| Azerbaijan |
| Unknown to most of the world, Azerbaijan is a surprisingly fun, safe and laid back country sandwiched between Russia and Iran. The country was formerly part of the Soviet Union until getting its independence in the early 90s. Since then the country hasn't wasted time opening up to the rest of the world and transforming its capital to an international city. The country's population is 97% Muslim, but is also full of expatriates from all over the world who come to work in Azerbaijan's rich oil fields. This country's natural beauty, adventure, and nightlife all took me by surprise, making it my favorite destination out of the four countries I visited in my Russia & Caucasus trip. |
| Like many cities that go back centuries, Baku is split up into its new modern area and the historic district known as old Baku. The upper left shows a new government building that was recently built in the city's modern section. Modern Baku is where you will find all the night life, which includes everything from Shi-sha lounges to bars and night clubs. |
| One of the best places to explore in Baku is the old city. This is the cultural center of the capital, and the old city walls still guard the area. Above you can see the castle like wall which makes a defensive perimeter around old Baku, and on the upper right lots of carpets and typical Persian items being sold. This would be one of the best places to purchase Persian rugs and other souvenirs from the region. |
| Here are some more random photos of old Baku, the picture on the left is the remains of an ancient Turkish bath house. On the upper right is a room that was once used as a stop over for travelers. The walls still have hooks that were once used for travelers to tie up their camels. Today, it has been converted into an interesting bar and restaurant, with pictures inside of all the famous people who have ever visited.. |
| To the right is a nice mosque seen in Baku near the city's highest point. On the left is a famous place to visit in Baku which is called Martyr's Lane. It's dedicated to dozens of people who were killed when Azeris were protesting the Soviet Union. |
| If you take an interesting hike over rocky terrain that also involves climbing up steep ladders, you'll reach the inner parts of Gobustan. This place is famous for its caveman carvings that are said to be as old as 10,000 years. Most of the carvings are small in scale, and depict people and wildlife. The lower right picture is of a rock that was believed to be used to play music and perhaps for ceremonies. |
| Another very interesting place in Azerbaijan are the mud volcanoes. There are said to be 800 in the world, and half of them are right here in this country. These are pretty loud, and the exaggerated sounds of the mud volcanoes almost sound like something from a cartoon. The mud they spit out is actually cold, so you can walk up and put your finger in it if you wanted to. You can also see the mud running down the sides of the volcanoes just like lava would. |
| Azerbaijan Travel - For more information on Azerbaijan please visit http://www.willgoto.com/218/1/categories.aspx |
| These first surrounding pictures are Azerbaijan's capital city called Baku, two above during the day and the lower left one at night. With a population of over two million, Baku is the country's largest city, and was built at the end of a peninsula that extends into the Caspian Sea. You can see the Caspian sea in the upper right, and cars driving along the sea at night on the lower left. The lower right photo is of the Azerbaijan's parliament building. |
| Azerbaijan Links |
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Nadie from Canda: Very interesting! I really would love to go see this in real life!
| The above photo shows the current Caspian sea, on the right where it once was thousands of years ago before the waters receded. Thousands of years ago, ancient people lived here right on the border of the sea but were believed to have been killed when the waters suddenly flooded one day. This scenic area is known as Gobustan and is a great place to explore. |
| With 97% of the population practicing Shi'ite Islam, you'll find mosques all over Baku. On the left is a larger one I saw near the city center. The building on the right is actually just a really nice Italian restaurant. I didn't eat there, but it looks like it would be pretty expensive. In Baku you can find just about any type of restaurant or food you like. Below are some photos from a bakery. |
| The Caspian Sea offers a lot of fun and an escape for the hot summers. Azerbaijan has a pretty good infrastructure here for enjoying water sports. Above are examples of a speed boat and a guy who has just finished jet skiing. I saw a nice resort built along the sea that also had a fresh water pool and an outdoor theater for live music. I heard scuba diving was available and I tried to arrange it but didn't have any luck. |
| One of the biggest sites in Old Baku is the Shirvanshah's Palace. Created in the 15th century, Shirvanshah's palace also had within its complex the shah's mosque, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's mausoleum, as well as bath houses and tombs. Ibrahim I of Shirvan created the place after moving his capital from Shemakha to what is now Baku. He ruled his country from 1382 - 1417 AD, and when he passed away his son was next in line for power. Above are photos fromt the complex, including the tomb on the right, and the mausoleum on the left. The two photos below were also located in the complex and have Arabic writing on them. Unfortunately I can't say which time period they came from. |
| The fire seen on the left may not be impressive by itself, but the fact that is has been reported to be burning for over a thousand years makes it worth a visit. The fire is fueled by an underground natural gas leak that caught fire and was reported burning as early as 900AD. On the upper right, you can see a picture of myself standing next to another naturally occurring fire. As Azerbaijan was once a major stop over for the Great Silk Road that went from the Far East all the way to Europe travelers from India built the temple of Atesgah, one of three still left in the world. The builders of the temple used to worship fire, and when they come across this region it was only natural to build a temple. |
| Surrounding are four more photos from the temple of Atesgah. A number of rooms for travelers to spent the night were built around the fire temple, and some of the rooms were used to punish people or slaves. Above is a photo of one of the doors to a room and some ancient writing, below are two photos of a scene recreated that shows some people being chained and held in rooms in poor health. |
| While natural gas is common in Azerbaijan, so is oil which is the country's main source of income. Above you can see some oil rigs on the right, and a lake of oil on the left. Expats from several countries come here to work and help export and refine it to gasoline. |
| Above is myself in a shop called the 'flying carpet', where they focus mostly on Persian rugs and Persian Antiques. Rugs here are hundreds of dollars cheaper than in USA. |
| One of Azerbaijan's most famous landmarks is the Maiden Tower of Baku. It's estimated that this was built prior to the 12th century, and the origins of its name are also not certain. Some believe the term maiden was used because of a love story where a woman jumped to her death to avoid a forced marriage, and another explanation is the fact that the tower has never been taken over forcibly by a military. |
| An ancient castle in the vicinity of an area known as Mardakan, this castle above was built Akhsitan, the son of Shirvanshah Mechehrin. The interior parts of the castle are in poor condition, but it is still an impressive site to visit, with the center tower reaching 22 meters in height. |
| Travelers passing through Baku in ancient times normally stopped in this area for accommodation and for food at the local restaurants. Today, this caravan stopover has been changed with modern cafes and restaurants, and was one of my favorite parts of the city. |
Hyginus from Nigeria: Azerbaijan has been a very beautiful and lovely country one need to spend his holidays l will
like to be there to visit all the places in old baku and see all this things my self.
like to be there to visit all the places in old baku and see all this things my self.
Ann-Britt from Sweden:Oh my! I didn't know it would look like this, im going there this summer, lucky me hihihih! See
you in Baku guys, love from Sweden <3<3<3<3<3<3<3
you in Baku guys, love from Sweden <3<3<3<3<3<3<3
Nizam from Azerbaijan: This is Great! :)