Bibi Heybet Mosque

Bibi Heybat mosque

evening come

And the Light is on in Baku

interior

Dome inside

nice inside

The Bibi-Heybat Mosque on the outskirts of Baku Azerbaijan has an unusual history. First of all, it was built to honor the sister of the 7th Shiite Imam, Ali, and secondly, when the mosque was destroyed during Stalin’s rule, legends arose about a woman wrapped in white disappearing down into the sea who would return when times got better. The legends that have grown up around the Bibi-Heybat Mosque are examples of how such narratives in the minds of the community can influence reality later on. A new Mosque has recently been constructed on the same spot and dedicated in July 1998.

When foreigners flocked to Baku during its First Oil Boom at the end of the 19th century, they brought their religious beliefs with them. Although Azerbaijan was traditionally a Muslim country, the country was open and tolerant of other religious practices including Judaism and Christianity. The architectural landscape of Baku soon revealed this religious diversity. Along with palatial residences, community theaters, clubs and music halls, a new wave of mosques, churches and synagogues were built.

Along with mosques such as the mosque of Mohammad ibn Abu Bakir, Bibi-Heybat mosque, Friday Mosque, Shirvanshah mosque and the Blue mosque. Other religious sanctuaries included what was known as the Old Church, the Nickolayevski Cathedral, the Spassko-Preobrazhenskaya Church, the German church (Kirke), a Catholic church, and a Jewish synagogue. Also there were several Armenian churches which still stand today but are closed.

In the 1930s, Stalin began his campaign to ban religious practices and ordered the widespread destruction of religious buildings. The first target in Baku was the Bibi-Heybat mosque, followed by the large Alexander Nevski cathedral and several Christian churches which were dynamited shortly thereafter. Other worship centers were converted into museums or workshops or were used for storage.

The Mosque’s Origins
But the Bibi-Heybat Mosque is unusual in that it is the only religious building that Stalin destroyed, to date, which has been reconstructed. The origins of this mosque go back to 7th century Baghdad. During the reign of Caliph Garun-ar Rashid, a dispute occurred between the caliph and the eighth Imam, Ali ibn Musa. As a result, the Imam’s family and friends were persecuted and fled Baghdad in fear of their lives. The Imam went to the province of Khorasan (Iran) and settled in a small village. After he died, he was buried there as a martyr for the faith. His tomb became a pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims. Soon the city of Mashad grew up around it which today has become one of the major religious centers for Shi’ites, after Mecca (Saudi Arabia) and Karbala (Iraq).

Allegedly, the Imam’s sister, Okuma Khanim (Mrs. Okuma), fled to Baku and, in order not to attract attention, settled along the shore of the Caspian Sea. There she led the life of a holy woman. After her death, the people erected a small crypt over her grave. Years passed, and rumors about the grave of a holy woman from Mohammad’s family spread throughout the East. The site was declared a “pir,” or holy place.

Religious people, particularly sheiks, began to settle near the site and the village was given the name Sheikhovo and later Shikhovo. Pilgrims from distant Muslim countries were said to have come to visit Okuma Khanim’s grave.

Eventually, a small mosque was built with one room which had an inscription that read: “Built by Mahmud ibn Saad.” Another plaque indicated that the mosque had been built between 663 and 665 (Hazri) or 1264-1266 according to the Western calendar.

The interior of the mosque was decorated with blue tile. A crystal lamp was suspended from the ceiling. When the strong Baku winds started to blow, the crystals would hit against each other and make tinkling sounds. The mosque had a 20-meter-high minaret from which the “ozan” used to call out the invitation to prayer. Forty stone steps led from the mosque to the nearby pier where foreign ships docked.

The name given to the mosque was Bibi-Heybat because in those days it was not proper to call a woman by her first name. Okuma Khanim had a devoted servant named Heybat. In Azeri “bibi” means “aunt,” so calling the mosque “Bibi-Heybat” was the same as saying “the mosque of Heybat’s aunt,” rather than blatantly saying, “Okuma Khanim’s Mosque.”

In 1903, an artist made a painting of the mosque. An Englishman liked it and persuaded the artist to sell it to him. But, allegedly, the famous Azerbaijani Oil Baron Taghiyev found out and bought back the painting from the Englishman so that it could stay in Azerbaijan. During the Bolshevik Revolution (1920) when all of the Taghiyev’s property was confiscated, the painting disappeared. Then 44 years later in 1964 and after Stalin had died, someone anonymously donated the painting to the Art Museum of Azerbaijan. Today, it is still on exhibit there.

