worth exploiting.
Transport connections are good. There are dozens of flights each day to the US and Canada as well as every country in western Europe. Ryanair is an Irish airline that led the way in the low cost movement. The new Irish president inaugurated in November is a 70 year old academic and poet Michael D Higgins. Mr Higgins is a former member of the Labour Party and is known for his firebrand left wing views and his excoriating criticism of US foreign policy. However, bad the Irish economic situation is – it is not that bad. 14% unemployment may seem high but until the 1990s it was higher than this for years on end. People in Ireland got used to having it so good for 15 years. Now at least people in the Irish Republic have the right to live and work in any of the other 26 EU member states. The economy is not chronically unstable like Greece or Italy. There is no question of slipping back into recession. Economic growth in 2011 is estimated at 2.8% - healthier than almost every country in Europe. The one thing that is for sure is that the country is coming back. The value of property will appreciate. The Irish Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Russell has recently visited Baku and was very encouraging in that he believes Ireland ‘has turned a corner’, ‘Ireland is very much open for business. It is a great place to invest with only 12.5% corporation tax. We have an educated population who are eager to work’. A positive future for Ireland?
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Call our water experts today on 012-596 1899 or 050-255 0877
nov/dec 2011 |
magazine | 45
food
by Feride Buyuran
AZ Cook book Food from Azerbaijan and Beyond!
I can’t wait to share one special recipe with you. Shami is the name of the great dish and it hails from one of the best culinary destinations in Azerbaijan; the region of Lenkeran in the southeast. Lenkeran is home to the best chay (black tea) that comes from vast tea plantations tucked along the region, exotic delicacies loved in every corner of Azerbaijan, hospitable and friendly people, and many more. The recipe was given to me by my buddy Sevda, one of the sweetest Lenkeranis I’ve met. So, what is shami and what is so special about it. Shami is a lamb patty. But not your regular lamb patty made of ground raw meat. Shami is a patty made of cooked ground lamb and this is how the process goes. First, the lamb is boiled in water along with whole onions until tender. Then the meat is ground together 54 |
magazine | january 2012
with the onions, the eggs are added, the ingredients are blended together and the mixture is shaped into patties. The patties are then fried on both sides until golden. Boiling the lamb in the first stage removes its heavy taste and smell as well as mellows its taste. Precooking the lamb also allows for short frying times in the second stage and the patties do not absorb as much oil as their counterparts made of raw meat. Shami has a beautiful golden crust on the outside and is super soft and flavorful inside. It is absolutely delicious. Nush Olsun!
Lamb Patties from Lenkeran (Shami) Makes 18-20 patties 2 pounds (1 kg) boneless lamb with no fat, cut into medium size pieces
2 medium onions, peeled 2 eggs salt, to taste ground black pepper, to taste 1/3 cup vegetable oil, for frying Put the meat and peeled whole onions in a medium saucepan. Fill the pan with enough water to cover the ingredients completely. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook, maintaining a gentle boil, for about 30 minutes, or until the meat is cooked. It should be tender and should not be pink inside). Strain on a fine-mesh sieve (reserve the strained broth for other uses, such as for dushbere). Pass the meat and the onions together through a meat grinder (the traditional way). Or, grind in a food processor. Put the mixture in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
food Knead thoroughly with your hand until well blended. Shape the mixture into 18-20 oval or round patties (I made round), about 3/8inch (0.9 cm) thick (you can make them thicker if you want to. They should be somewhat “chubby” and not too thin). Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium frying pan. Brown the patties on one side, for 3-5 minutes, then turn to cook the other side. Do not turn until one side is ready. These patties are fragile and may easily break if you keep turning them. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with rice pilaf or bread (traditionally shami is served as an accompaniment to rice, but I like it with bread too).
Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Vegetables The inspiration for this salad comes from kisir, my favorite Turkish salad, made of bulgur, fresh vegetables and lots of fresh herbs. In my salad, I roasted the vegetables and tossed them with cooked wheat berries and lots of fresh herbs. A splash of olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate paste and you will not want anything else for the day. An ideal accompniament to any meat dish! You can increase or decrease the amount of pretty much any ingredient in this salad, to your taste. I love my salad with lots of fresh herbs. And I use fewer zucchini squash as it tends to soften too much in the oven. So, play with the amounts to suit your palate. Using pomegranate paste (in Azeri -narsharab - a molasses-like syrup made of tart pomegranate) is optional, but I love the extra tartness it adds to the salad. Pomegranate paste is available in most Middle Eastern/Persian stores.
freshly squeezed juice of 1 medium lemon 1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup, optional 1/4 cup or to taste, chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup or to taste, chopped fresh dill 1/4 cup or to taste, chopped fresh mint 1/2 cup or to taste chopped green onions, white and green parts Salt, to taste Ground black pepper, to taste Put the wheat berries in a medium saucepan and fill the pan with enough water to cover the wheat berries by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until the wheat berries are tender but still slightly chewy. Check often to make sure the saucepan has enough water; add more as needed. The cooking may take 1 or 2 hours, and sometimes longer, depending on the variety of the wheat berries. To cut the cooking time, you can also presoak the wheat berries overnight in a bowl with cold water, and cook them the next day. Put the cooked wheat berries on a fine
mesh sieve and run cold water over them to stop the cooking. Drain thoroughly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the vegetables into medium-size dice. Place on a baking sheet. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Spread on the baking sheet. Roast the vegetables on the middle rack of the oven until they are nicely browned, stirring once or twice, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Put the cooked wheat berries in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and if using, pomegranate paste. Toss. Add the roasted vegetables and fresh herbs. Toss to mix. Adjust the amount of dressing to your taste. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Nush Olsun!
Serves 6 to 8 2 cup wheat berries 4 medium eggplants 1 medium zucchini squash 1 medium red bell pepper, cored and seeded 1 medium yellow or orange bell pepper, cored and seeded 1/4 cup or to taste, olive oil january 2012 |
magazine | 55
food
Restaurant Review Looking for a little piece of England in Baku? Look no further than the London Bar and Grill, situated in the very heart of the city.
