US magazine: Purple Taxis - Symbol Of Change
Baku, July 24 (AZERTAC). US magazine Forbes has issued an article titled “Purple Taxis - Symbol of Change” by Hillary Kramer.
The article says: “Visitors to London and the people who live and work there are very familiar with the traditional and distinctively English black cabs. In London, these zippy taxis -combining old world charm with comfort, spaciousness and unique charm are a fixture, as much as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. These black cabs and their polite and knowledge drivers are famous for getting the job done. But these distinctly versatile, zippy and roomy cabs aren`t just reserved for the streets of London anymore. Visitors to Baku, Azerbaijan`s rejuvenated, boisterous capital, and the people who live there can now hail the very same cab, but not black as in London. In Baku they are a luscious deep purple, a fitting color for this ancient city on the Old Silk Road, in constant use as a trade route for over 2,000 years, besides the beautiful Caspian Sea. Legend has it that Alexander the Great travelled to Baku and had a meeting with Anthropot, the king at the time. And legend says that when Marco Polo passed through here, he marveled at how oil was “not used for food, but as a fuel”. In the old days the pools of oil would often burn and the country became known as the “place of fire” and hence Azerbaijan was counted as a holy place by followers of Zoroaster.
Since ancient times, carpets from Azerbaijan have been highly coveted — each one telling its own story, the story of the weaver making it, and the story of the village where it was made have been prized the world over.
The food is amazingly fresh, amazingly colorful, and amazingly tasty. The folk music, called mugam, is a rich tradition deemed worthy of UNESCO world-culture protection. Much of the world`s best caviar also comes from the nearby waters.
Baku has long been a place where desirable resources abounded. It has long been a jewel contended for, a place of fortune, an enigmatic, romantic place at the center of the teeming earth.
So about those cabs, they were hand-picked by the forward-thinking Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, along with the legislature after an open-call to Azeri citizens for ideas to replace the menagerie of unregulated and un-uniformed taxis that had plied the streets of Baku for as long as anyone could remember. These old taxis were too much a daily reminder of the old days of Soviet domination, of inefficiencies, of waiting in long, senseless lines, of having to deal with layers of persons lacking commitment to matters at hand.
While planning for the wildly popular Eurovision Song Contest that was scheduled to broadcast from Baku (and which subsequently happened last year), it was decided that an upgrade for the taxi system was vital. One of the idea-presenters, having no sense that his idea would be received so well, brought his own London Taxi (yes, you can buy them) for consideration.
But these cabs aren`t just for the Baku dwellers — one of the added benefits of the purple taxis are that their arrival coincides with an increase in tourism to Azerbaijan. Yes, tourism. According to Euromonitor International, “2011 was declared the Year of Tourism and the Azerbaijan leadership views “tourism as a serious source of income in the longer term”. In order to encourage more tourists, some countries are considering a visa-free arrangement for their citizens to visit Azerbaijan.
The sport of skiing is a major focus of development. For example, the Shakhdag year-round tourist hotel opened in 2012. Ultimately, the resort will be large enough to accommodate 10,000 tourists.
The first golf course in the republic of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus is being developed. The Quba Golf Club, is located near Baku, is an 18-hole pitch meeting all international standards, able to host international tournaments. More than 60 hectares of the golf course area is designed for a high level of golf. UK-based golf architecture firm International Design Group is in charge of the project, with construction being handled by Total Golf Construction.
The Azerbaijan government and businesses are investing not only in sports, many strong educational institutions are being developed. One of the best examples is the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) where Azerbaijani students can meet the people from the whole world as 30% of staff and professors are non-Azeris and 25% of students come from abroad to study with Azerbaijani governmental scholarships. ADA opened its doors to students in January 2007 and moved to its permanent “green” and “smart” campus in downtown Baku, in September of 2012. Of course, Azerbaijan - considered the birthplace of the oil industry - has grown exponentially since the country gained independence. As the oil and gas industry develops, the investment in innovation in energy continues to focus on growth and sustainability through technological innovations and continued re-investment in the industry as well as utilizing the oil and gas income to improve the educational system and grow new business areas. This is creating more need for infrastructure development and is coming in the form of the most advanced high speed wireless communication as well as building universities to educate the Azeri`s as well as others coming to the country for higher education degrees. The purple taxis are only a representation of the seriously evolving economy of Azerbaijan.
As former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar said during a trip to Baku in May 2013, “President Aliyev has institutionalized transparency mechanisms so that citizens can see energy revenues coming into the government and how they are being spent, and this is an important example for countries with new-found oil wealth.”
Ask any Azeri, the purple taxis running to and from throughout the city both day and night are a great comfort, and they are an outward sign of a promise by President Aliyev of more needed, practical changes to come, and that, indeed, are happening now on every turn — in Baku and throughout all of Azerbaijan.”
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