Stereotypes have it that the older you are, the worse you are at navigating the Internet.
authors
Chinara Majidova
Author's stories
The Azeri Grandmother Surfing The Web
It is a sliver of sand in the Caspian, a flat, low-lying island surrounded by cobalt blue sea and an aura of mystery - Azerbaijan’s Eastern-most point lays placid some 45km east of Baku, on the tip of the Absheron peninsula where the capital sprawls, and has been the frontier of the country’s oil adventures and aged oil drills are a stark reminder of that past.
The Oily Sands of Аrtyom
On November 14, 1944 Gulli Bekirova was 11. She remembers a cold night, winter was in the air. The women of the family were together, when they heard a loud banging on the door.
Azerbaijan’s Meskhetian Turks
Meir Manashirov strolls to the cemetery everyday. Slowly. The 84 year old is frail, he takes his time to get to the graveyard - he walks through the entrance, weeds out the pathways, cleans the graves, prays.
Azerbaijan’s Jewish Past and Present
Stereotypes have it that the older you are, the worse you are at navigating the Internet. That is, when you are at all. And indeed in Azerbaijan, elderly surfing the web or juggling smartphones are not a common sight.
The Azeri Grandmother Surfing The Web
Nigar Samadzadeh stands out in Baku. It is definitely the blue hair, the shaved eyebrows, and the fake fur coat, but there is more to it. By virtue of following what she likes, Nigar, who goes by Naomi, challenges the strict pre-established standards of what a young woman should do, how she should behave, and which path she should walk on in Azerbaijan. Being filmed dancing on a beach, in a violet bikini while smoking a cigarette is far from that stereotype.
Nigar-aka-Naomi
Sitting at the confluence of two large rivers flowing down from the Great Caucasus, Zagatala is Azerbaijan’s hazelnuts heaven. Across the northern district bordering Georgia sprawl over half of the country’s orchards - about 17,000 hectares of the country’s 31,814 are concentrated in the region.
Azerbaijan’s Economy Goes Nuts
When Bakuvians think of their city’s traditional hamams, they think of light from small windows illuminating yellow-marble rooms swathed in steam, copper jugs full of hot water and the endless sound of water.
Baku’s Hamams: Building Community the Old-Fashioned Way
From above, Baku is a blend of low old buildings, modern high rises and uninviting Soviet apartment blocks. Its walled historical heart, İçəri Şəhəror Old City, features elegant stone facades and shiny pebbled streets, a result of a steady beautification which earned Old Baku recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.
Baku’s Hidden Gems
Skateboarding gained popularity in the country in the early 2000s. There was a skate park in the capital, Baku, and some Azerbaijani skaters went professional, winning competitions and earning money.