W
ith a contemporary design and cool, clean edges the restaurant boasts sophistication, comfort and most importantly great food. The newly opened venue is already attracting a host of Baku’s residence who are looking for a relaxed evening with ‘real’ food. The current menu is clear and concise, it does not require a lengthy decision making process, with a selection of starters, main courses and desserts you will be sure to want to sample at least one of each. With each dish individually prepared from only the freshest of ingredients, it is then cooked with care and attention to detail but offers the warmth and satisfaction that is usually only gained from sitting in a rural English pub on a cold winter’s day. On the Wednesday evening that I made my visit, it was only 7.30pm and there was already a good crowd and the atmosphere was buzzing. Pints were firmly in hands and fish and chips had been ordered – how better to spend an evening in the middle of the working week?
I was stuck for choice on the starter as it consists of all my favourite things, but in the end I decided on the mushrooms in stilton. The simple presentation gave way to the rich, delicate flavour of the cheese;
it was creamy but not overpowering. The bread was the ideal accompaniment, only there to soak up the sauce and not to interfere with the main flavours. My dining partner for the evening (a person who is very difficult to please when it comes to culinary satisfaction) chose the deep fried camembert served only with a homemade red onion marmalade. The verdict was glowing, a light crispy batter, with the creamy cheese interior was (apparently, and only apparently as I wasn’t allowed to sample any) wonderfully complimented by the sweetness of the marmalade. When my main course arrived, pork loin coated in herb breadcrumbs, with apple mash and vegetables I was slightly apprehensive of the portion size, but when I stopped being a ‘girl’ and got stuck in I had no problem in finishing the lot! The pork made a welcome change from the standard choice of meat available and the whole meal was good quality home cooking. Ideal for a chilly, winter’s night. The pork was well cooked and
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magazine | janaury 2012
food
sat nicely on the smooth, creamy apple mash; the vegetables maintained a little bit of crunch and the whole plate was completed with a thick, flavour- packed gravy that brought the meal together.
for the tiramisu. Granted not very ‘English’ but a welcome treat after a rich meal. The cream was light and consistent, the chocolate dark and warming and the alcohol provided the ‘kick’.
Our other main course (which this time I was allowed a taste) was sea bass fillets on a bed of roasted vegetables. Good quality fish is hard to come by and this dish, reasonably priced at just 12 AZN was truly a winner. The subtlety and the freshness of the delicate fish against the powerful winter root vegetables made a lovely meal.
All in all a very satisfying evening. Currently there is a good selection of beers, wines and spirits on offer but with draught ales on offer shortly, it really is going to become the place to visit, and wallow away an evening sinking into the ‘ever so comfy’ armchairs.
The dessert menu offered a good range to suit everyone’s taste. You can enjoy a hearty traditional English pudding; bread and butter pudding or a crumble to complete your evening but we plumped
With the promise of Sunday roasts, live music and Monday evening Quiz night’s the London Bar and Grill is not only going to be a location to get a good quality meal but also offer some great entertainment - something that is long overdue in Baku.
Even, if the thought off venturing out on an evening when the Baku wind is blowing and the rain is banging then one simple phone call to the restaurant can order you a 3 course meal, ready for collection. A dining experience that has got all the bases covered to ensure customer satisfaction! Give it a go and I’m certain you won’t be disappointed! Prices Starters: 6AZN Mains: 10 – 12 AZN Desserts: 5 – 6 AZN Address: Hazi Aslanov 105 (round the corner from Citimart in the city) Opening hours: 5pm weeksays 12pm weekends
january 2012 |
magazine | 75
Dubai Turns 40! What do we all think of when we think of Dubai? The Burj Al Arab, the Burj Khalifa, Palm Island or the Atlantis Hotel? It’s hard to imagine that none of this was in existence or even in the planning 40 years ago, when the Emirate of Dubai was little more than desert. people from all over the world flock to Dubai for the guaranteed weather, the diverse cutural experience and to be overwhelmed by the infastructure and the showcase of exhibits that the state has to offer. With Dubai only a 2 hour flight away from Baku, many of us are guilty of escaping the city and heading away for a weekend or public holiday, lying on the beach or soaking up the history, culture and cuisine. The last 40 years... As a member of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has played a vital role in adapting and improving the image of the UAE. Although the other Emirates encourage tourism, none have been as welcoming and as adaptable as Dubai.
Timeline of Dubai:
Dubai has achieved what few felt was possible; it crosses the boundaries of old and new, of East and West, of traditional and modern, and does so with amazing grace. There is a great sense of respect everywhere in Dubai and the tourists appreciate that their hosts have opened the doors to their country, where they get to experience the magic and the mystery of Old Arabia whilst at the same time getting to indulge in the future. Today, each year tens of thousands of
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1830:
Dubai is a small fishing settlement that is taken over by part of the Bani Yas tribe from the Liwa Oasis. Dubai became owned by the Maktoum family, who are still in power today.
1892:
The development of Dubai since the creation of the United Arab Emirates has been truly remarkable; the business development, the fascinating infastructure and the worldwide recognition of achievement is due to a few unique visionaries, who always had the belief that Dubai could be great. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan are internationally regarded as great leaders by the world
1930 – 1940: With reported disputes between the royal family and the worldwide recession, Dubai’s pearl industry falls into decline.
The pearling industry is Dubai’s main source of revenue and the Emirate attracts a lot of attention from foreign traders as Dubai declares that all foreigners will be tax exempt. magazine | january 2012
1958:
over as it is very unnusual for any ruler to see so much success on their home soil. The UAE’s first president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan has been confirmed as the principal driving force of the development of the UAE and will be remembered so throughout history. He was ruler of Abu Dhabi and of the UAE; he ruled the Emirates for over thirty years until his death in 2004, aged 86. Few outsiders however shared the vision of these few men. When the United Arab Emirates was created in December 1971 many doubted that the area would ever be successful, let alone profitable. Many people had decided that the UAE was ‘an artificial creation that stood to have no chance of success and that its evolution was largely an artefact of British Colonial policy’. How wrong they were!
1959:
Sheik Rashid has grand plans for transforming the Creek area to accomodate growing trade. He borrows millions of dollars from the Emir of Kuwait.
Sheikh Rashid becomes the ruler of Dubai.
1966:
Dubai discovers oil.