Blowing Up the Mosque
Legend has it that the thick walls of the Bibi-Heybat Mosque were not easy to destroy. The minaret also caused a lot of trouble. In order to blow it up, they had to dynamite it twice. At least, that’s what they say.

Another strange phenomenon is associated with the mosque. Two nights after it was demolished, the people of the village had trouble sleeping, outraged that their holy place had been desecrated. When dawn broke, hearing shouts and a loud crash, they ran to the mosque. A Red Army soldier, who was supposed to be guarding the remnants of the mosque, stood there with eyes wide open in horror, pointing to the sea and shouting something unintelligible. Where he pointed, the people could see a woman wrapped in a white veil walking down to the sea. The vision of the woman disappeared into the red rays of the rising sun and the glistening water. At least, that’s how the legend goes. An old man whispered: “She is sure to come back! She’ll return in better times.”

The soldier went on to describe how he had been awakened by the sound of stones crashing down on one another. It was as if someone were moving them. Then he had seen the tiny thin form of a woman dressed in white rising from the rubble. When she passed by him, he could detect the smell of fresh roses. (In Azerbaijan, it is customary to wash the hands and face of the deceased with gulab or rosewater.)

Yet another legend says that the soldiers who were involved in Bibi-Heybat’s destruction died in freak accidents. One of them allegedly drowned, another died when a boulder fell on his head, a third one was electrocuted.

While it may be difficult to separate fact from fiction, it’s clear that Bibi-Heybat has remained significant to the Azerbaijani people. Maybe these stories were created to cope with the disturbing fact that their holy place had been desecrated and it was their way of revenging the destruction and creating a mental construct of justice when they could not, indeed, retaliate and defend their faith in reality.

But what is curious today is that more than 60 years after its destruction, the Bibi-Heybat Mosque has been rebuilt. A dedication ceremony, attended by President Heydar Aliyev, was held on July 11, 1997. Regardless of whether the stories are true or not, clearly the fact that the mosque had lived on in the memories of the Azerbaijani people through legends has clearly contributed to making the building become a reality once again. Could it be, as predicted, that better times really have returned?-Azad Sharifov is head of the Journalism Department of the Higher Diplomacy College of Azerbaijan. - (http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/63_folder/63_articles/63_bibiheybat.html)

Tiada kasus hukum yang menyedot perhatian publik selain kasus “cicak lawan buaya”.

Sebenarnya, yang menarik bukanlah perkara hukumnya, tetapi keterlibatan para aktor besar, baik yang sekali-sekali tampil berterang-terangan di depan umum maupun yang bersembunyi di panggung belakang.

Perhatian publik membesar karena liputan media, yang menyuguhkan drama konflik ini sejak awal, kadang diimbuhi paparan faktual dan aktual, juga sering berupa dugaan berbau gosip. Namun, apa pun macam dan kualitas sajiannya, media telah merobohkan dinding-dinding institusi, yang memungkinkan panggung perkara dibuka, disaksikan publik.

Dulu, berbagai konflik hukum – apalagi yang sarat kepentingan politik – berlangsung secara tertutup dan baru terbuka saat konflik masuk sidang pengadilan terbuka. Kini konflik para penegak hukum dapat diikuti sejak awal.

Konflik bermula saat beberapa pihak mulai gerah dengan tindakan dan semangat Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) yang menimbulkan rasa waswas. Sang cicak (KPK) bergerak amat aktif menelan puluhan koruptor tanpa pilih-pilih. Dan sosok besar seperti buaya pun seolah tak sanggup menelan si cicak yang bukan sembarang cicak, tetapi superbody yang mempunyai kewenangan luar biasa.

Drama pertunjukan hukum dimulai saat lembaga berlabel buaya ini mencoba menahan cicak agar tidak bertindak terlalu jauh. Ada tudingan, sekaligus kekhawatiran, cicak “tak tahu diri” dan akan bertindak sedemikian jauh, sampai-sampai terdeteksi kian mendekati “ring satu”. Beberapa bulan lalu nyelonong lewat akses kasus BLBI dan kali ini (maunya) masuk lebih dalam melalui kasus Bank Century.

