Word for the Travel Wise (11/27/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Well it’s been months since I’ve tossed out an Azeri word and my lack of doing so is a result of few online English to Azeri resources. Not wanting to fail you or anyone out there with a remote interest in this far out foreign lang, I went back to Azeri.org where I managed to pluck this easy word out of a few others. Hope it helps someone out there.

Today’s word is an Azeri word used in Azerbaijan:

romanlar – novels

Azeri, also known as Azerbaijani, Azari, Azeri and Azeri Turkish is he official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, Iran is home for a majority of the Azeri speakers in the world. It is spoken in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, south-eastern Georgia, northern Iraq, and eastern Turkey. I wanted to present you with a better word for the first lesson and second lesson in Azeri, but there are several with that upside down e and other characters and for me to try to give you one of those without the right character would cause too much confusion. Wiki has the lang background info and Azeri.org has some online lessons.

I’ll be patrolling the web for more online sources.

Past Azeri words: babatdir

Nine Million Refugee Children

by Adrienne Wilson on

I’ve been experiencing the worst case of “heal the world” syndrome lately and it seems there is always more I can do, but never enough; money, time, hands, etc. Habitat for Humanity has always been an organization I’ve reached down into my pockets blindly and given what I could, when I could and if ever I could do the same for another organization it would have to be ninemillion.org. Their commercials have worked their way into my mind and the website is far more gripping. Just reading the accounts of refugee children from Uganda, Azerbaijan and Thailand has me real worked up now. I’ve just traveled to three countries I’ve never set foot on in one of the most disheartening ways, yet I hope to some day go and lend more than an online donation. Maybe a smile, a story or a very extra elbow-greased limb to contribute by whatever means necessary will do the trick. Until that times comes the least I can do is spread the word.

There are 20.8 million refugees in the world. Nine million are children. See how you can get involved. Donations in any amount go a long way.

Word for the Travel Wise (07/03/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

One of the best sites to experience while in Azerbaijan is undoubtedly the Atesgah Fire Temple. I’ve never been, but from the sound of this Lonely Planet guide description it seems phenomenal. The temple is built over a natural gas vent and is so saturated with gas and oil that flames spontaneously erupt from the ground. Among other things to see at the temple is, the Sanskrit and Hindi inscriptions on the onion dome. I’m not certain what the small-print in fire worshipping is, but just checking it out during a trip could be very neat.

Today’s word is an Azeri word used in Azerbaijan:

babatdir – so-so (as in one’s mood or being)

Azeri, also known as Azerbaijani, Azari, Azeri and Azeri Turkish is he official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, Iran is home for a majority of the Azeri speakers in the world. It is spoken in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, south-eastern Georgia, northern Iraq, and eastern Turkey. I wanted to present you with a better word for the first lesson in Azeri, but there are several with that upside down e and for me to try to give you one of those without the right character would cause too much confusion. Wiki has the lang background info and Azeri.org has some online lessons.
I’ll be patrolling the web for more online sources.

Photo of the Day (5/11/06)

by Neil Woodburn on

This photo really sums up so much of the former Soviet Empire for me. No matter where I traveled, even within big cities like Moscow, I’d inevitably come across some poor farmer’s Volga or Niva stuff to the brim with onions, melons, potatoes, or in this case, cabbage.

Our friend carpetblogger, who contributed this photo to our Flickr Gadling pool, doesn’t mention where it was taken, but judging by the AZ on the license plate, I’m going to have to guess Azerbaijan.

A Look at Travel Guides

by Erik Olsen on

A very interesting piece in Publisher’s Weekly about the history and current business of travel guides. Read this one. The piece takes a look at how travel guides have evolved due to changes in the marketplace and a morphing of people’s travel habits. It discusses how the (now quite valuable) Baedeker guides of the late 19th and early 20th centuries set the stage for travel with basic guides about mostly large, well-known popular places. This was back when travel was more of a luxury available to the rich, and long before anyone had even heard of adventure travel, let alone before there was a guide for places like Azerbaijan or Papua New Guinea. Now, with airline travel so much easier and more affordable, and a much more itinerant middle, nee leisure class, guides have evolved to cater to very specific wants, and have become guides that both discuss the best places to go as well as educate.

The list of guides mentioned here is vast. From Fodors to Lonely Planet to Let’s go and on and on, the piece offers a really interesting look at how this industry we all know, love and depend on has changed.