A Z E R B A I J A N

Yes, Azerbaijan. This congers up all kinds of exotic images. This little country was once the hub of the energy business. All the big players were there, oil giants of the past. Baku, the capital city, was an ediface of wealth and modern cities. During the 75 years of Soviet rule there were many changes. Some say the resources of the country were stolen. Others say life was good under Soviet domination. I don't know. But I think freedom carries a price. Freedom means that you can achieve whatever height you aspire with enough hard work and perseverance. Freedom also means the freedom to fail, and be poor and destitute.

Oh, well whatever the reason Azerbaijan now enjoys a "sort of" democratic freedom ever since independence in the early 90's. Now the oil giants are back in Baku and the money if flowing, in some circles at least.
I was in Azerbaijan for about one an one half years. One year as the director of the Internet Access and Training Project (IATP) under the United States Information Agency (USIA) and another six months as a Fulbright Scholar. During that time I learned a great deal about the country and its people. I intend in these pages to share some of my experiences and views about that experience and about the country.
I am going to start with something kinda wierd but to be taken as a measure of the ingenuity of the people. They are masters at keeping cars running. Old Russian cars such as Lada's, Toyota's, Italian cars, whatever they can keep them running. But they lack for many of the modern tools of automobile repair, such as a lift so the transmission or exhaust system can be worked on. So, they improvise. How to get a car in the position that you can work on the bottom. The following photographs show the answer........(These photos were taken by John Starnes, a good ol'East Texas boy I met and enjoyed time with while in Azerbaijan)