Drama “cicak lawan buaya” mempertontonkan aneka manuver dalam suatu proses hukum yang dimainkan masing-masing pihak untuk saling menyerang dan bertahan. Dan ini baru babak awal. Grand final baru akan terjadi nanti jika masalah telah masuk forum pengadilan. Dulu, perhatian khalayak atas konflik semacam ini baru muncul saat permainan masuk babak final, dalam wujud panggung terbuka di ruang pengadilan.

Namun, kali ini semua pihak seolah tak sabar menunggu drama sebenarnya di pengadilan. Masyarakat segera melibatkan perhatian ke perkara yang sedang berlangsung, termasuk keberpihakannya. Media, yang gencar memberitakan perkembangan perkara mengekspos proses-proses yang semula berlangsung di belakang tembok yang tak gampang dilongok.

Kian terbuka

Kini masalah kian terbuka. Saat fakta perkara terpapar dan tergambar pada ribuan mata pemerhati, masyarakat – yang selama ini sebenarnya sudah acap curiga, tetapi tidak pernah bisa beroleh bukti nyata – seolah mendapat kesempatan untuk ikut menelisik dan menyelidik.

Kini, situasi menjadi kian sulit bagi aparat penegak hukum untuk bermain di belakang tembok institusi secara tertutup, atau berahasia-rahasia. Berbagai keputusan yang diambil tanpa argumen segera diketahui khalayak, yang umumnya didasarkan pada kaidah-kaidah legal formal, gampang dicurigai sebagai kolusi di belakang panggung dan punggung.

Di tengah kehidupan politik yang diprasangkai penuh manuver pejabat pemerintah yang kerap dipercaya tak jujur, massa awam di luar kekuasaan umumnya gampang dirasuki rasa tidak percaya akan maksud baik pemerintah. Akibatnya, jika ada pejabat sedikit bertindak di luar prosedur baku, masyarakat segera beroleh alasan untuk meneriakkan kecurigaan dengan kata-kata yang antipatik. Ketidak berdayaan menghadapi struktur kekuasaan yang terkesan angkuh, keberpihakan massa rakyat gampang jatuh kepada siapa saja yang dirasa berani mencabar dan mengkritik pemerintah.

Maka dalam keadaan seperti itu – saat pecah konflik antara Polri dan KPK telanjur terbuka – dapat diduga kemana arah keberpihakan khalayak awam.  Mmemandang Polri yang teridentifikasi kekuasaan yang sedang dicurigai korup, empati khalayak yang ada di luar struktur kekuasaan dapat dipastikan tertuju ke KPK. Berbagai pernyataan sejumlah perwira tinggi Polri di hadapan media acap kali dikesankan ketus oleh khalayak. Hal ini telah menyulitkan upaya mengurangkan keberpihakan dan memulihkan keseimbangan.

Masyarakat belum lupa, saat seorang petinggi Polri mengunggulkan diri sebagai buaya yang tak bisa ditaklukan oleh cicak kecil yang boleh disepelekan. Sementara itu, hampir setiap hari tayangan TV mempertontonkan pemandangan bagaimana polisi sebagai aparat kekuasaan menghadang massa rakyat pengunjuk rasa yang ingin mengadukan nasibnya ke pejabat pemerintahan. Kekerasan acap digunakan di situ dan berujung dalam berbagai bentrokan yang tak imbang. Sementara itu, di layar televisi, tidak sekali pun pernah tertayangkan kerja KPK yang berbuat kekerasan terhadap rakyat, selain menggiring para pejabat korup yang didakwa “makan uang rakyat”.

Terpuruk

Rekaman yang diputar pada sidang resmi MK juga telah membeberkan bagaimana citra Polri dan aparat kekuasaan kehakiman lainnya menjadi terpuruk. Banyak ulah pejabat yang meski tak hendak dianggap melanggar undang-undang, sungguh vulgar dan tak pantas.

Dalam perkembangan hingga Nopember ini, konflik tak kunjung surut, bahkan seperti melebar tanpa bisa dilokalisasi di ranahnya yang institusional dan legal formal. Panggung dan arena tempat drama konflik dimainkan sejauh ini sudah tertransfer dari ranah legal-formal ke sosio-psikologik massa.

