facility in Baku
(same facility as
the event).
(red) and Justin Ruiz
practice under the
watchful eye of
Coach Momir Petkovic.
On the left, T.C. Dantzler
and Peter Hicks (blue)
work out with Coach
Anatoly Petrosyan .
Between them are
Cuba's two
heavyweights.
Fraser, Petkovic &
Jay watch
as the Greco team
practices.
works out with
Dremiel Byers.
balcony to take
this shot of my
hotel room. It's
clean but definitely
not too big (the
beds are 32" wide!).
Caspian Sea from
my hotel balcony.
You can tell this is a
working port.
the balcony. There
is significant
construction going
on throughout the
city.
I believe that the first vessel is an oil tanker
and the second is some type of police boat.
of the older buildings
I've seen. Everyone
seems to have their
own satellite dish!
located across the
street from our hotel.
Mitch Hull told me
that it is some kind of
government building.
"a chaotic labyrinth where the 15th-century Shirvanshahs' Palace and the
12th-century Maiden's Tower jostle for space with mosques, bathhouses, and fishermen's
cottages." With some time to burn, I decided to go visit this old walled city and took
some pictures during my walk. It was a fascinating trip back in time!
overlooking a
mosque.
were relatively
modern.
gates through the
wall from inside the
inner city.
of the wall from
inside the inner city.
outside of the wall.
the wall, I took this
of a large building that
seemed to be built into
the wall.
second photo clearly shows how thick the
walls are.
that I shot three
photos earlier, but
from the inside
of the wall.
of the inner city.
gate. Located at a turn,
it at first appeared to be
a private entrance; but
when I checked further,
I found it to be another
path to further homes.
their doors wide
open with all types of
activities going on
inside. In this home,
the laundry was
hung for drying.
cats throughout the
inner city. None of
them appeared to be
fat, but neither did
they seem abused.
food (not the type
you'd want to eat)
sitting on the ledge.
I assume the food
was for the cats.
time I turned a corner
I found a new path.
more ornate second
story windows that
I found in the inner city.
open doors, this one
with stairs going up
and down.
were hard at work
scrubbing and
cleaning their rug.
unique to this
part of the city.
through one of the
slits cut through the
wall.
to read the language (and it doesn't seem that anyone here
speaks English), I was forced to guess at what I was looking at
most of the time.
tied to a pole that they use to sweep the bricks. I saw many other residents doing the same thing, and saw one of them
as she was assembling her "broom."
Maiden's Tower
of the Maiden's Tower.
inner city.
in the inner city still
had it's street sign.
president of
Azerbaijan.
distance with the
government building
on the left.
government building
I spotted a couple of
workers who found
a nice secluded spot
to take a break.
this sushi & coffee
house humerous.
out with
Casey Cunningham
and Kerry McCoy watch
as Andy Hrovat works
with Daniel Cormier
and Pat Cummins
works with Mo Lowal
Joe Heskett with
Coach Lou Rosselli
Casey Cunningham
and Joe Williams
instruction to
Daniel Cormier as he
practices with Coach
Kerry McCoy, whle
Coach Mike Duroe
observes Casey
Cunningham and
Joe Williams
supermarket I've
seen in Baku.
buses pull in to the
venue. In other areas
they had guard dogs
walking the perimeter.
Day 1 and I'm at the
venue early, but the
police were there
first. They would
occupy these front
row seats for the
entire event.
at the World
Championships.
background and meaning of what I was seeing, but there were no announcements during the ceremonies. The
security was even tighter during this session as the President of Azerbaijan came for the ceremonies and the medal
matches on Day 1.
on the practice mats
from a trail that worked around the perimeter.
same spot as those
on the left, looking
away from the venue.
the complex and is
where the wrestlers
practice & warm-up.
parking lot. This area
was highly patrolled
with very few vehicles
actually allowed in.
traffic in the city, many
cars would use the
alleys as though they
were regular streets.
sidewalks is
very common.
the venue to see what the area looked like on foot. By getting off of
the main street, I found this neighborhood bearing a strong
resemblance to the layout of the inner city (just not as old). You can
tell from the picture on the right how the road went from two lane
to a single lane ending up in a tight walkway probably 30" wide at the
narrowest. This walkway just weaves through all of the houses before
finally widening back into the street after about 300-400 feet. There were
several arterial walkways connecting as well, so I wasn't entirely sure
where I was until I reached the end.
buddies who were
doing venue security.
The one on my right
we nicknamed Ken
Norton (after the
football player).
None of them spoke
English, but I did get
from "Ken" that his
name is Elchin.