Date: December 14, 2010
Venue: Drom (NY)
Presented by the Persian Arts Festival
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Date: December 14, 2010
Venue: Drom (NY)
Presented by the Persian Arts Festival
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Text and photos by Jeff Greene
The city of Baku, the capitol of Azerbaijan, located below the Caucasus Mountains on the edge of the Caspian Sea, is a fascinating blend of east and west, old and new. In the late 1800s, numerous “oil barons’ mansions” were built alongside the existing ancient Islamic walled city in a strange mixture of architectural styles that mixed European classical, Art Nouveau with Persian eclecticism. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, Baku has experienced another oil-fueled building boom of modern skyscrapers. But nothing seems to capture the essence of the Azerbaijan psyche the way that traditional Mugham music does.