Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Azerbaijan For Dummies

Dear foreign people,

“Especially foreign teachers, students, politicians, sports people and travellers.”

We decided to promote our country in a more native way than the official “come visit us commercials” which do not give you the real insights of our dear motherland. As I travelled abroad I constantly witnessed lack of knowledge in people when topic was Azerbaijan. I still remember some American students calling us “little Russia” which pissed me off many time. Because we were not little and we definitely were not Russia.

For those of you that hear the name of my country for the first time let me help you with pronouncing it right. It is Azerbaijan (Azer-buy-jun-gle without the (-gle) part). Most of you start off with a wrong pronounciation which hurts because it is our country name for God sake.

Foreign people are constantly bombarded with myths about developing countries (especially Azerbaijan).  This is why we (me and partner Orkhan Ahmadov) decided to hold a non-profit project for people who are interested in coming, will visit or want to know almost anything about Azerbaijan. We are going to share exclusive insights that you will hear only from native Azeris.

 Azerbaijan is an ancient country with a modern chaos within the social structure. This country is more like an exhibition center for multi-cultural bounds that decorate the very streets of its cities.

We live in a country which has an amazing combination of traditions, religions, political and social views.

This is just a prelude to our unbelievable tour inside the “Land of Fires”…fires which are caused by pipelines and doner makers…

Dear visitors and candidates to visiting…prepare yourself to an amazing discovery while you are in Azerbaijan! Everything will be different along the journey. Everything will be Azeri way. So put on your helmet and fasten your seatbelts if they are safe and not sold by any azeri already. Enjoy your stay, travel or exchange experience. Whatever it is you will never forget this country…especially the girls…food…places…and cars…

What else can you expect from a country that has something in common with Russia, Iran, Turkey, Georgia and of course BP…it must be something bold and crazy! Something that will blow you away…by the way our capital city Baku (Ba-co-ol without the (-ol) part) is often called the city of winds. So the being blown up part is guaranteed almost four months in a year.

This is my first post. This is why I will make it sure that you get a handy tip of the day:
“If you see two men kissing each other in the middle of the city do not get suprised. They are not gays…they are “gagash’s” who kiss in a customized way. This kind of greeting is general for Azeri youth which reminds us of Miami at times but we are so italian when it comes to greeting each other.”
Gagash is the “cowboy” version of a boy who usually drives an old Russian manufactured Vaz 2107 or Vaz2106 car and plays loud exotic music inside his car. He makes sure that every one around hears his music. Please ignore gagash’s if you can and the rest will be fine.
To be continued…

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