Dubai: Need to know information: Geography: Dubai is located on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates and shares borders with Abu Dhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast. Hatta, a tiny village of Dubai, is surrounded on three sides by Oman and by the emirates of Ajman in the west and Ras Al Khaimah in the north. Dubai’s topography is emphasized by sandy desert consisting mainly of crushed shell and coral. The desert gives way to the Western Hajar Mountains that run alongside Dubai’s border with Oman near Hatta. Devoid of any natural bodies of water, the natural inlet - Dubai Creek, has been dredged to make it deeper for large vessels to navigate and divides the emirate in two. Government: Constitutional Monarchy Population: 1.422 million, Dubai, has the largest population compared to the other six emirates. Land area: Dubai covers a land area of 4,014 sq. km. Languages: Arabic is the official language but English is used in offices and other languages including Hindi,
Urdu and others are widely spoken. Climate: The climate in Dubai is dry, subtropical and rain is very rare. The hottest months are between June and September when the temperature often tops 45 to 50°C during the day and the humidity is very high. The temperature of the ocean can reach 37°C at the hottest part of the summer. The weather in October, November and April offer more reasonable temperatures of between 30°C and 35°C, but the best time to visit Dubai is between the months of December and March, when the temperature is pleasurable and the warm waters and sybaritic spas are sure to have the greatest effect, when the average temperature is 24°C. Currency: Dirham Time Zone: Dubai is 4 hours ahead of GMT Religion: Islam is the official religion of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the majority being Sunni Muslims. Dubai is
one of the most liberal places in the Gulf and followers of other religions (except Judaism) are tolerated. The holy day is Friday with most government offices, companies and schools remaining closed on Friday. Taxes: There is no income tax or corporate tax in Dubai (except for oil producing companies and branches of foreign banks). However, the main forms of tax are the rent tax by Dubai Municipality (5%) as well as in-built 10% on food and beverage bills at hotels. In July 2007, Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) introduced a toll system - Salik - in order to ease traffic congestion. A fee of AED 4 is deducted from a prepaid toll account every time one passes through the Salik toll zones.
10 Random Facts: 1. Approximately 80% of the residents in Dubai are foreigners. 2. The Dubai Emirates Mall allows visitors to ski indoors while they shop 3. There are no street addresses in Dubai. 4. One of the fastest growing cities in the world is Dubai 5. There are no personal or income taxes in Dubai. 6. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest
1968:
Dubai begins exporting crude oil and the money starts pouring in.
1973:
The Dirham becomes the official currency.
building and tallest man-made structure in the world. 7. 1 in 5 people in Dubai purchase 5 pieces of gold jewellery each year. 8. Dubai has the world’s first man made islands; Palm Islands. 9. The average annual precipitation in Dubai is only 13 centimeters 10. The worlds largest horses can be found in Dubai.
1985: Emirates airline begins operating and Dubai begins it’s reinvention as a major tourist destination.
1990:
Sheik Rashid dies during the first Gulf War, his son Sheik Maktoum takes power as ruler of Dubai.
1999: The Burj Al Arab opens, and becomes one of the most desirable tourist areas in the world.
2003:
2006:
Sheik Mohammed becomes the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE, as well as ruler of Dubai.
Dubai introduces freehold properties which results in a property boom. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank recognise Dubai as a financial hub.
2011: The tourist industry continues to boom and Dubai keeps on growing....
january 2012 |
magazine | 59
SCARY AZERI
IN SUBURBS
A little known blog which found its way onto the internet three years ago has become an internet sensation. An Azeri mother, who has relocated to English suburbia, is sharing her experiences and the cultural differences of coming from Baku, to daily life in a village just outside of London.
A SHORT AND SWEET PARENTING STORY I had a very bad, bad, bad weekend, let me tell you. I have no idea how single mothers with children cope, because I find it incredibly hard when Husband is away and I suddenly have to do everything by myself. And maybe, I could manage just fine, but my baby, like a pit bull, senses my fear and turns my nights into nightmares.
As soon as the night falls, she stops being a lovely cutie pie and turns into a little monster. She knows that I never sleep well when husband is away and attacks me when I am at my weakest, so that I give in and put her into bed with me. I try to be strong, which results in both of us suffering. In between me not sleeping from anxiety and her waking up, the total hours I get to sleep are down to zero. So, it is not surprising that, as I lay there awake at 5:30am yesterday morning, I
started imagining things. The baby was crying- again! - And I tried to calm her down, when I suddenly heard what I can only describe as a churchy kind of singing. It was beautiful, very quiet and pretty creepy. I froze, listening hard. That’s it, I thought. All these sleepless nights and the tiredness finally turned me into a mad woman. Either I am hearing angels singing to me, or we have a ghost. I really did not like either of those options, so I thought I would get up and start the day. So what it is inhumanely early. I got up, grabbed the baby, and looked into the landing. My older girl’s door was open and I glanced in, to check she was alright. She lay in bed and in a dimmed light I could see her actually looking at me. ‘You okay’? I asked and she nodded. I suddenly had a glimpse of hope. There was a logical, not at all mental explanation, after all. ‘Were you just singing? ‘I asked her, praying for it to be the case, and she said yes. Thank goodness, I thought. It was her! ‘I was singing the song that Mary sang to baby Jesus to stop him crying’ she added. Well, I wonder if it worked, I wanted to ask. Did baby Jesus shut up because nothing works on your baby sister! As I said... bad, bad, bad weekend.