Opini massa yang berawal dari rasa keberpihakan – dan tidak dari khazanah kognitifnya – tidaklah sekali-kali dapat diabaikan. Meski bukan fakta obyektif, opini massa itu – tanpa bisa dibantah – sesungguhnya realitas intersubyektif yang acap kali tak dapat dibatasi dan dilokalisasi. Karena itu, secara potensial juga akan mengggerogoti sendi-sendi kepercayaan kepada pemerintah.

Sehubungan dengan hal itu, rekomendasi Tim Delapan yang mencoba mengambil jalan mediasi dengan memperhitungkan kondisi sosio-psikologik massa patut memperoleh pertimbangan yang arif. Meski upaya menyelesaikan konflik di ranah legal formal guna mengalahkan cicak dan opini massa terus dilakukan – dan mungkin akan memenangkan si buaya – kemenangan di ranah formal itu tidak akan bertahan panjang.

Sumber  :

Akhir Sebuah Drama, Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto | Guru Besar Emeritus Universitas Airlangga
Kompas, 21.11.2009

Another great list from Lonely Planet, the world’s top 10 places to party. I put the list to the test and found out whether TravelPod bloggers partied it up, or died of boredom…

1. Belgrade = Party Town

Some "barge-clubs" found in Belgrade, Serbia

“This is a town that knows how to go out. There are bars everywhere, the river is chock-a-block with barge-clubs and apparently most of the ‘coolest’ venues are still hidden away in unmarked basements. With no budget airlines serving Nikola Tesla airport it is also pleasantly lacking in British stag dos.” – Jiewu

2. Montreal = Fun, but expensive

Goldenfrog88 at Sky Pub in Montreal, Canada

We went to the gay district again to a bar that was recommended. We started off on their third floor terrace and ordered Canada’s infamously weak and expensive drinks. April and I ordered cosmos and got vodka crans in a plastic cup with one once of vodka for $7 each. After an hour we went to the first floor where a drag-show was happening. The performances were excellent with impersenations of the slum dog dance, Tina turner, and Madonna. I was surprised there was no way to tip them! Lastly, we went to the second floor to dance. Griselda and Isabella left earlier than April and myself. I tried getting over the whole “I don’t belong in gay bars” and just started dancng by myself to see what happens. I ended up dancing with some guy who had had way too much with different intentions of my own but at least he was cute. – Goldenfrog88

3. Buenos Aires = so-so

Curtisejtaylor meeting Brazilians at a pool hall in Buenos Aires

I don’t know what it’s like to party in big cities, but Buenos Aires, I found, is nothing worth boasting about. Nothing out of this world, if you’re wondering. It was good. – Curtisejtaylor

4. Dubai = “a very fun time”

Tnowakow at a private New Year's Eve party in Dubai, UAE

“The party was at a friend’s of Mona’s out in Jumeriah and we drove to a super market where he had cabs come and take us to the actual house (he didn’t want a bunch of cars at his place). It was a sweet looking villa with a pool outside and he had masks for everyone to wear before the New Year. He also had it catered with any kind of drinks that you would want. All in all it was a very fun time actually” – Tnowakow

5. Thessaloniki = “such a fun night”

Jhdavis' friend Allie, with her drink on a party boat in Thessaloniki

“We sailed around the bay for 30 minutes and the boat took us down the other side of Thessaloniki and across the downtown area by Aristotle Square and the waterfront bars and cafes. The music was great and all the people abroad where so friendly. At the end, we made our way back down to the dock and left the boat. It was such a fun night.” – Jhdavis

6. La Paz = a little boring

Wadeoliver at the "green party" in La Paz

“Boys with the booze arrived 8 with 1 10L bottle (looked more like a gas can) of rum and 20L of vodka plus mixers. Once everybody had a drink in their hand then the party really started. The arrival of 4 giant pizzas for dinner was fun (one slice = 3 normal) but because I wasn’t into the whole dance thing, I had had enough by 11:00. I had to unlock my door and leave it open while I went downstairs to give the key to Mike as the door can’t be left unlocked. Felt a little sick (ok, threw up a little), showered, bed 11:30. Mike woke me at 01:45 knocking on the door because he was too drunk to remember I’d given him the key! Then Jo is knocking on the door 5 minutes later and he’s having a conversation with her in his jocks out in the hall so not to disturb me more (he’s a nice guy) but as one of the guys chasing Jo passed by it must have been embarrassing!” – Wadeoliver

