Building boom in Masalli

I took some photos when I first arrived in Masalli a year ago, so it's interesting to see dramatic changes in the streets and shops in this town. I first started recording photos of the wonderful tandir bread shop located near my former host family's apartment. I was able to look down on the shop from Sally's balcony for the first shot. The second photo was taken in January when a small sign was surrounded by empty store fronts. On March 30th I climbed through construction scaffolding (bottom photo) to discover new ovens and many women working again.

A long stretch of the main street in Masalli, Heydar Aliyev Prospektus, looks very similar to the photo above. Many small shops were demolished, and none - except the bread shop - have re-opened.

Masalli also renovated a former community building that was located next to the Cultural Center. Gone is the squared-off style of the soviet era, and a new facade has arching windows similar to the nearby Cultural Center. It will now be a youth center with meeting rooms, a gallery and auditorium.

Two weeks ago, the President of Azerbaijan visited the new youth center, new telecom building, and the new green house which is located a stone's throw from my house. The road he traveled on was spruced up as well as any buildings along the route. Even the local garbage burner was demolished, fences put up and trees planted. Here is an earlier photo of an abandoned building plus the photo of how it looked when the President went past it.