Shirvanshahs Palace, Baku.

For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Continued Tour Part 13, click here.

July 27, 2016 – Day 11 of this Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour

Life sometimes is just so absurd you have to laugh at it. Due to delays in visas for Iran and Turkmenistan, I decided to fly to Georgia, not the state, but rather the country and apply for the Azerbaijan visa there, figuring it might be faster than in Beijing. This turned out to be right.

I’d already booked my lodgings at the New Baku Hotel with really nice helpful people and a peaceful environment. After a couple of days of visiting museums and famous sights, and a morning swim in the Caspian Sea with my friend Mustafa from the Caravanserai Buxara Restaurant in the Old Town of Baku (Icheri Sheher), I cruised back to the hotel in a taxi with the best sound system I ever heard, jamming to Ramil Nabran’s “Bomba” and some other tunes. We made a music video on the way back to my hotel by the way. Baku is a colorful oil rich world capital city with oodles of classic buildings and people.

Arriving back at the hotel I found out the desk clerk named Isa (that’s “Jesus” in English by the way) had done a great job and managed to get an appointment with the president of the Azerbaijan Wushu Federation, Azer Hassansoy at 3:00 pm that same day at my hotel. Good man! So after chatting for a while with several of the guys at the front desk, I ran upstairs, ate some bread and jam which I keep in hotel rooms for snacks, drank some milk, then ran up two more floors to the restaurant, got an expresso, and took the elevator down to the lobby to be ready for the appointment. All systems go!

Arriving in Tbilisi Georgia it only took a short time to find out their National Wushu Federation team was at a summer camp on the Black Sea Coast, specifically a beautiful small beachside city called Kobuleti. But, that was west, and I wanted to go east to Baku. Fortunately the Azerbaijan visa in Tbilisi only took two days to get, so after some days sightseeing in Georgia I was off to Baku Azerbaijan via a rather comfortable overnight train. Around 7:00 am I woke up, walked out of the train compartment and saw marvelous sun rays piercing the clouds and shining on the Caspian Sea. Wow! It was an awesomely beautiful way to wake up. My company on the sleeper train, a Georgian female basketball player on the Azerbaijan team named Natali Liveru, and a humorous, quite strong Azeri fitness instructor were great travel companions, my kind of people.

Right on time Azer Hassansoy showed up at 3:00 and we went upstairs to the outside lounge to sip on coffee and help me get up to speed on the world of Wushu in Azerbaijan and their Wushu Federation.

President of the Azerbaijan Wushu Federation, Azer Hassansoy

Azer Mallem – Patriarch and architect of martial arts organizations in Azerbaijan, and elsewhere

First it’s always good to know how to properly address a distinguished person, and I found out people usually call Azer Hassansoy, “Azer Mallem,” with “Mallem” meaning “teacher,” or “Sir” in Arabic language as a traditional sign of respect.

Next I asked Azer Mallem about the history of the Wushu Federation in Azerbaijan and found out he’d started it in 1989, back during the Soviet era; he was the first Azerbaijan Wushu Federation President; in fact he started the first sports federation here in Azerbaijan after independence in 1991. I also heard from a third party source that he was instrumental in helping Turkey begin its Wushu Federation as well.

Asked about his training in the fine arts of Wushu, Azer Mallem said learned his Wushu in Kyrgyzstan and Dagastan in 1987 – 1989. After independence, he’d gone to China to train at Shaolin and other places, and he subsequently went with this team to Malaysia in 1993 to compete in the Wushu World Championships with three of his fighters winning, gold, silver and bronze.

In 1994 his team competed in Germany in the European Championships, winning one gold and two silvers, and they continued their winning streak at every major competition since, except in 2005 when they didn’t attend due to the conflict with Armenia. Master Azer also mentioned championships in Italy, Hong Kong and many other (60+) nations around the world over the past decades.

It turns Azer Mallem is also the coach of my old friend Ramil Allahverdiyev, super champion Sanda fighter from Azerbaijan here, and several other of my Azeri Sanda friends. Not surprisingly he also knows Kamil Rabadanov, president of the Russian Kung Fu Federation and of course Master Fu Biao of Beijing Shaolin. Something tells me we have a lot more friends in common since I’ve been traveling the Silk Road, but I had too many questions and too little time to fully explore all of our mutual friendships here, there and everywhere.

I found out Azer Mallem has 10 fighters as the core part of his national team, and about 35 clubs around Azerbaijan with around 4,000 to 5,000 students training in those centers. “Ten years ago I had 60+ clubs,” he said. When I asked him why the decrease, he mentioned that Wushu is not an Olympic sport at this time, and also it might have something to do with the rapid economic and social development in Azerbaijan. “These days’ people like to play tennis and ping-pong, spend time on the Internet, go to malls and so on,” he added.