7. Cape Town = 24 hour parties!

Nat_yeo and her friends dressed up for a party in Cape Town

“We gathered at Proc’s house for champagne and dress ups before heading off to the big party at Ratanga Junction Theme Park, where the party was kicking into full swing. It is quite a thing to arrive at the party. Each group crosses over a catwalk and is announced as they arrive with cameras clicking and video cameras recording – you really want to ensure you have put enough effort into your costumes! The atmosphere was fantastic, the crowd very friendly and the music was rocking! We had a great night partying hard until the early hours before sunrise when we made a brief visit back to Cinds and Sebs for a quick shower and change, then off to another party!

The other party was an outdoor trance party held in a secret location around Hout Bay. Soon enough, we were kicking up a dust storm at breakfast time. We had a load of fun – I made some new friends and met some old and even had a call from UK friends cracking on back home whilst I walked through the surrounding forest. We called it quits around lunch time for some much needed sleep – a fantastic way to end 2 weeks in Cape Town.” – Nat_yeo

8. Baku = giant wedding parties

Lok loved the dancing at a wedding in Baku, Azerbaijan

“We then all drove to the village’s wedding hall (yes, weddings are the only events held here), honking all the way. Men and women were seated, at 20 long banquest tables, separately in the hall. It was packed with some 350 people. There were food, wine, vodka, live band and singers and a lot of speeches and dancing. They have a lot of arm movements when they dance – both guys and girls. I could not tell who are husbands and wives since they did not interact at all throughout the event.

After 4 hours, the party at the wedding hall came to an end at 12:30 a.m. It was only adjourned to the bride’s home for more drinks and snacks.” – Lok

9. Auckland = high class style

Andanddan ringing in the new year in Auckland

“An hour or so later we wandered back into the foyer area, which was by this time buzzing with people, and we made our way back to the original bar. Another band, comprising a male and female singer, were now in full flow and had the crowd rocking and the dance floor heaving. At this stage we decided not to move on to the Loaded Hog as originally planned – this was turning out to be a good night and the price was right too!” – Andanddan

10. Tel Aviv = Shabbat culture

Egsolove partied every night when he was in Israel

“I still have another night in Israel, and its going to be a good one. It’s shabbat, the party night. Israelis stay up very late, starting to party at 12:30 and not stopping until 5 or 6 sometimes. I’ve done this pretty much every night I’ve been in Israel. It gets exhausting for an American boy. But the culture here is amazing.” – Egsolove

Hörmətli oxucu, çoxsaylı istəklərinizi nəzərə alaraq Yeni Bakı silsiləsindən növbəti postu sizə təqdim edirəm. Burada artıq tikilməkdə olan və layihəsi qəbul olunmuş tikililər haqqında məlumat verilir. Dial-up istifadəçilərini nəzərə alaraq şəkillər kiçik ölçüdə yerləşdirilib.

Bayraq Meydanı ( 80x60 dünyanın ən böyük bayrağı bu meydanda dalğalanacaq )

Crystal Plaza (Caspian Plaza ilə üz-üzə)

Gənclik Ticarət Mərkəzi ( Nərgiz TM-ə oxşayır )

Heydər Əliyev Mərkəzinin tikintisi

Xalça Muzeyi ( 2010 )

Sky Park (Tiflis prospektində)

Crescent Tower (203m)

Baku Hilton Hotel

Annarita Briganti recensisce sulle pagine milanesi di Repubblica il romanzo d’esordio di Alberto Soana Alla fine lui muore (Baku, 2009), che sarà presentato domani, lunedì 23 novembre al Magia (via Salutati 2, Milano) a partire dalle 19,30 con letture di Elisa Bottiglieri e musica dal vivo dei Figli della Vedova.

Low cost carrier Flydubai has launched flights from Dubai to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The inaugural flight, FZ 705, departed Dubai International Airport at 1940 hrs and is enroute to Heydar Aliyev International Airport, where it is scheduled to arrive at 2230 hrs.

The airline will operate the route daily. Flight FZ 705 departs Dubai at 1935 hrs, arriving in Baku at 2230 hrs. The return flight, FZ 706, takes off from Baku at 2330 hrs, landing back at Dubai International Airport at 0220 hrs the next morning. All flights will be operated by Flydubai’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 189 seats.

