visiting Azerbaijan
A little while ago, I learned that I am in fact going to visit in Azerbaijan. I can't describe how happy or excited I am. I haven't seen my native country in a long time, and I am going to see as much as I can, and visit all of my friends and some of my relatives. My mother is coming with me too, which will make the trip more fun, and she might serve as a translator if there are people who only speak the Azeri language(it's Turkish mixed in with some other languages, I think).
There are many things I'm planning on seeing, such as the Inner City in Baku, which dates to at least to the 12th century, and the Bashna(Maiden's Tower), and the palace in it. I am also bent on visiting a village called Madakan, and exploring it's two castles built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. And, if one of Mom's friends can drive me over to the town of Ramana, then I'll be able to visit another castle. Not to mention, my mother is going to take me to see an ancient fire temple too. On top of all of that, I also want to visit a mountain, and the caves of Gobustan, which contain ancient drawings made by cave dwellers. Hopefully, I can fit all of this stuff in, along with everything else that Mom wants to do.
There is one thing I would've loved to see however . . . It's in the small spot of land that Azerbaijan government still owns, but it's surrounded by Armenia, and the only way to get there is by airplane. Plus, even if I went there, I might be heading into the middle of an ongoing war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Anyway, the city I would have liked to visit is Nakhichvan, the oldest city in Azerbaijan. It emerged in the 6th century B.C., and in it is a fortress called Gyaur-Kola, which the Azerbaijani tour agency says dates back to 2,000 B.C.
I have to tell you, reading about the fortress's age gave me a shock. I didn't think something as old as that could still exist in Azerbaijan, of all places. Although, the tourist agency might be exaggerating about Gyaur-Kola's age, to be honest I really don't know. Once I read how old it was, I wanted to visit Gyaur-Kola with all my heart, but going there would entail me and Mom taking another airplane just to get there, and I don't want to risk my and my mother's life by getting in a war zone. Maybe in a few years, when I come to Azerbaijan again, and there aren't having a feud with Armenia over land, I'll go visit Nakhichevan.
Overall, I think my trip to Azerbaijan will be great!
Moving on to other things. Yesterday, my dad gave me something that he bought in a local flee market. I bet no one can guess what it is. It was ROMAN COINS!!!!!!!!!
Yep, you read that right. ROMAN COINS(and a Greek coin)! Dad bought me four of them(and received an extra one). One was a coin dating back to Ancient Greece, another one had a picture of Hadrian on it, another coin showed a remarkably intact picture of Constantine the Great, and another coin showed the face of a Roman emperor called Probus, who reined from 276-282 A.D.. The last coin had a face of a man, whose name I couldnt tell because it was so old, and on the back of it it showed what appeared to be a family of farmers, or soldiers, I couldn't tell which. I think I'm going to have to get a good magnifying glass to examine it.
I also finished Chapter 2 of my novel. So far so good. My writing pace is steadily increasing. Now all I have to do is be able to retain my writing consistency, and I'll be able to finish the book by the end of the summer, or in the middle of fall.
There are many things I'm planning on seeing, such as the Inner City in Baku, which dates to at least to the 12th century, and the Bashna(Maiden's Tower), and the palace in it. I am also bent on visiting a village called Madakan, and exploring it's two castles built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. And, if one of Mom's friends can drive me over to the town of Ramana, then I'll be able to visit another castle. Not to mention, my mother is going to take me to see an ancient fire temple too. On top of all of that, I also want to visit a mountain, and the caves of Gobustan, which contain ancient drawings made by cave dwellers. Hopefully, I can fit all of this stuff in, along with everything else that Mom wants to do.
There is one thing I would've loved to see however . . . It's in the small spot of land that Azerbaijan government still owns, but it's surrounded by Armenia, and the only way to get there is by airplane. Plus, even if I went there, I might be heading into the middle of an ongoing war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Anyway, the city I would have liked to visit is Nakhichvan, the oldest city in Azerbaijan. It emerged in the 6th century B.C., and in it is a fortress called Gyaur-Kola, which the Azerbaijani tour agency says dates back to 2,000 B.C.
I have to tell you, reading about the fortress's age gave me a shock. I didn't think something as old as that could still exist in Azerbaijan, of all places. Although, the tourist agency might be exaggerating about Gyaur-Kola's age, to be honest I really don't know. Once I read how old it was, I wanted to visit Gyaur-Kola with all my heart, but going there would entail me and Mom taking another airplane just to get there, and I don't want to risk my and my mother's life by getting in a war zone. Maybe in a few years, when I come to Azerbaijan again, and there aren't having a feud with Armenia over land, I'll go visit Nakhichevan.
Overall, I think my trip to Azerbaijan will be great!
Moving on to other things. Yesterday, my dad gave me something that he bought in a local flee market. I bet no one can guess what it is. It was ROMAN COINS!!!!!!!!!
Yep, you read that right. ROMAN COINS(and a Greek coin)! Dad bought me four of them(and received an extra one). One was a coin dating back to Ancient Greece, another one had a picture of Hadrian on it, another coin showed a remarkably intact picture of Constantine the Great, and another coin showed the face of a Roman emperor called Probus, who reined from 276-282 A.D.. The last coin had a face of a man, whose name I couldnt tell because it was so old, and on the back of it it showed what appeared to be a family of farmers, or soldiers, I couldn't tell which. I think I'm going to have to get a good magnifying glass to examine it.
I also finished Chapter 2 of my novel. So far so good. My writing pace is steadily increasing. Now all I have to do is be able to retain my writing consistency, and I'll be able to finish the book by the end of the summer, or in the middle of fall.