I found out the government helps their Wushu competitors financially, at least when it comes to international competitions. A few of the “super-winners” he said, “might be awarded flats in reward for their victories…” I’ve heard this is true with Olympic Gold Medal winners in China, and have asked other Federation presidents about it, but this is not commonly done and clearly Azerbaijan does support their athletes in many ways as all nations should (!) in my humble opinion.

2014 Youth Olympic Wushu Tournament ,China.

I also learned that the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Ali was president of the National Olympic Committee in 1997 and has since built 33 Olympic training centers around Azerbaijan in every big city. “He really likes sports and sports coaches, and helps, not only the Olympic sports, but all sports” Azer Mallem said. I found out too that the Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov is also president of the N.O.C, practiced Karate and handball when he was younger, and is a great friend to sports coaches and athletes nationwide.

Azer Mallem went on to list just a few of the international sports events held recently in Azerbaijan and in the near future:

The First European Games were held in Baku in 2015 with more than 6,000 athletes attending, and the Azerbaijan team came in second behind Russia.

Entrance to Shirvanshahs Palace Baku.

There was a Formula 1 race on a layout designed by renowned F1 track architect Hermann Tilke in Baku, last month (June 2016)

In October of this year the World Chess Olympiad will be in Baku.

The Islamic Solidarity games will be held in Azerbaijan in 2017.

In 2020, Baku will host group stage and quarter-final matches of the UEFA European Cup.

Azerbaijan is clearly a sportsman’s paradise.

Azer Mallem has an incredible martial arts history. I learned that he was and is also the president of the Azerbaijan Muay Thai-Thaiboxing Federation. His master was Kru Possawat, Professor in the Academy of Muay Thai. As if that isn’t enough, he’s also former president of the Azerbaijan Kickboxing Federation which he’d asked his best qualified friend to take over a while back due to is friend’s ideal qualifications and his own rather busy schedule. Azer Mallem’s personal martial arts career also included four golds, in Taolu (performing Shaolin and Chen style Tai Chi forms) in Hong Kong four years in a row, which at least partly explains his ranking of 6th Duan, and 14th Khan.

At the time of our interview Azer Mallem was busy getting ready for a training camp in Russia with several of his top fighters, so I didn’t want to detain him any longer, but expressed great appreciation, and my genuine feeling of being honored that he’d take the time to talk with me. Before leaving the outdoor lounge he gave me the name and phone number of one of his elite coaches, Mursal Guliyev, and told me I should call this man if I needed anything, or would like some guidance around town. I expressed my sincere wish that we meet again soon.

About an hour after he left I got a phone call from Mursal who invited me out for dinner this very same evening. Given my endless curiosity regarding Wushu in Azerbaijan and that I’m nearly always hungry, I happily agreed.

Around 8:00 pm he picked me in his rather nice car and he drove towards a simply sumptuous outdoor garden-like restaurant. On the way however I saw an unusually large and spectacular Masjid lit up and shining in the night and asked to stop to photograph it. He parked and we walked around it for a while. There were lots of families and couples strolling around and playing there and there. It was a rather idyllic peaceful Wednesday evening, under the stars, with the slightest cool breeze on a mid-summers evening.

After that we drove to the nearby restaurant, and it was totally delicious. We talked about all kinds of things, including Azerbaijan traditional music called Mugam. I told him about the Azerbaijan fusion Hip Hop I like by Ramil Nabran and he laughed. He also volunteered to show me around Baku more in the next couple of days, but I have to leave tomorrow to have enough time for the Kung Fu Federation on the west coast of Georgia and time for Ankara and Istanbul, before my all too short summer vacation runs out in a couple of weeks.

Reflecting this evening on my meeting with Azer Mallem and his very impressive martial arts record, riding the tides of remarkable change in Azerbaijan, extraordinary organizational skills, his easy going friendly manner, and great thoughtfulness in introducing me to Mursal, I realized there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind; this is a true master of Wushu and life.

Azerbaijan National Museum of History & Azerbaijani “Zorkhana” - The House of Force and Strength

A few days earlier while visiting the Azerbaijan National Museum of History I happened upon what looked like the heaviest battle shield I’d ever seen, and stopped to carefully read the signs and look at the display. What I subsequently found was quite interesting and new to me.

Zor means strength and power, and Khana means house. Traditionally the big hall of Zorkhana was blocked by tall arch beams with a domed roof. Depending on the size of the cloth mat from 15 to 20 players could compete simultaneously. Games in Zorkhana were accompanied by music. After a special sign was given by the judge, music played and the games began. After those games Gulash (national wrestling) began. Upon finishing the games Pakhlavans kissed the hand of the judge and left the arena. Pakhlavans participating in Zorkhana traditionally wore only trousers, shorts actually that came to just below the knee. Pakhlavans used maces and heavy wooden clubs used in war and weighed between 12 to 30 kilos. Zorkhana competitions included breaking of swords, lifting heavy stones, Gulash and other games.