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magazine | january 2012
international
LETS MEET IN DEDE GORGUD. SORRY, I MEAN ZABITLER PARKI....BAGI? OH, WHATEVER! SEE YOU IN THE OFFICERS’ PARK! I have been approached by Qatar Airways to write a piece on Baku! Very exciting! Next time you fly, try to get your hands on a copy. I really enjoyed writing something about my home town. However, what proved complicated was getting the facts right. Not because I have not lived there for a while, but because nobody seemed to know what certain areas were actually called. I am talking about official names. For instance, I referred to Torgovaya street. Everyone who ever lived in
Baku,from taxi drivers to expats, knows where Torgovaya is. But not many people know the name does not exist on paper. On paper, it is called Nizami street. It is not a bad name, really, I quite like it. But I just have to ask- Does anyone actually call it that? I also wanted to mention one of my childhood favourites- The Officers Park near the Blue Mosque and Teze Bazar. ( And I have no idea if the mosque is still Blue or if the Bazar is still Teze) I was sure they most probably renamed the Officers Park into something difficult to remember, and guess what? They have! According to a webpage with new Baku street and park names someone kindly shared with me on Facebook, Officers Park is officially called Dede Gorgud. Okay, I appreciate the history behind the
name, I really do but, did they really have to rename the poor park to something that takes an hour to pronounce? I am curious how many local mums say to each other: ‘Oh, shall we take the kids to Dede Gorgud today?’ What exactly was wrong with Officers Park, anyway? Were they not Azerbaijani officers? Did they not fight for their country, whatever the country was called at that time? I appreciate the desire the country has to separate itself from anything Russian or ex-Soviet. But does the history have to be erased altogether, with no respect for the old names, the reasons behind them, and for the people who had probably deserved the honour of having a square or a street named after them? Even an Azeri newspaper made this mistake in its article back in March 2011, calling Dede Gorgud the old name. To me, the whole changing names charade seems to be going too far. But then, after I, having had come to terms with Dede Gorgud, sent the article off, someone pointed out to me that on Google Maps the Officers Park is actually called Zabitler Parki. Seriously?! Great. Just great.
january 2012 |
magazine | 59
The experience of attending Eton
by George Callaghan
Eton is the world’s best known school. It carries with it many stereotypes – some of them accurate. At its worst it is held to be attended by super rich toffs who run the United Kingdom through nepotism and it sanctifies snobbery. There is a small degree of truth in this. There was a time when Eton was simply a finishing school for the gentry and would take any boy however short on the grey matter he was so long as he had the right connections and measured up financially.
A French academic said Eton taught, ”Homosexuality and cruelty to animals.” That is only half-true. Although homosexuality was apparently rife as recently as the 1970s a healthy supply of porn has kept the boys almost all straight. I can count on the finger of one hand the Old Etonians I know who are gay. It is not a higher proportion than in the general population. Oddly, as society at large has become more accepting of gays, Eton has become more condemnatory. As for cruelty to animals – the school has a beagle pack with which to hunt hares. The attitude of most boys towards hunting with hounds is very much in favour. I had been apprehensive before I 62 |
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went to Eton. Would I fit in at this stratospherically posh school? I went to a woeful prep school near Inverness that had never sent anyone to Eton. Did Etonians even wear jeans? Was that too working class? I saw a programme about Eton and it showed boys in jeans. I breathed easy. There was a lot of contempt for people who went to state school. Before chav was added to the lexis our patois was sprinkled with opprobrious terms such as pleb, lebbage, Kev and prole. Our accents were almost without exception decidedly public school. The long vowels of received pronunciation were there but one had to be careful not to overdo it because
that would reveal affectation. Some were very fruity indeed. We used the right social markers – ‘loo’, even ‘bog’ or ‘shithouse’ but never, ever, ever ‘toilet’ – that would make faces fall. ‘Pudding’ and never ‘dessert’ – calling it ‘sweet’ like a dinner lady as the worst of all.’ ‘Napkin’ and never ‘serviette’. Anyone who used a non-U word would be mercilessly ribbed. I became rather embarrassed that my parents did not use the right vocabulary. I come from a mere middle class Irish family. No-one in a previous generation had attended a school like this. This is not unique now. The boys are white Britons in 9/10 cases. There are some British Indians and so forth as well as a leavening
of Hong Kong Chinese and Russians. One needs to be signed down years in advance so that means that few who are not British citizens come to the school. Eton is tremendously well-equipped as well as having some opulent buildings. It is 17 miles west of Marble Arch, which is the centre of London. The school is very self-important with its own lingo. Pupils who achieve things get to have letters put behind their name! Looking back on it, this seems horridly pretentious. People did not exclude me for being from a middle class family but I felt a little out of it. There were other boys who were the sons of doctors. I felt status anxiety – am I posh enough? The other boys had fathers who worked in almost every case – some were independently wealthy or retired. I guess about half the mothers worked. What did the parents do? Many were army officers, barristers, solicitors, bankers, dentists, journalists, publishers, jewellery dealers, architects, gentleman farmers, teachers, MPs and plantation owners.I would say the first four occupations were the most common.
Your average Etonian has parents who are financiers. They live in the Home Counties. They are non-religious and vaguely Conservative in their political sympathies. He comes to the school for family and social reasons. If his father did not attend Eton he went to a public school of about the same rank. The boy has attended one of about half a dozen prep schools that send droves of boys to Eton annually. The boy will go on to one of the top 10 universities and probably not Oxford or Cambridge. Most boys seemed not to give much thought to being at Eton. They came from upper class families and considered it perfectly normal to attend such a school. They felt they were guaranteed success. I suspect that many had, as I did, a painful collision with reality. I was fascinated by history and by Eton’s political and literary legacy. Most Etonians were willfully ignorant about this. Sporting prowess was social success. In that respect Eton is just like almost any other school.
These entrepeneurs would make a healthy profit on the merchandise they brought back. I know of two Old Etonian who were small-time dealers in London in their early 20s. Prince William attended the school as I did. While he could never totally blend in there he was treated more normally there than he would have been able to at any other school. I seldom socialise with other old boys of the school. My chums are from Varsity days or since. I have been back twice since the year I left. In my teenage years school was my world far more than any other school could have been but means surprisingly little to me now. Now I am I – Eton does not influence me. As I approach a third of a century I am very comfortable with myself. I know my likes and dislikes. I dress down and prefer informality.
