Rug Shop on Ramazan

From Old to new Baku

Thanks to the Branch President and his wife, I now have pictures!! They lent me their camera, so I've taken just a few to at least have something to show.
I have much to say, and definitely won't get it all typed.
First, if you've been in tune with my frustrations of being able to get onto Blogger this past week, I'll say that there is the possibility that I might switch to another Blog. If so, I'll let you know. I'm guessing that my problems have to do with the Internet service that I have at home, but I don't really understand.

Icharishahar (Old City) Double Gate

I have had a four-day weekend which is almost over, but it has been nice to sort-of catch up with my new life here in some ways and to exercise, etc. Early this afternoon, I decided to take a walk down to the Old City with the camera I had lent to me. I wanted to accomplish two things: exercise and take pictures. When I was in the Old City walls, I got caught as I was taking pictures of the "Flying Carpet" shop. I was glad to talk to the people who work there and I was well taken care of. They quickly got me into the shop and said they'd take my picture, which resulted in an hour and a half of intimate details about rug-making, the many types of weave for lamb's wool, camel, and silk, and which are the best (Azeri, of course), etc. Actually, it was quite interesting and now I have a much greater appreciation for rugs and why they are so important to the people of this region. Now I understand Scott McGrew and the important rug purchases while in Morocco. I just didn't expect to spend so long on my walk. I do hope to buy one before leaving. In the meantime, Ruslan, who spent the hour-and-a-half describing the rugs to me, has offered to give me a tour of the Old City, because he used to give tours there. I think I'll take him up on it, because I know I'll learn a bit more than if I were to do a self-guided tour.

Ruslan dressed me up for a picture in the rug shop