Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region, a former Soviet Union country. It is also known as the Land of Fire. It was the first secular and democratic country in the Caucasus.
It is a Paradise for natural gas and oil. It's a place where you'll fall in love with the delicious food and clean streets. This is Azerbaijan, the homeland of warm and beautiful people.
We spent three days in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, observing life there. First, let's look at Azerbaijan's geography and history. Then let's analyze the country in every aspect through our three day trip.
Azerbaijan is located in a region known today as the Caucasus. It is east of Armenia, north of Iran, and south of Georgia and Russia. At the same time, the eastern part of the country borders the Caspian Sea, although it does not have access to an international sea.
The country's population is currently estimated at just over 10 million. It is important to note, however, that around 30 million Azerbaijani citizens are said to live in Iran. Beyond the borders of Azerbaijan.
In other words, one third of Iran's population shares the same origin as the people of Azerbaijan. If you are interested in this topic, I recommend investigating the Tabriz region in northern Iran. The people of northern Iran have a similar ethnic background to the people of Azerbaijan.
Some people even call it South Azerbaijan. The most populous and popular city in Azerbaijan is Baku. The capital, Baku is home to more than 2.
5 million people. When we were there, the city was very lively and full of people. Baku is located in the easternmost part of the country, facing the Caspian Sea.
Interestingly, Baku is also a city 28m below sea level. This makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world with over 2. 5 million inhabitants.
It is also the world's most populous city below sea level. Another important location in Azerbaijan is the not given autonomous region. Although it is called autonomous, it belongs to Azerbaijan as a whole.
Its ethnic origins, cultural ties and currency are identical to those of Azerbaijan. This autonomous republic has a population of around 500,000 and its own governing council. A brief look at Azerbaijan's recent history reveals that this society has its origins in the Safavid Empire between the 15th and 17th centuries.
The Safavid Empire dominated the area that is now Azerbaijan and Iran. The empire is therefore considered the ancestor of the modern Iranian people. After the 17th century, the Russians became more active in the Caucasus region.
The Safavid Empire subsequently collapsed, and the Caucasus region struggled with the Russians until the 19th century. Following the collapse of the Russian Empire in the 19 17th October Revolution. The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was established and the Azerbaijanis declared independence.
However, this independent republic did not last long. In 1921, the people of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia could no longer withstand the pressure and were forced to join Soviet Russia. Azerbaijani society remained under Soviet rule until the end of the 20th century, and declared permanent independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This independence was followed by a territorial dispute with Armenia and a 30 year military conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Tens of thousands of soldiers lost their lives in these wars. Today, the Nagorno-Karabakh region is under Azerbaijani control.
It was the first real president of modern Azerbaijan. He was a popular nationalist figure throughout the country. He was elected because he was a patriotic politician.
However, he could only stay in his position for one year before being subjected to a military coup attempt. Following a series of military and political events, Heydar Aliyev came to power. The current President of Azerbaijan is Heydar Aliyev.
Son Ilham Aliyev, who has held the highest political office in the country for 22 years. His wife, Mir Even Aliyev is the vice president. Now that we have briefly summarize the geography and history of Azerbaijan.
Let's focus on our observations in Baku and some interesting facts about the country. Imagine that you have decided to travel to Azerbaijan. The easiest way to travel there from abroad is by air.
This is because the Azerbaijani government has closed almost all land borders with neighboring countries. This decision may be due to military issues with Armenia, a lack of infrastructure or economic concerns. The government may also want its airlines to generate revenue and contribute to the economy.
Even its own citizens travel by air to nearby countries like Iran and Georgia. The taxi driver we spoke with said he could not bring cheaper goods from Iran or Georgia because the land borders did not permitted. While restrictions on transportation are annoying, the free in-flight refreshments offered by the local Azerbaijani airline were excellent.
If you fly with Azerbaijan's airline, all three types of food are served free of charge on the plane. Even if you purchase the lowest price ticket, you will be served a main course and dessert regardless of your ticket price. Some of you may think the tickets are more expensive because of the food.