I was very cut off from most people my age. We were allowed to watch telly only on Saturday evenings. This was before computers could show telly from the internet. I was fascinated and frightened by what ordinary adolescents got up to on weekends. I longed to be able to go to nightclubs like them. I imagined as an ordinary boy I would be able to at least try and score with a girl each Saturday night. The one way the wider world did come to Eton was through drugs. Some boys walked off to Windsor or Slough rather than going to games of an afternoon. january 2012 |
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Switzer Highland Makes History Last year saw the twinning of Switzer Highland in San Diego and the Nasimi District of Baku. The aim is to strengthen links with the US and be able to offer cultural advice, and open up education and business possibilities. This is how it happened;
Neighborhood Partnership with Baku, Azerbaijan is a first by Martin Kruming Special to the North Park News It’s been four years since 10 youth and sports specialists from Azerbaijan visited the North Park neighborood of Switzer Highland. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m., Mayor Jerry Sanders and the San Diego City Council will formally recognize the first Sister Neighborhood Partnership in the world between Switzer Highland and the Nasimi District of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. “Although this started out as merely a quirky, fun idea to do, it is turning into a genuine friendship with longterm cultural, educational and business implications for our Switzer Highland neighborhood here in North Park and San Diego,” said Cath DeStefano, executive director of the San Diego Diplomacy Council in North Park. The visit during the fall of 2007 was made possible by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the San Diego Diplomacy Council (sandiegodiplomacy.org), a North Park organization that brings hundreds of emerging leaders from around the world to San Diego each year. Vugar Iskandarov, a Taekwondo and karate leader from Baku, stayed with Switzer Highland resident Geoff 64 |
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McCloud, and when his visitor and colleagues returned to Azerbaijan, neighbors here were determined to remain in touch with more than e-mails. The first thing they did was write the ambassador to the United States in Washington who thought it was a great idea and referred them to the Consulate General’s Office in Los Angeles. “What an experience! Having Vugar at my home afforded me the opportunity to learn so much about Eastern European and Central Asian culture in addition to learning about the structure and organization of their sports and recreation programs,” said McCloud, the 2010 Physical Education Teacher of the Year in California who has since retired after more than 30 years as an elementary school PE teacher. “We continue to stay in touch and it really is nice to know you have a genuine friend who lives so very far away. Thank you Vugar and the San Diego Diplomacy Council for making all this happen.”
During the past year, the Sister Neighborhood project has spawned several partnerships and continues to grow. For instance, McKinley and Jefferson elementary schools are partnering with a school in Azerbaijan, as are Francis Parker and Warren-Walker. San Diego State’s American Language Institute is working with the Azerbaijan University of Languages, and Grossmont College is partnering with the Azerbaijan Conservancy of Music in Baku. Architect Jim Brown of Public architecture (www. publicdigital.com) and public artist Robin Brailsford (lithomosaic.com), who designed Bird Park, are working on a sculpture of birds to be placed in a park in
Baku, while Azeri artists are designing a sculpture for Bird Park. “One of the programs that we are working on is the development of an artist exchange program with the Nasimi District. The idea is to have a local San Diego artist design a piece for a park in Baku, and that an artist from Baku design a piece that we will place in a public venue in Switzer Highland,” said Brown. “We have tentatively chosen Bird Park as our local site and this choice led to the idea of a bird-themed exchange. We are working through the details with local officials here in San Diego. It explores the role of artists as emissaries, the formal act of trade itself, and the symbolism that can be conveyed by these actions.” Last November, musicians from Azerbaijan performed in concert for more than 300 guests at the Joan Kroc Peace & Justice Institute at the University of San Diego, and another concert is planned for next March at the North Park Birch Theatre.
In addition to the educational and cultural aspects of the Sister Neighborhood project, there is also a business element that focuses primarily on tourism, wine, oil and energy. Aside from the formal recognition ceremony at City Hall on Oct. 18, other events that week include a barbecue, a luncheon and a reception at Cafe 21 (café-21.com), the only Azeri restaurant in San Diego. Azerbaijan officials from Los Angeles, Washington and Baku will participate in this historic event. “Many people said yes to helping make this happen, including the support from Mayor Sanders, Councilmember Todd Gloria, Arts and Culture Executive Director Victoria Hamilton, Balboa Park Administrator Susan Lowery-Mendoza and many others,” said DeStefano. With about 9 million people, Azerbaijan is located in Central Asia on the famous Silk Road. It is bordered on the north by Russia, on the south by Iran, on the west by Turkey and on the east by the
Caspian Sea. It is the largest secular Muslim country and is rich in oil, gas and an ancient culture. Earlier this year it celebrated 20 years of independence from the Soviet Union. Elin Suleymanov, the Consul General in Los Angeles, and Consular Officer Farid Musayev have played key roles in establishing the Sister Neighborhood Partnership. “We very much appreciate the energetic support we have received from Elin Suleymanov and Farid Musayev of the Azerbaijan Consulate General’s office in Los Angeles in helping connect us to the District and to develop plans for connecting the two neighborhoods, especially in the areas of education, culture, and the arts,” said Woody Merrill, a retired attorney who lives in Switzer Highland. “Working with such competent and amiable people has greatly added to our enjoyment in working on this project.” Reprinted with permission of the North Park News
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Language
You Can Speak Azerbaijani! Lesson 2 by Colleen MacDonell
For those of you who read the last article, I hope you have been using your numbers! Now, as modern parents say to their children, it’s time to use your words… If you start to frequent your neighborhood shops, people will be curious about you and will want to chat. Be friendly and try to exchange a few basic pleasantries. Here’s how. origin. It is a rather beautiful Islamic at http://dictionary.reference.com/ Greetings Say hello before you get on with your business. The easiest way to say hello is Salam. This is one of the many words in Azerbaijani that is Arabic in
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greeting that literally means “Peace.” Arabic speakers say it a bit differently – salaam – with the emphasis on the second syllable. (Listen to this sound
browse/salaam.) In Azerbaijani the emphasis is more on the first syllable. Sometimes a shopkeeper will address you in a more formal way with Salam
Language əleykim, pronounced more like əleyküm. (Don’t worry about the unusual letters. We’ll look at this later. The response is to turn the phrase around – Əleykim salam! This literally means “Peace be upon you.” It comes the Arabic expression and is a greeting exchanged between believers, a promise to help you and protect you from harm (and also to ask God to protect you from harm.) Our English “Hi” is certainly not an accurate translation!
