Azerbaijan: Land of Fire
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A century ago, half of the world’s oil came from one place: Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, located on a stretch of Caspian coastline so rich with petroleum and natural gas deposits that the ground could actually catch on fire.
Both oil booms are evident in a lavish exhibition at Berlin’s Ethnological Museum, called “Azerbaijan: Land of Fire,” which chronicles 5,000 years of history and culture in the Caucasus, with highlights from Baku’s major museums. It’s all here: Bronze Age relics; medieval Islamic ceramics; 19-century handicrafts; early 20th-century political caricatures; late 20th-century political propaganda; and contemporary Azerbaijani art.
Baku, a traditional meeting point of the Ottoman, Persian and Russian Empires, was transformed by the oil boom. European and local oil barons reinvented the city, importing European-style luxuries while pioneering the use of the oil tanker. Baku is currently undergoing a second oil boom, with offshore deposits providing profits.
The variety of objects is dazzling, but the carpets are a standout. The most impressive are the Karabakh carpets, marked by dramatic colors and geometric forms, produced in the 19th century, when Azerbaijan’s carpet industry reached a highpoint. Around the corner from the carpets, a slideshow documents life in Baku during the first boom with a parade of images featuring medieval-looking barbershops, Dickensian oil derricks and elegant boulevards.
admin @ October 25, 2008