Baku is the airline’s ninth destination in its route network. The service marks Flydubai’s expansion into Central Asia and will provide competition to Azerbaijan Airlines, which operates a daily Boeing 757 flight between Baku and Dubai.

For more information, visit www.flydubai.com.

Journalist of the Turkish Akhsham newspaper Nagehan Alchi, who visited Nagorno-Karabakh without the consent of Azerbaijan, was included in the list of “undesirable persons” in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Elkhan Polukhov told Trend News.

“Regardless of their professional activities, those who visit the occupied territories of Azerbaijan without the consent of the Azerbaijani side are named in the list of “undesirable persons” because of the actions that contradict the legislation of Azerbaijan. This is also referred to journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations and others,” said Polukhov.

Journalist of the Turkish Akhsham newspaper Nagehan Alchi visited Nagorno-Karabakh, who declared that Nagorno-Karabakh is a purely Armenian territory, the Armenian media reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman said that at the same time, according to information received from the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul, the editorial office of the Akhsham newspaper appreciated the visit of the journalist to Nagorno-Karabakh as a private visit and said that the visit was not paid on behalf of the newspaper.

Given the official response of the Akhsham newspaper, the issue of cooperation with this newspaper will be re-considered, said Polukhov.

Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)

(c) 2009 Trend News Agency. Copyright for the present information is reserved, in case of reprint of any part of it reference should be done to the Agency.

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 17 / Trend News [http://news.trend.az], M.Aliyev /

The Soviet Union wants you to visit the Caucasus

specifically Baku…

 

Bibi Heybat mosque (Baku, Azerbaijan)

Cargado originalmente por sana banana nana

But the Bibi-Heybat Mosque is unusual in that it is the only religious building that Stalin destroyed, to date, which has been reconstructed. The origins of this mosque go back to 7th century Baghdad. During the reign of Caliph Garun-ar Rashid, a dispute occurred between the caliph and the eighth Imam, Ali ibn Musa. As a result, the Imam’s family and friends were persecuted and fled Baghdad in fear of their lives. The Imam went to the province of Khorasan (Iran) and settled in a small village. After he died, he was buried there as a martyr for the faith. His tomb became a pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims. Soon the city of Mashad grew up around it which today has become one of the major religious centers for Shi’ites, after Mecca (Saudi Arabia) and Karbala (Iraq).

Allegedly, the Imam’s sister, Okuma Khanim (Mrs. Okuma), fled to Baku and, in order not to attract attention, settled along the shore of the Caspian Sea. There she led the life of a holy woman. After her death, the people erected a small crypt over her grave. Years passed, and rumors about the grave of a holy woman from Mohammad’s family spread throughout the East. The site was declared a “pir,” or holy place.

Religious people, particularly sheiks, began to settle near the site and the village was given the name Sheikhovo and later Shikhovo. Pilgrims from distant Muslim countries were said to have come to visit Okuma Khanim’s grave.

Eventually, a small mosque was built with one room which had an inscription that read: “Built by Mahmud ibn Saad.” Another plaque indicated that the mosque had been built between 663 and 665 (Hazri) or 1264-1266 according to the Western calendar.

The interior of the mosque was decorated with blue tile. A crystal lamp was suspended from the ceiling. When the strong Baku winds started to blow, the crystals would hit against each other and make tinkling sounds. The mosque had a 20-meter-high minaret from which the “ozan” used to call out the invitation to prayer. Forty stone steps led from the mosque to the nearby pier where foreign ships docked.

The name given to the mosque was Bibi-Heybat because in those days it was not proper to call a woman by her first name. Okuma Khanim had a devoted servant named Heybat. In Azeri “bibi” means “aunt,” so calling the mosque “Bibi-Heybat” was the same as saying “the mosque of Heybat’s aunt,” rather than blatantly saying, “Okuma Khanim’s Mosque.”

In 1903, an artist made a painting of the mosque. An Englishman liked it and persuaded the artist to sell it to him. But, allegedly, the famous Azerbaijani Oil Baron Taghiyev found out and bought back the painting from the Englishman so that it could stay in Azerbaijan. During the Bolshevik Revolution (1920) when all of the Taghiyev’s property was confiscated, the painting disappeared. Then 44 years later in 1964 and after Stalin had died, someone anonymously donated the painting to the Art Museum of Azerbaijan. Today, it is still on exhibit there.