Friendly Questions and Answers Don’t be surprised if people ask you questions. As you become a familiar face to a shopkeeper, he is likely to start asking how you are. Thus, a simple Salam will become Salam. Necəsiz? Necə- is the “how are” part. The endings -siz and -siniz are using for the plural “you” or formal address (as vous is used in French). The singular ending is -sən but this familiar form is only
for people you know well. The answer to Necəsiz? is Yaxşıyam. “I am fine.” You can return the question by asking back, Bəs siz necəsiz? “And how are you?” They will probably respond: Mən də yaxşıyam. “I am fine as well.” The way to ask someone “What’s new?” or “How are things?” is Nə var, nə yox? This is literally “What is, what is not?” A joke I often hear in response to this question is: Hər şey var, heç nə yoxdur. “Everything is, nothing is not.” Normally though, people simply respond with the following: Sağ ol. “Thanks.” Sağ olun. “Thanks” (polite or plural form). Hər şey yaxşıdır. “Everything is fine.” Yaxşıyam. “I am fine.” Hər şey qaydasındadır. “Everything is in order.” Pis deyil. “Not bad.” Əladır! “Fabulous, great.” One question you will inevitably get is Siz haradansınız? “Where are you from?” The easiest answer is to say the name of your country as clearly
as you can and add –dan “from” to the end plus –(y)am “I am.” Thus, I always say Kanadadanam – “I am from Canada.” Canada and America (Amerika) are easy, other countries are not so obvious. Look up your own country and practice it, because you will be asked this question. (See below for my link to learning resources.)
Fond Farewells
The most common farewell is sağ ol (singular) or sağ olun (plural) for “Good-bye.” Yes, this word is using for both “thanks” and “good-bye.” Literally it means “Be healthy/well.” Other often-heard expressions for good-bye are: Yaxşı yol. “Good luck (Have a good trip).” Görüşərik. “See you. (We will meet again).” Hələlik. “See you soon.” Sabaha qədər! “See you tomorrow.” Go on – use your words today! Yaxşı yol. Gələn dəfə görüşərik!
Listen online to all the phrases in this article: Greetings: http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/11/listen-to-greetings.html Friendly Questions and Answers: http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/11/listen-to-friendlyquestions-and.html Fond Farewells: http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/11/listen-to-fond-farewells.html Learning Resources http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/07/learning-resources.html http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/08/resources-update.html http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-resource.html
Colleen has been living in Baku for the past four years. She loves just about everything about Baku – the fresh fruit and veg, the friendly peple, the beautiful music, and of course, the melodious sounds of Azerbaijani. Colleen is learning to play mugham, folk tunes, songs, and opera on the local stick fiddle (kamancha). She is a teacher-librarian and educational writer who hails from Nova Scotia, Canada. january 2012 |
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review
MOVIE In Cinema
Underworld Awakening Director: Mеns Mеrlind, Bjцrn Stein Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Charles Dance Plot Summary: “Underworld Awakening” brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to be in 3D. Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species... Before The Twilights it was the Underworld that put vampires and werewolves against each other. After not very successful Underworld: Evolution, the producers made hard decision to go for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and didn;t regret it. Hopefully Awakening will be a top movie to watch with Kate Beckinsale back in action.
The Grey
Man on a ledge
Director: Joe Carnahan Starring: Liam Neeson Plot Summary: In “The Grey,” Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors have only a few days to escape the icy elements – and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt – before their time runs out.
Contraband Director: Baltasar Kormбkur Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Plot Summary: Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brotherin-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does 68 |
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Director: Asger Leth Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Plot Summary: An ex-cop and now wanted fugitive stands on the ledge of a high-rise building while a hardliving New York Police Department hostage negotiator tries to talk him down. The longer they are on the ledge, the more she realizes that he might have an ulterior objective. best--running contraband--to settle Andy’s debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit bills. Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.
review
One for the Money Director: Julie Ann Robinson Starring: Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguiziamo, Debbie Reynolds, Debra Monk Plot Summary: Katherine Heigl brings Stephanie Plum - the popular heroine of Janet Evanovich’s worldwide best-selling sixteen-book mystery series - to vibrant life in Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment’s “One for the Money.” A proud, born-and-bred Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum’s got plenty of attitude, even if she’s been out of work for the last six months and just lost her car to a debt collector. Desperate for some fast cash, Stephanie turns to her last resort: convincing her sleazy cousin to give her a job at his bail bonding company... as a recovery agent. True, she doesn’t even own a pair of handcuffs and her weapon of choice is pepper spray, but that doesn’t stop Stephanie from taking on Vinny’s biggest bail-jumper: former vice cop and murder suspect Joe Morelli - yup, the same sexy, irresistible Joe Morelli who seduced and dumped her back in high school. Nabbing Morelli would be satisfying payback - and a hefty payday - but as Stephanie learns the ins and outs of becoming a recovery agent from Ranger, a hunky colleague who’s the best in the business. She also realizes the case against Morelli isn’t airtight. Add to the mix her meddling family, a potentially homicidal boxer, witnesses who keep dying and the problem of all those flying sparks when she finds Morelli himself... well, suddenly Stephanie’s new job isn’t nearly as easy as she thought.
Hangover Part 2
On DVD & Blu-ray
Plot Summary: Alan (Galifianakas), Stu (Helms) and Phil (Cooper) awake in another hotel room, unable to remember what’s gone down. But this time they’re in Thailand, with the trail of mayhem taking in monks, monkeys and a schlong of ladyboys.
Super 8
Plot Summary: Sneaking out at night to shoot a pivotal scene in their homemade zombie film, Joe (Courtney) and his pals witness a dramatic train crash. Then the really weird stuff begins, and the boys realise something escaped from the wreckage... Verdict: It’s nowhere close to E. T. — what is? — but amongst the hullabaloo of summer, Super 8 is something to cherish: a beautifully made homage to better times, and better movies.
Rise of Planet of the Apes Plot Summary: Will Rodman, researching a cure for Alzheimer’s, takes home a baby chimpanzee after its mother — supposedly a failed experiment — is destroyed. Caesar, the chimp, exhibits near-human intelligence, and comes to question his kind’s place on a human planet. Impounded after attacking a neighbour, Caesar meets other apes and starts a rebellion. Verdict: All monkeys are great and the humans are wrong so go EAT BANANA.
Verdict: The ‘Part II’ in the title is a nod to the second Godfather, which matched the genius of its forerunner. Ironically, his own sequel offer is one you should refuse.
On TV
Once Upon a Time
Plot Summary: Centers on a woman with a troubled past who is drawn into a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real. Verdict: Once Upon a Time is such a delightful addition to Sunday nights. Somehow this fairy tale drama manages to tug at my heart, inspire my imagination and leave me counting the days until the next episode. january 2012 |
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RT RLD
SP W
SPORT SPORT
Aдlot interesting happened last month in world of sports. You will find the focal points in this issue. Who won the classico? What about ATP Final tournament? England’s Euro2012 group stage rivals. Our contributor Teymur Aliyev will tell you everything.
