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Sattar Bahlulzade
(1909-1974), whose oil
painting is featured on the back cover, was considered by the
Soviets to be a renegade artist who refused to follow prescribed
conventions of Socialist Realism. Nearly all of Sattar's impressionistic
paintings, including this one in the ancient region of Shamakhi
in central Azerbaijan, showcase his passion for life and his
sharp eye for the dynamic and vibrant forces at play in nature.
Back cover. |
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During his three
years in Azerbaijan as Chevron's General Manager, John Connor
has made it a point to feed his lifelong passion for hiking in
the countryside. Here he describes the many interesting day trips
and hikes that can be made just a few hours out of Baku. Beautiful
photographs from his personal collection give us a taste of the
amazing scenery he's come across in his treks. Page
14. |
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Gulnar Aydamirova first learned about Azerbaijan International
as an exchange student in Colorado, in a program sponsored by
the U.S. Freedom Support Act. She has since returned to Baku
to join our staff and study for her bachelor's degree at the
University of Foreign Languages. Gulnar was involved with many
of the translation and administrative tasks that went into preparing
this issue. She also interviewed experts for the land mine article.
Page 35.
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If you want to learn about Azerbaijan's birds, Elchin Sultanov
is the man to turn to. As head of Azerbaijan's Center for the
Protection of Birds and the Ornithological Laboratory at the
Zoology Institute, Elchin was involved with an AIOC project to
examine the relationship between birds and Azerbaijan's oil industry.
It's not as black-and-white as you might think. Page
32.
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When his wife Elisabeth
was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Baku in 1999, Napier Shelton
took advantage of their stay in Azerbaijan to indulge in his
love for bird watching. Eager to help out fellow bird lovers,
he has written a soon-to-be-published book about his bird discoveries
entitled "Where to Watch Birds in Azer-baijan." It's
another first for Azerbaijan in English. Page
26. |