However, before we went, we compared prices with airlines in our own country that don't even offer water and we traveled to Azerbaijan for the same cost. The stewardesses were attentive and the food was delicious. When you set foot on the ground after the flight, Heydar Aliyev International Airport will welcome you, my friends.
I had a chance to explore the airport, and I learned that it is the largest and busiest in the Caucasus region. The interior of the airport is designed with the highest quality and offered to the public. I don't know what country you're traveling from, but it's not difficult to enter Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan does not require a visa for many countries. If you need a visa, you can obtain a tourist visa in just a few minutes using these electronic visa devices at the airport. The cost of an electronic visa is €20.
When renting a hotel or house in Azerbaijan, I recommend searching for accommodations on more than one website. If you just look at interior photos of rooms like we did, you may be shocked when you arrive at the hotel. The outside of the building may be extremely old and there may not be an elevator.
For example, the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom of the place where we stayed looked exactly like this. I must say, though, that it was extremely clean and modern. However, the outside of the building looked exactly like this.
The hotel was located right behind Nizami Street, the most popular and busiest street in the capital city of Baku. They marketed the top floor of an old Soviet era apartment building as a hotel. Then you have to go up five floors without an elevator and carry your suitcases to your room.
In short, accommodation companies in Baku may not post detailed in clear advertisements. After settling into your hotel. Let's say you're hungry and want to try a local delicacy one morning.
Bread and doughy foods are extremely popular in Azerbaijan. Bread is almost sacred to them. There is a traditional dough dish called kuttab in Azerbaijan.
It can be made with chicken, potatoes or cheese according to your preference. They drink tea or hÉireann with the meal. A portion of Kuttab costs an average of eight Azerbaijani manat with a drink.
Azerbaijan has its own currency, the manat. One Azerbaijani manat is worth half a euro, so you can think of €1 as two Azerbaijani minutes. Some of the country's banknotes feature elegant designs.
If you don't want to fill up on appetizers, there are also high quality breakfast restaurants in the city. Azerbaijanis always drink tea with their traditional breakfast. Their tea is lighter in color and each person is served in their own tea pot.
A variety of foods are served for breakfast, and a big breakfast for two people cost around 30 man, at about €15. Some establishments also serve coffee after breakfast. They also serve Turkish Delight and Sweet Sherbet with the coffee.
Now you're ready to explore Baku. This is Nizami Street where people of all budgets come together. And it's the first stop for almost everyone in Baku.
Many famous brands have shops on this street. You will see plenty of clothing stores, restaurants and money exchange points. The stones used for the streets, pavement and the surrounding buildings make you feel like you're in a European country.
The fact that Russia ruled this country for decades has given Baku's architecture Eastern European roots. You will see similar architecture in Georgia. Almost all of the buildings are light gray.
The building's exteriors are wonderfully architecturally preserved. The interiors are used as shops or apartments, and the owners can customize them as they wish. Nizami Street and the surrounding side streets showcase Baku Center as rich and detailed as possible.
In other words, the street extends no matter which way you turn. You should spend at least one day in Baku exploring this street and its immediate surroundings. The first thing that caught our attention was how clean the street was.
The Azerbaijani government and Baku authorities take good care of their city. You will never see a puddle of garbage in Baku city center. Not even the secluded side streets have garbage on the ground and the roads are perfectly clean.
The Azerbaijani government is working hard to increase tourism in their country. To this end, they aim to provide quality airline transportation and a quality city experience. However, they are still behind their biggest competitor, Georgia in terms of tourism.
For example, Georgia generated $4. 5 billion in net income from tourism in 2020 for Azerbaijan's local sources. On the other hand, state that the country's tourism income was $3.
5 billion for the same year. Both Caucasian countries have similar architecture. Local cuisine and culture.
Azerbaijan needs to do more to develop its tourism sector. Returning to Nizami Street, it has narrow roads as well as a wide square. The square is where you will find the greatest variety of people.
Most of the tourists in the square are from Turkey, Russia, Pakistan and India. The country is not yet well known by other communities around the world. In fact, Azerbaijan's first international recognition came after its success in the Eurovision Song Contest.
