1st September: Istanbul, Turkey to Baku, Azerbaijan
Through the Istanbul night in a taxi. The streets were busy with people and the roads busy with cars even at 3:45! We eventually found the bus (at a different location to website says) and got last two seats on the 4:00 shuttle to Sabiha Gokcen.
The airport experience is never fun and always confusing. After the short hop to Ankara, we had time to do some admin in the airport before the onward flight eastwards over Anatolia. We followed Turkey’s Black Sea coast, Trabzonspor’s stadium and snowy northern mountain flanks visible. Nearing the Georgian border, the biblical Mount Ararat (said to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark) appeared to our south. Sacred to Armenians, it is within in modern day Turkey (more on that later, I’m sure). This felt like our entry into the nations of the south Caucasus.
Disaster! And an entirely predictable one. AJet lost Kaja’s main bag somewhere between Istanbul, Ankara, and Baku. We checked with 3 different agents at Istanbul and again at Ankara that the transfer would go through but none of them were convincing enough, and we were pretty concerned all day. I think it’s more surprising that mine made it. This is after cancelling our original direct flight and making us pay extra for the connecting one (which took 5 hours longer and meant a 2:30 rather than 7:30 alarm). Never, ever consider using AJet. The staff at Baku airport think they’ve tracked down the bag in Ankara and will send it on tomorrow’s flight. We’ll wait and see on that.
As difficult as it is to see past Kaja’s lost bag, our welcome into Azerbaijan was very friendly – somebody helped us with the city card and even insisted on giving us the correct change; and then the bus driver came and found us, took us to his bus, drove us to the city, and gave us and every other foreign passenger translated directions to our individual accommodations! All for less than 60p. Following those directions, we saw car-centric Baku at play, with 5-lane one-way roads (with no markings) through the heart of the city leading to strongly polluted air whist walking.
Arrival at our accommodation didn’t go to plan either. The room had flooded due to a broken shower. It was all we needed as we both desperately wanted some quiet space to calm ourselves. The owner eventually sorted the issue and cleaned up, but the room left a lot to be desired. Food nearby was similarly disappointing – a decidedly oily affair (a fitting introduction to Azerbaijan in one sense, perhaps?), with deliciously sweet peach compote salvaging the meal. I wrote in the hostel to the sound of a fantastic local band (we had to walk through the gig and up a ladder at the front to our room) playing famous Azerbaijani songs to a small but raucous crowd.