In Azerbaijan, Battling It Out With Poetry

Mehman Ahmadli is a master of meykhana. It’s a form of freestyle poetry sometimes set to the beat of a Persian drum. Poets compete against each other, and there is no room for hesitation—you have to be ready to speak the second your opponent stops. Break the flow, and you’re done. We join Ahmadli and his friends at a pub in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku to see how a faceoff goes down.

This Great Big Story was made possible by Azerbaijan Tourism: https://azerbaijan.travel/en/home

SUBSCRIBE: https://goo.gl/vR6Acb

#meykhana #poetry #azerbaijan

This story is a part of our Human Condition series. Come along and let us connect you to some of the most peculiar, stirring, extraordinary, and distinctive people in the world.

Got a story idea for us? Shoot us an email at hey [at] GreatBigStory [dot] com

Follow us behind the scenes on Instagram: http://goo.gl/2KABeX
Make our acquaintance on Facebook: http://goo.gl/Vn0XIZ
Give us a shout on Twitter: http://goo.gl/sY1GLY
Come hang with us on Vimeo: http://goo.gl/T0OzjV
Visit our world directly: http://www.greatbigstory.com