Blowing Up the Mosque
Legend has it that the thick walls of the Bibi-Heybat Mosque were not easy to destroy. The minaret also caused a lot of trouble. In order to blow it up, they had to dynamite it twice. At least, that’s what they say.

Another strange phenomenon is associated with the mosque. Two nights after it was demolished, the people of the village had trouble sleeping, outraged that their holy place had been desecrated. When dawn broke, hearing shouts and a loud crash, they ran to the mosque. A Red Army soldier, who was supposed to be guarding the remnants of the mosque, stood there with eyes wide open in horror, pointing to the sea and shouting something unintelligible. Where he pointed, the people could see a woman wrapped in a white veil walking down to the sea. The vision of the woman disappeared into the red rays of the rising sun and the glistening water. At least, that’s how the legend goes. An old man whispered: “She is sure to come back! She’ll return in better times.”

The soldier went on to describe how he had been awakened by the sound of stones crashing down on one another. It was as if someone were moving them. Then he had seen the tiny thin form of a woman dressed in white rising from the rubble. When she passed by him, he could detect the smell of fresh roses. (In Azerbaijan, it is customary to wash the hands and face of the deceased with gulab or rosewater.)

Yet another legend says that the soldiers who were involved in Bibi-Heybat’s destruction died in freak accidents. One of them allegedly drowned, another died when a boulder fell on his head, a third one was electrocuted.

While it may be difficult to separate fact from fiction, it’s clear that Bibi-Heybat has remained significant to the Azerbaijani people. Maybe these stories were created to cope with the disturbing fact that their holy place had been desecrated and it was their way of revenging the destruction and creating a mental construct of justice when they could not, indeed, retaliate and defend their faith in reality.

But what is curious today is that more than 60 years after its destruction, the Bibi-Heybat Mosque has been rebuilt. A dedication ceremony, attended by President Heydar Aliyev, was held on July 11, 1997. Regardless of whether the stories are true or not, clearly the fact that the mosque had lived on in the memories of the Azerbaijani people through legends has clearly contributed to making the building become a reality once again. Could it be, as predicted, that better times really have returned?

Low cost carrier Flydubai has added its eighth route since its inaugural flight in June 2009. The airline commenced services from its base in Dubai to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan on Sunday, 8 November 2009. Onboard the inaugural flight was Flydubai’s CEO, Ghaith al Ghaith, who was welcomed by a Sudanese delegation on arrival.

From now until 16 December 2009, flight FZ 631 departs Dubai daily at 1845 hrs, arriving in Khartoum at 2150 hrs. The return flight, FZ 632, will depart Khartoum International Airport at 2235 hrs and land back at Dubai International Airport at 0340 hrs the next morning.

The outbound flight will be retimed to take off at 2045 hrs from Dubai for a 2350 hrs arrival into Sudan from 17 December 2009, with the return leg departing Khartoum at 0035 hrs and arriving back in Dubai at 0540 hrs. All flights will be operated with Flydubai’s 189-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Khartoum is Flydubai’s third destination in Africa, after Alexandria and Djibouti. The airline is on an aggressive expansion and is set to launch flights to Baku, Azerbaijan later this month.

For more information, visit www.flydubai.com.

IFT Project Space is in Nakatsu, Osaka. Check out their blog here: iftift.exblog.jp/

It seems that people all over the world are warming to Chauncey’s Timber Flooring. We were very excited last month when Mike took an order for a new customer in Yokohama, Japan. Mike coped magnificently with the language barrier and managed to communicate important information and advice about our Prefinished Continental Matt oiled solid oak board! Well done Mike.

Of course we have enquiries from all over the globe. Our Beach House boards are popular in Florida, USA with several follow up orders received since their first delivery.

Our customer in Zurich, Switzerland are currently fitting a large project of our Tectonic Regency Aged Oak over underfloor heating while using our matching Regency solid board for the stair treads. I can’t wait to see the photos!

Our largest order in the past year was for The British Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan where they laid our FSC Tectonic Oak. They liked it so much that they are also fitting a top-notch restaurant with the same flooring!