Event of the month
Football
Real Madrid - Barcelona FC 1:3. Just an interpreter? Jose Mourinho who started his career as an interpreter at FC Barcelona could not beat Catalan club again.
Number of the month
0
Juventus is the only team in Europe which has not lost a single match in an internal championship.
“
Quotes of the month
”
There is something going on between Milan and Tevez. “I like him very much. Persons like him are called ‘bad guys’. Recently, we have actually succeeded in dealing with these kind of players.” Adriano Galliani commented on the rumors about a possible transfer of Carlos Tevez to Milan.
Shot of the month Thursday night. Channel Five. Manchester United’s defeat by Basel in the Champions League has left Channel Five ecstatic as they will now have a top team featuring in their European Cup. 70 |
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Joke of the months
A tourist is in North London one Saturday and he decides he would very much like to go to a football match, so he asks a man in the street if there are any local matches being played that afternoon. “Well,” replies the man, “the Arsenal ground is very close but they’re playing away today. If you feel you really must see a match, the Tottenham ground is not that far away. You go straight down this road and you’ll see two queues, a big queue and a small queue. You should go to the small queue because the big one is for the fish and chip shop.
SPORT The 16 UEFA EURO 2012 contenders were placed into four hugely challenging groups in the December draw which pitted Poland against Greece in the opening game of the tournament.
Group A
(Warsaw/Wroclaw)
Group B
(Kharkiv/Lviv)
Poland (co-hosts) Greece Russia Czech Republic
Netherlands Denmark Germany Portugal
Group C
Group D
(Gdansk/Poznan)
Spain (holders) Italy Republic of Ireland Croatia
(Kyiv/Donetsk)
Ukraine (co-hosts) Sweden France England
Holders FC Barcelona will continue the defence of their UEFA Champions League title against Bayer 04 Leverkusen after the draw for the round of 16 was held in Nyon, Switzerland.
Olympique Lyonnais - APOEL FC Bayer 04 Leverkusen - FC Barcelona AC Milan - Arsenal FC FC Zenit St. Petersburg - SL Benfica
SSC Napoli - Chelsea FC PFC CSKA Moskva - Real Madrid CF FC Basel 1893 - FC Bayern München Olympique de Marseille - FC Internazionale
Tennis Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament singles trophy after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the final on day eight of the competition in London on November 27, 2011. Roger Federer won a record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title with a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 victory over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. With this win he moved ahead of Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl on the list of Tour Finals champions in the 100th final of his majestic career. The 30-year-old, who retains the title he won 12 months ago, has now won 70 trophies in his career and has also equalled Lendl’s record of 39 match wins in the end-of-season event.
Basketball The lockout is over! The 66th NBA season started last week. The marathon will last for four months and will finish on April 26, 2012. This is going to be a short season and the teams will have to play 4-5 games a week. Let’s see how they will react to this physical challenge. The favorite teams for the rings are the same as last year – Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, LA Lakers. Stay tuned! It’s going to be interesting!
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SPORT SPORT
Azerbaijan Open The 10th Azerbaijan Open golf tournament took place at the Montgomerie Golf Club in Dubai on the 4th & 5th December. The event was first held in 2002, at the infamous “Pink Loch” golf course (a field with holes) in Azerbaijan. It has grown annually and 2011 saw record numbers attending with 84 participants who travelled from all across the globe to reach this prestigious event. People that have lived/worked in Azerbaijan and since moved away still get back together for this golf extravaganza.
The 10th Azerbaijan Open golf tournament took place at the Montgomerie Golf Club in Dubai on the 4th & 5th December. The event was first held in 2002, at the infamous “Pink Loch” golf course (a field with holes) in Azerbaijan. It has grown annually and 2011 saw record numbers attending with 84 participants who travelled from all across the globe to reach this prestigious event. People that have lived/worked in Azerbaijan and since moved away still get back together for this golf extravaganza. The tournament itself relies on the support and generosity of companies to provide sponsorship; once again the familiar names stepped forward to do this and for the third successive year Bakcell was our main sponsor, with other regulars, ACE Forwarding Caspian, BJ Services, MaxTube, Rapid Solutions, RBG, Rolls Royce & Topaz Marine all contributing to cover the cost for the Food, Drink, Entertainment, Golf goodie bags, T-Shirts, Trophies & Balls. Raffle items were kindly donated by:Bakcell, Golfland, the Fairmont, Kempinski & the Montgomerie Dubai. 72 |
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With the entrance fee that the participants pay and the sponsorship offered by the above companies we are pleased to say that we raised in excess of $30,000 which will be distributed to local charities including the Friends of Saray Project, The Community Shield Azerbaijan (CSA) and the Rotaract Club of Azerbaijan. Bakcell continued with their initiative to encourage golf in Azerbaijan by arranging for golf academy tuition to be given to 15 guests from Baku. This is the third year that they have run the academy in parallel with the AZ Open golf event, and all participants mix together for the combined presentations on both days. So, to the tournament itself, 84 players, most of which were nursing sore heads from the preceding Dubai 7’s Rugby event, leapt into their buggies for the 1pm shotgun start. The “Baku Blast” of horns signaled all drivers to head to their respective tee boxes and we were underway….. Former Baku-vites Dawn Quinn and Jana Bienz fought a titanic battle over the
2 days to see who could claim the most trophies with Jana edging it with 4 awards to Dawns 2. Their respective husbands, Billy and Rene’, also played but went home without winning anything – though an injury to Rene’s back (no doubt from carrying Jana’s trophies) forced him to pull out of the “Open” on day 2. Billy however has no excuse, Dawn is just better than him – Fact! It was pleasing to see that from the 10 ladies that played 6 of them were on the awards list. Graeme Gordon secured a hat trick of back to back victories in the gross section of best Azerbaijan based players, though it was more pleasing for everyone else to witness him receiving his “Trekkie” award as Captain of the worst team of the tournament! In 2010 David Lawson suffered immensely in what could best be described as “Hoop-Gate”, this year however with no such problems he forced his way on to the winner’s rostrum and broke it…securing Best Net score for the 2 days and bragging rights for the next 12 months!
