Fifth Journey Day 74: The Bottle Green Pause
Date: July 21, 2025
Location: Ganja, Azerbaijan
I spent most of the afternoon at the Nizami Mausoleum, not thinking about anything in particular, but simply resting — beneath the cypress trees, beside warm stone, letting the day go by without any particular goal. The heat was strong, almost like it could be felt, but the courtyard provided more than just shade. It was the feeling of calmness. I sat cross-legged on the low wall and sketched a little. I focused more on the feeling of the moment than on the exact details. I tried to feel the passage of time.
The mausoleum itself is vertical, which is impossible. It pushes upward, like a spine. But I kept looking at the quieter details — the writing on the plinths, the way dust settled in the carved letters, the pale moth resting on one stone slab. There was nobody else in the courtyard for a while. Only the gardener with a hose is rinsing the path. I watched the water drip on the hot tiles, then disappear almost immediately. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I bought a small bottle of tarragon soda on the walk back. It was bright green and I hadn't seen it before. I sipped it slowly as I returned to the hotel. The flavor was sharp, almost like medicine, but not bad. I thought of it as a kind of punctuation. It's a great way to end the afternoon.
I feel relaxed here. It's a kind of quiet anonymity. It's as if the city lets me fade away — not because it doesn't care, but because it accepts me. I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But today, Ganja felt like a pause held open. I let myself rest inside it.
