Last Laughs in Baku

After one more day in the big city, our time is winding down here in Baku.  We took some time today exploring the shopping district on and around Nizami Street.  Without much money, it really wasn't a very interesting time, but we did see firsthand some of the financial divisions between the haves and have nots of Azerbaijan.  Santa, Christmas Trees, lights, decorations, wishes of "Merry Christmas" are everywhere - even in this nation of nominal Muslims.  As observers, we just took it all in and were happy with some of the smaller delights of the day, like a Bill Clinton matryoshka doll set.  Later on, we stopped in to see Gulustan, who owns a small cafe here in Baku.  We enjoyed some tea, and were able to meet her son and other members of her family.  Last Saturday we had tea at her shop with Javid and his friend, so she remembered us from our previous visit.  We had fun sharing pictures, struggling to communicate through dictionaries and phrase books, and helping her 8 year old son learn his English numbers up to ten. We are on our way to the airport to catch a very early flight to Istanbul.  We look backward at our visit with delight, but look forward to home.