SPORT of trophies but for the 2nd year running was careless with one of them after the presentation and once again will be forced to handle it with plastic gloves and full PPE.
Frank Wilson set the heather alight with a blistering 80 shots, playing off 19, and amassed a record breaking 47 stableford points on day one – for all you non-golfers (Ernesto) that is extremely suspicious shooting and had it been anyone other than Frankie they would have ended up having to room in the “travelers” camp-site with the Quinn clan where handicaps are adjusted. Stuart Nimmo, after disputing his own handicap, still managed to secure a couple
With more Quinn’s than you could shake a stick at, there was every possibility that an abundance of trophies would be heading back to Ireland, but we managed to retrieve most of them before the awards took place. Marathon and Noel Quinn made sure Dawn would not be the only family member travelling with a prize or two, fortunately BOTH John Quinn’s failed to win anything! A full list of awards for both days and for the combined 2 day event can be seen below: The festivities commenced after the awards ceremony and with the theme loosely based on Eurovision we were pleased to see the Austrian contingent, ably assisted by the Czech Republic and Switzerland, jump up to perform Dancing Queen…….. Predictably enough, Nil Points, but Wogan would have loved it! Baku’s own Bruce Bissett, a rumored
DAY 1
contender for the over 50’s section of the X-Factor, was next up representing Scotland with his special version of Let Me Entertain You….which he certainly did. Not to be out done and with the theme of Eurovision starting to decline Dacca Dave was up singing House of Fun for his home country Bangladesh – that boy has the Moves Like Jabba and will no doubt be releasing a fitness dvd at some point during 2012 Ernesto Dazza burst his lungs for Bolivia (accompanied by a 20 strong backing group blowing bottles to sound like pan pipes) singing something that we couldn’t quite distinguish despite the lyrics being on the screen behind him. The night drifted on with singers gaining confidence with every mouthful and the AZ Open 2011 closed around 4am – another great year. For anyone interested in joining the event for 2012 please contact David Lawson on e-mail david@acecaspian.com. Dates provisionally booked for the 2nd and 3rd December 2012.
DAY 2
N T P 13th Hole N T P 13th Hole L D 3rd Hole Ladies L D 16th
Debbie Murray Walter Jardine Paul Moir Lori Blin
N T P 6th Hole N T P 17th Hole L D 9th Hole Ladies L D 5th
Jason Grimley Margaret Donaldson Dave Voller Dawn Quinn
Ladies Winner Ladies Runner Up
Jana Bienz 39 points Dawn Quinn 29
Ladies Winner Ladies Runner Up
Jana Bienz 33 points Anns Wilson 31
Tier 1 (0-18 Handicap) Gross Score Gross 1st Place Paul Moir 78 strokes (CB) Gross 2nd Place Graeme Gordon 78
Tier 1 (0-18 Handicap) Gross Score Gross 1st Place Paul Moir 72 strokes Gross 2nd Place Ally Riggs 80
Tier 1 (0-18 Handicap) Stableford Points Nett 1st Place Jason Hill 39 points Nett 2nd Place Stuart Nimmo 38
Tier 1 (0-18 Handicap) Stableford Points Nett 1st Place Martin Quinn 42 points Nett 2nd Place Noel Quin 39
Tier 2 (19-28 Handicap) Gross Score Gross 1st Place Frank Wilson 80 strokes Gross 2nd Place Simon Leiper 92
Tier 2 (19-28 Handicap) Gross Score Gross 1st Place Simon Leiper 90 strokes Gross 2nd Place John Simpson 99
Tier 2 (19-28 Handicap) Stableford Points Nett 1st Place Hakan Tin 36 points (CB) Nett 2nd Place Bruce Bissett 36
Tier 2 (19-28 Handicap) Stableford Points Nett 1st Place Martin Bremner 36 points Nett 2nd Place John McFadyen 31 points
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EVENT
BBG XMas Party This year’s British Business Group Christmas Party was once again a great success, everyone was in good Christmas cheer and spirits were high. Santarotti made a welcome return and recieved a standing ovation for his performance of Nessun
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Dorma. Nicky Barclay, Tisa school teacher and Eurovision entrant also took to the stage to perform alongside the band. Thanks to John Patterson’s organisational skills the evening was full of fun, prizes, laughter and dancing!
EVENT
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EVENT
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july 2010 | mag ine | 13
EVENT
German Christmas Bazaar The Bazaar is organised and co-ordinated by an ever-changing group of German speaking ladies. The Bazaar is very popular amongst the whole Baku community, locals and expats alike.
78 |
magazine | january 2012
The bazaar sells typical German food, authentic christmas decorations and much more. The proceeds are given to a number of children’s charity projects in Azerbaijan.
Addres: Sabail district, Tarlan Aliyarbeyov st. AZ100 phone: (+994 12) 498 6979 mob: (+99455) 2131907 e-mail: info@ottobaku.az web: www.ottobaku.az Otto Efes beer cafe Baku
EVENT
Rapid Solutions Rapid Solutions have been showing off their hosting skills, celebrating the Xmas season in style starting with a party at
80 |
magazine | january 2012
Chinar to celebrate 15 years in business here in Azerbaijan. We wish them luck for the next 15!
EVENT
january 2012 |
magazine | 73
Akulina
EVENT
Last month Baku saw the opening of a boutique style culinary shop. Famous chef, Ilkin Akberzade and his team are offering salads, desserts and special diet menus aswell as a range of breads and special sauces. With the menu changing every 3 months, you can expect something a little
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magazine | january 2012
different each time you visit. Ilkin Akberazde is a culinary master of Azerbaijan, European, African and Russian cuisine. He has worked in 5* hotels throughout Europe and Russia and has been personally approached to cook for the rich and the famous. His recipes have
featured in many magazine publications and he has featured on television cooking shows. He is a member of the Guild of Russian Chefs (www.chefs.ru) and a member of the Emirates Culinary Guild (www.emiratesculinaryguild.net).
Samed Vurgun str. citymart
london pub & grill
Hazi Aslanov 105, (Round the corner from the City centre “Citymart� shop) mob: +99455 302 6774
Hazi Aslanov str
EUROVISIOn food
nov/dec 2011 |
magazine | 75