Appliances

A very dear friend suggested that I write in this blog more often. She encouraged me to tell about the little things that make up life here in Baku, Azerbaijan. I trust her opinion more than just about anyone else, so, here goes. I'll start with the appliances in our apartment.

Both the dishwasher and refrigerator are brand new, stainless steel, top grade quality (for Baku). Both are slightly miniaturized version of what you might find elsewhere and are of the Turkish brand "Arcelik". I'm not making that up. It says so right there on the refrigerator door. The convenience of ice and water in the door are not an option on this model. But, it's all for the better as you cannot drink the water here anyways. Like deja vu from my childhood, we are always dumping and refilling the ice trays.


The dishwasher has a digital display on the front. I suppose it is so that you know when it is running and which cycle it is on. All I know is that when it says "Yikiyor" in Turkish, do not open the door, or you will have to start a new cycle.

I've mentioned before the combo washer/dryer. It is conveniently located right underneath the kitchen cabinet, next to our Turkish speaking dishwasher. The dial is thankfully in English but that's about where my gratitude stops. It is so small that only 2 bath towels can fit in at a time and I rarely dry anything other than underwear and socks, as it just takes too long. Plus, I feel that the lack of running the dryer makes up for the hundreds of water bottles that I use and am not able to recycle.


And although they are not necessarily appliances, I should mention that we have bidets in each of the 3 bathrooms. Even after much discussion with our European friends, we are still not sure on the proper way to use them. But, they come in real handy for dog bathing time. I just stretch the hose over to the tub. Nice.