The common story is that after the Arabs captured Persia and what is now Azerbaijan in the 7th Century, rebels led by Abu Muslim Khorasani went to the mountains of Khorasan where they established secret training camps to prepare for a rebellion. Khorasan (7th to the 18th Century) was once a great empire that extended east to India. “Azerbaijan” by the way means “Guardians of the Fire” in Persian, owing to the fact that it was a center of Zoroastrian – fire worshiping – religion.

Baku, Late 1800's

And it was ultimately Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim Khorasani or al-Khurasani that led the Abbasid Revolution that finally toppled the Umayyad Dynasty. Historians disagree as to Abu Muslim’s origin, with some saying he was Persian, while others say Arab, and some say he was Tajik, Afghan, Azerbaijani, Yaminite, Kurdish or of another ethnicity in the region, which basically means nobody knows.

The signs at the Azerbaijan National History Museum say that at the Zorkhana they had “contests with maces, and wrestling,” and judging by the very, very heavy wooden practice shields, it looks like they practiced other diverse forms of martial arts/war arts as well.

A series of wars followed, and led to and increased need for warriors of great power, which created a need for Pahlavan wrestling, and the Zorkhana was where they forged men into iron and then steel, to maintain the honor of families and win wars.

Baku was one of many Zorkhana centers (also Ganja, Shusha, Sheki, Nakhchivan, Ardabil, Maraga, Khoy and Urmiya) in Azerbaijan of Pahlavan wrestling training in classical times with Baku being the most famous. The Baku Zorkhana was founded by Shonu Abdullah in the early 1800s. He lived to be 116 years old.

More recently there is an International Zorkhana Sports Federation established on 11th October as part of the National Olympic and Paralympic organizations in Tehran in 2004. Zorkhana and Pahlavan wrestling joined the International Zorkhana Sports Federation in 2007, and the first International Zorkhana tournament took place in Baku from March 13 to 17 in 2009. In November 2010 “Zurkhaneh” Sports was registered with UNESCO. (One might notice the slight spelling differences between Azerbaijan and Iran, Zorkhana and “Zurkhaneh.”)

Azerbai National Museum of History Gymnastic Apparatus used at Zorkana.

According to azerbaijans.com:

“According to historical facts, Zorkhana was systemized 700 years ago by Puryayi Vali (Mahmud ibn Valiyuddin). It was also noted that Zorkhana had more ancient history. The roof of Zorkhana is a dome and the floor is below the ground level. A person who wants to come in the door should bend himself as its door very low. To get in by bending makes the sportsmen modest.”

What does it look like? Today it’s a form of wrestling where they wear special shorts, a T-shirt and cloth belt. Zorkhana now is a form of belt wrestling, not so different from the Kuresh (also spelled Goresh I found in Turkmenistan). These gentlemen here are quite muscular possibly because they also train with rather heavy “clubs” and other unusual forms of weights.

The Museum was truly extraordinary in many ways. The word Baku may have come from the word: Bakhau, mentioned in the Book of the Dead, an Egyptian funerary test dated to 1550 BCE. There are many mysterious connections between Ancient Egypt and Azerbaijan, including a range of archeological finds of blue Egyptian clay found in Azerbaijan, and similar relics, rites and rituals related to sun worship developed sometime in the 3rd Millennium BCE.

My favorite place in Baku is the Palace of Shirvanshah. Though mostly rebuilt in the 15th Century, the dynasty of Shirvanshah lasted from the 9th to the 16th Century. It’s not a huge palace, but it’s just perfectly beautiful, serene and quite secure. Historically it was much larger, with at least two outer layers of walls, but I guess they’re not really needed these days. After my tour I chatted with some of the friendly tour guides adding them to my Facebook. It was really beautiful all around.

Another impossible to miss sight in Baku is Maiden’s Tower, which is huge, at least a couple of thousand years old, and shrouded in mystery, though it is believed to be a Zoroastrian fire worshiping temple and fortress. Its simple beauty and splendid architecture, combined with its great age, aura of total mystery combine to make it a powerful symbol of Baku, Azerbaijan, a country that respects and protects diversity and tradition, while simultaneously being a very modern country.

Azerbai National Museum of History - Zorkhana, House of Force and Strength.

Azerbaijan is an oil rich country on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Strolling the Old Town is like time traveling. Unlike many other countries they don’t really need tourist money (which is nice – not so many tourist trap areas), but still everyone I met was very easygoing and friendly.

Sincere thanks to Master Azer Mallem and Mursal Guliyev for their time and warm hospitality and the dozens of other people who made Baku Azerbaijan seem like a beautiful seaside home away from home. By the way, they both speak English excellently, which is always nice. Finally, I could easily and happily live there as Baku is a truly great city and God willing, “I’ll be back!”

For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 15, click here.