Martyr's Alley

Saturday, I met Greg (Finally! A fellow IU-er also here in Baku) and then headed on up to Martyr's Alley. I was there before, but in the middle of the night, and no pictures. So I headed back in the brutal sun, camera ready!

Up on the highest point in Baku there is a collection of memorials, putting them in a place of honor to show how important they are. To get there, you can take a funiculot train- the hill is STEEP! At the top, there is a mosque, a memorial to Turkish/Azeri friendship, Martyr's Alley, an eternal flame for unknown soldiers, plus some of the most spectacular views of the city. And apparently the grave of former president Heydat Aliyev, but I couldn't find that.

For pictures, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisemish

There are 2 kinds of Martyr's: those who died in the Nagorno Karabakh war, and those killed by Russian soldiers on January 20, 1990. Those who died in the war are buried in a graveyard next to the alley, slightly higher up then the path. The path is bright and the sun is strong, but the graveyard is dark under trees, and each grave is marked by a black tombstone with a portrait carved in white. On the alley, there are similar gravestones on a wall to commemorate those who died in 1990. Russian troops fired on unarmed civilian protesters amid the chaos of the crumbling Soviet Union. The level of force used by the Russians was completely out of proportion to the actual threat caused by the protestors. Among the dead are children. It is honestly one of the best memorials I've seen.

At the end of the alley you come out on a wide plaza, high above the city, with a huge tower containing an eternal flame. The city is beatiful from here. And you can climb even higher for better views.

Yeah, it was great.