They won in 2011 and hosted the contest the following year. Because of this, Azerbaijan has become better known in the last ten years. If you look closely at Azerbaijanis, you can distinguish them from tourists.
Most Azerbaijani men have thick eyebrows, dark or wheat colored skin, and light stubble. Almost all men have brown eyes. It is very difficult to find Azerbaijani men with very light skin.
The average height of these men is around 170cm. They prefer to wear short sleeved T-shirts and long jeans. Azerbaijani girls, on the other hand, are shorter than boys.
On average, the girls were between 150 and 165cm tall. Azerbaijani girls definitely have black hair and brown eyes. If you see an Azerbaijani with blue eyes, they probably have some ethnic connection to Russians.
Similarly, Azerbaijani women are brunets with wheat colored skin. They definitely do not dress in a sexy way. I would describe the typical Azerbaijani woman's daily attire as long jeans, a strappy top and a jacket.
I have seen this combination many times in Baku. Similarly, women prefer long dresses to shorts or skirts. Another interesting thing I noticed about women in Baku is that some were walking hand in hand.
At first I thought it was a coincidence, but over the course of three days I saw women holding hands in different parts of Baku. Please tell me in the comments if this has a special meaning. One more observation about the people there is that they generally don't seem very energetic.
Both young and old people seem to live peaceful lives in Baku. But they have somewhat static expressions. They all generally have an air of tiredness and being overwhelmed.
They seem mature and calm. They just don't seem very satisfied with their lives. Also, never throw trash on the ground in Baku.
If you leave your trash on the ground instead of putting it in a garbage bin, you will be criticized by the locals. Azerbaijani people are sensitive about environmental issues and won't allow their city to be polluted. I can give you another example of this in Baku.
You will rarely see someone smoking while walking. They consider it disrespectful and rude to let cigaret ashes fall on the ground. Therefore, they do not want cigaret butts or ashes to end up on the ground.
Notably, Azerbaijan was the first Muslim country to give women the right to vote and be elected. Women are valued and cherished in the country. In Azerbaijani society, women are never under the patronage of men as individuals.
Women play active roles in society. The most significant indicator of this is that the vice president is a woman. Additionally, Azerbaijan is a secular country, meaning there is no religious regime.
You will rarely, if ever, see a local woman wearing a turban in Azerbaijan, except for Arab tourists. No one in Baku wears a turban, and nearly all Azerbaijani women wear their hair uncovered. Therefore, the country's foundation is not based on religious values but social ones.
This is why you will not come across many religious looking people or religious structures while traveling in Baku. Despite having a population of 2. 5 million, there are only around 20 mosques in the capital city.
Azerbaijanis are socially secular and open minded. Their constitution does not mention an official religion. Most Muslims are from the Shiite sect, and Orthodox Christians are present in the country due to Russian influence.
The Azerbaijani people you see on the streets speak their native language. Their native Azerbaijani language has a melodious sound. Like this Azerbaijani influencer for example.
So I am sure this shouldn't be covered. Your position on the system, as well as a best selling point on the metal is Friday and then sonra shoulder going back almost given the issue of two lira charges yet she got it to get a lunch later at Mar. Almost.
Yeah. Then she will go to Syria to learn tolerate even is they recipe good suggestions. I try to layer since your guys will be good to learn to let it ever get that updated.
Since the other days, if not to last. The Azerbaijani spoken language has many phrases that are similar to Turkish geographical proximity and shared historical ties have always kept Turkey and Azerbaijan close. Therefore, the people of Turkey and Azerbaijan have no difficulty communicating with each other.
Turkey even provides direct military aid to Azerbaijan during wars with Armenia. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, often provides housing assistance to Turkey during major disasters such as earthquakes. Another language that Azerbaijanis can easily understand and speak is Russian.
Both young people and adults in Azerbaijan know Russian well and can easily understand it. While traveling around Baku, you will hear Russian conversations among people who appear to be Azerbaijanis. Russians have been present in this region for hundreds of years and have left their mark on the Caucasus.
