World's best airport in a country with best camouflage skills

So The Jakarta Post published this list of 13 best airports in the world. It is awesome to see Azerbaijan's new international airport featured on the list, and I am not surprised our media outlets picked up on the story.

What is however interesting is that how Azernews does not mention much about tourism stats or the point Jakarta Post makes about the importance of airports:

According to Citylab, airports play a crucial role in economic development as it moves people. The number of passengers and flights is said to be related to economic output, wages and income. Fortunately, more and more airports are being upgraded and modernized, giving comfort to passengers and supporting a country's economy.

According to the most recent stats, as shared by the Ministry of Culture, a total of 1.8million tourists visited Azerbaijan in 2017. The highest number of tourists are from Russia, followed by Georgia, Iran, Turkey, UAE, and others.   

And yet, our own citizens prefer going to neighboring Georgia for holidays such as New Year. The close distance, lower prices, friendly environment are certainly important in this decision. Even though Azerbaijan Tourism Association disagrees. It is not the low prices that attract Azerbaijani tourists but the closeness of the country. I think we should ask Azerbaijanis who travel there. I am sure price, quality and diversity would certainly have something to do with it. It is also easier to travel to Georgia as there are no visa requirements and although Azerbaijan is working to improve its visa handling through notorious ASAN service we are yet to see the results and impact on the country's tourism industry.

Now back to the discussion of economic development and the role of the airports. Y'all know about levels of corruption in Azerbaijan so who knows how much money was swept under the carpet during the construction of this airport. And since Y'all know all about how "caring" our leadership is towards its people, I don't have to tell you that the only economic development that can be a topic of discussion in Azerbaijan, is the economic wealth of the ruling family and its closest. 

Independence of institutions are nominal and all of the power is vested within the executive. The imitation of the multiparty system has been stellar even though those who are familiar with the country are aware that this is indeed an imitation and tolerance only extends to those parties who are supportive of the regime and its policies. Within such carefully built system, it is not surprising that the country's economy is and its capital is divided among families and the rumors of vibrant economic development are just rumors (or perhaps they are affecting state coffers only while leaving the general public out). 

According to this report, while in developed countries GDP per capita aligns with the average salary level, in Azerbaijan, the GDP per capita is almost 10 times the average salary. 

So while its great that Azerbaijan's international airport made it into the ranking, it would be grand to see the local media cover the economic development aspect with a bit more realistic analysis but then, if Azernews did that, it is likely it won't be around and available to its readers which is the case with a number of other independent and opposition media. But that's another blog entrance. 

Now, while I recommend visiting my beautiful home, I suggest staying away from glitz and glamor that sometimes can be too much and visit the countryside, go hiking in the mountains and enjoy the delicious national cuisine. And bear in mind that there are many hidden stories of struggle, poverty, and corruption on the streets of the City of Winds. 

If you were ever interested in visiting Azerbaijan, now is the time!

Azerbaijan is a beautiful country. I personally love the country side, especially the north where one can find waterfalls, gorgeous mountains, stunning views not to mention mind blowing food that will leave you craving for more.

That is aside from the issues - poverty, unemployment, crackdown on freedom of speech and rights abuse. But hey here is a unique chance to see and taste both.

Normally its rather difficult to get into the country. Yes, surely there is a visa application process, but often it takes longer that the consulate/embassy promises too and every once in a while they can choose whether you actually deserve a visa or not.

But now that the country is about to host the European Games the visa regime is really simplified. You can actually obtain your visa at any of the listed airports (Ganja, Zaqatala, Nakhchivan (!), Baku and Gebele) so long as you provide a valid ticket for the games, an application form, passport sized photographs, visa fee, a travel document valid for at least three months (there is actually an additional comment on the website of Baku European Games warning that if your passport is even a day short you wont get a visa so make sure its all legit).

So if you are still interested, and would like to see both the overground and the underground of Azerbaijan and the "Dubainised Baku" here is your chance. Or until we get to host some other ridiculous international event.

To check visa fees click here and here is a price list for the games.

Good luck and enjoy!

Blog Forum Gdansk

So, as I sit in a room full of bloggers and journalists and practitioners from different backgrounds mostly from Poland, we are just coming to an end, of the first ever Blog Forum held in Gdansk, Poland. The city represents many different things- ideas, colors, values- just like blogs but above all this city is the symbol of Freedom. A concept much valued and respected in this city if not in the whole of Poland.

But I will be writing more about the city I saw and impressed me deeply later. And so this has been an important event for Gdansk, for its resident bloggers, and bloggers coming from all around Poland with some foreign guest speakers and panelists joining this interesting and significant event. The event itself is taking place at the Instytut Sztuki Wyspa (Wyspa Institute of Art), which used to be basic shipbuilding school in the grounds of the Gdansk Shipyard. The institute itself is part of the series of the initiatives to re- brand the city especially given the city's plans to become the European Capital of Culture for 2016. The motto is "Freedom of Culture, Culture of Freedom".

Back to the forum, the speaker- Jarek Rybus- talking now is one of the brains behind a documentary movie on bloggers in Poland. Here is the official website, though in Polish it might give you some idea of the upcoming film. As I watch the short clippings from the movie it makes me wonder whether we should or could do one of these in Azerbaijan, or something like this on the Caucasus. Could be an interesting initiative.

The event itself been interesting to me personally as it was possible to see what bloggers in a different part of the world consider important or interesting and what topics interest their readers. The panel I was speaking at was on Freedom of Bloggers and it happened that part of the discussion went around the question whether bloggers are free if they host advertisements on their blog. I have to say, it was an interesting panel, especially seeing how the discussion span off.

The even was discussed on Twitter (#blogforumgdansk), Facebook (and a separate page on Facebook with the videos and live stream from the event), Blip, and YouTube.

Overall, I enjoyed the whole thing, there have been some very interesting presentations but my favorites were Sami Ben Gardhia and Brian Solis. The full list of speakers and panelists can be found here.

And I would like to thank the organizers for a great event and extending the invitation to me. Special thanks to Jakub Gornicki :)

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The images in this post except from blogersi are my own.