Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Roaming in the regions





I'm back in Ganca, the place where I began my road trips late in the spring. It is not much different. Some of the buildings that were under construction when I was here are complete - and empty. The building phenomenon is not limited to Baku. High rises sprout in the provincial cities too. Who buys these expensive apartments? Some wealthy residents of Baku buy them for second homes. Ganca, after all, isn't that far from some beautiful pastoral areas. And doubtless some of the units are built for speculative or money laundering purposes.

In any case, it's nice to be back here. The city has a relaxed feel in general. Of course, I am more obvious as a foreigner - but I'm used to that now.

Pictured here are the old mosque in the central park, the central plaza (note the large picture of Heydar Aliyev), and a newly constructed apartment building facing the plaza.

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