Ismayli

Last week, I traveled out of Baku to a town called Ismayli with Amy, my friend and the director of American Councils here. (American Councils organized my trip to Azerbaijan-- found me a host family, arranged my visa, etc.) It was the end of Ramadan last week, so Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were national holidays. Ramadan is a month-long Muslim holiday, during which people fast from sun up to sundown. My host sister was fasting and I felt bad that she would cook me breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then not eat with me!

Ismayli is located about 3 hours west of Baku, past the desert and out in the lush mountain region of Azerbaijan. It was really beautiful. Amy spent 2 years there as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English and we stayed with her host family. We spent 2 nights and one full day there. The full day was the official holiday marking the end of Ramadan and involved a lot of feasting. Her host mother made a big dinner for the holiday (pictured here)-- plov with chestnuts and lamb, and salad. And we spent most of the day visiting Amy's old friends from her time there. At every house we visited, they put out a big spread of fruit, dolma, bread, tea, sweets, and various other homemade goodies. Four houses and eight hours later, I just couldn't eat anymore, so I went home to digest, while Amy continued with her visits. I think I'm still full from that day!