We are in the process of securing an order for a private residence in The Channel Islands. This customer made the journey all the way from Jersey to visit our showroom!

With other enquiries from The Isle of Mann, Guernsey, The Republic of Ireland and France, the best of British, Chauncey’s Timber could floor the world!

Sherry

…doesn’t exist anymore

energi minyak

energi minyak

Ada banyak tambang di seluruh dunia yang dimiliki oleh warga global yang baru tidak ada negara yang Tambang Minyak menganggap rumah mereka. Secara harfiah kelas dunia jet set pengusaha. Mereka tidak peduli dengan tempat di bumi bahwa mereka melakukan bisnis mereka membawa bisnis mereka ke negara yang pernah mereka dapat membuat kesepakatan dengan cepat dan membuat ROI dan Minyak Dan Gas keuntungan terbesar. Ini tidak baik atau buruk ini adalah kesempatan realitas kapitalisme dan risiko-imbalan skenario.

Kita perlu mengambil keras melihat masalah ini tentu bergantung pada negara-negara lain di Timur Tengah untuk minyak bermasalah tetapi membiarkan S tidak mengambil energi minyak mata kami dari bola ini juga. Bahan Baku adalah kunci untuk sektor manufaktur yang kuat dan mungkin industri suatu negara. Pikirkan tentang hal itu.

Vice chairman of the Duma’s lawmaking committee Vladimir Gruzdev said it was directed against the Russian mafia bosses. “Soon we will pull out the phrase of “mafia boss” from the lexicon of our citizens. The criminal should be in jail”.

Maximum term of imprisonment for establishing the organized criminal group was increased from 20 years to life sentence.

ZIRAISLAND

Visita el web site.

http://www.ziraisland.com/

]]> http://ditomusicman.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/belajar-musik-dan-bermain-gitar/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:12:43 +0000 ditomusicman http://ditomusicman.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/belajar-musik-dan-bermain-gitar/ http://oxfordswfproject.com/2009/10/13/front-running-overly-transparent-swfs/ Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:17:55 +0000 Ashby Monk http://oxfordswfproject.com/2009/10/13/front-running-overly-transparent-swfs/

Ashby Monk

The inaugural meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) wrapped up on Friday. The two day meeting ended in an agreement to further promote compliance with the Santiago Principles as well as work to prevent protectionism. This is pretty much what we expected to come out of the final communique. However, I was interested to see two SWF complaints surface in interviews with the IFSWF leadership after the meeting:

The first had to do with reporting. It seems there was agreement that quarterly reporting drives SWFs’ asset managers towards short-termism, which contradicts SWFs’ nature as long-term investors: “This kind of practice encourages the management to seek short term, high profit, to the detriment of long term returns. We don’t want to do that,” according to Jin Liquin, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors at CIC and Deputy Chair of the IFSWF. I would be more sympathetic to this complaint if it was based on experience. As far as I know, the CIC does not and has not reported quarterly, so any complaints being voiced are purely theoretical. Moreover, the fact that SWFs have no outside shareholders (beyond the government) and are not traded entities implies that quarterly reporting should have little impact on SWF operations. Ostensibly, the political elite who are responsible for the funds have bought into the mandate and are in fact being kept up to date on operations. So this is really a complaint about keeping the countries’ citizens informed as to what the SWFs are up to, which seems off to me. But this is an increasingly common refrain these days, as the formerly secretive SWFs begin to understand how difficult it can be to acheive domestic legitimacy.

The second complaint was also about transparency. According to David Murray, Chair of the IFSWF, front running has become a real problem for SWFs: “Because we are generally large institutional investors, there is the whole community of investment banks, brokers, analysts and others who want to front-run our investments in the market.” In short, he worries that becoming overly transparent will allow these other investors to jump into certain investments before the SWFs, which will in turn erode returns. Since most SWFs are secretive, I didn’t think this was a problem. That said, I acknowledge that the greater transparency associated with the Santiago Principles may allow other investors to guess what the big SWFs are interested in. But this, too, seems a bit of a stretch. Large investors of all kinds deal with similar issues, and there are many ways to keep this type of information secret all the while reporting on operations regularly. Backing away from reporting due to the threat of front running would be, in my opinion, misguided.

Anyway, the first IFSWF meeting was interesting! The next meeting will be in May 2010 in Sydney.