Azerbaijan – 2010

My Azerbaijan travel 2010 summary:

Visited: June 2010

Duration of visit: 5 days (total Azerbaijan: 9 days)

Capital city: Baku

Population: 9 million (2010)

Azerbaijan travel blog (2010) reading time: 6 minutes

• The capital Baku – a unique combination of tumultuous past and modern development.
• Extensive restoration of Baku Old Town.
• Swimming in the Caspian Sea with views of offshore oil platforms.
• The mystery of conical shaped mud volcano Garasu.
• Burning mountain of Yanardag – the area where fire never stops.
• Walking around the perfectly restored Palace of Shaki Khans.

I visited Azerbaijan in 2010 as a part of my South Caucasus Tour, which also included Armenia and Georgia. My journey began in Georgia, from where I crossed overland into Azerbaijan.

In this article I describe my first Azerbaijan travel adventure in 2010: modernization of Baku, swimming in the Caspian Sea, exploring mud volcanos and a burning mountain of Yanardag, opulent Palace of Shaki Khans.

More articles about my Azerbaijan travel adventures are available here:

As I entered Azerbaijan from Georgia, the rural landscape still felt largely unchanged. Crossing the border brought little difference, apart from a stronger presence of Soviet architecture, traditions, and influence. Until I reached the capital, Baku.

Roads were in good condition, traffic very light. Some old Soviet cars, combined with ancient buses and bulky Chinese trucks, were slowly passing by. A group of men was playing domino in a shadow, smoking cigarettes, absorbed in their thoughts of the next move to gain an advantage over their opponent.

“Come and join us my friend!” one of the players invited me in Russian.

My knowledge of Russian at that time was extremely limited. I had never considered learning it before, even though it could be as useful as Spanish in Latin America. English has not yet penetrated the countryside of the Caucasus and is unlikely to do so soon. Especially among older and less educated people.

In this part of my Azerbaijan travel adventure in 2010, I did not see any particularly interesting places to visit or things to do.

Baku, the capital and economic center of Azerbaijan, lies 28 meters below sea level on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It combines a medieval old city shaped by a turbulent past with rapidly developing modern districts.

Between 1898 and 1901, Baku produced more oil than the entire United States combined, with half of the world’s output coming from 1,900 wells.

My budget was limited, luxury completely out of the questions. I found a great atmosphere in a backpacker hostel, where dormitories were reasonably comfortable. Most guests were experienced backpackers traveling in the region. My Azerbaijan travel adventure 2010 took place during the football World Cup in South Africa. Throughout the day, I explored various neighborhoods in the city and its outskirts. In the evenings, we gathered in bars to watch the matches.

The old town felt like an enormous construction site, filled with sand, cement, and piles of cobblestones blocking narrow streets. Old trucks took over parking spaces once used by decaying Ladas and Moskvich, now gradually replaced by luxury Mercedes limousines. Strong contrasts between the old system and new wealth were visible at every step.

Baku’s Old City (Icherisheher) was still undergoing major restoration. Alongside its UNESCO World Heritage status, the renovation is expected to attract visitors to explore its heritage and attractions. The mayor landmarks and highlights of Baku are: The Maiden Tower, the fortress and its walls, and the ancient Palace of the Shirvanshahs with its mausoleum, mosque, and bathhouse.

Swimming in the Caspian Sea near Baku felt different from most beaches I had visited before.

The offshore oil and gas platforms, visible only a few kilometers away, created an imposing and unsettling backdrop. Most swimmers were men. Some women in flowing skirts stayed near the water, occasionally getting wet while playing with their children.

Azerbaijan has the world’s highest concentration of mud volcanoes, with approximately 400 of the world’s 700 located there. I visited one of the best known and easily accessible – Garasu Volcano. Although in the past this conical shaped mud volcano heaved mud high into the air, I observed only sporadically eruptions of mud, solid rock fragments, gas and water.

Gases under the earth build up and push the mud high into the air as a release.

Historically, eruptions expelled mud over 1,000 meters into the air, while today the cold mud flows resemble a chocolate fountain.

The area is pretty remote, so I hired an old Lada taxi.

During my Azerbaijan travel adventure my knowledge of Russian was put to a test again. Oleg, the taxi driver, couldn’t speak any English and was smoking the whole time. Since he was speaking Russian all the time, I wasn’t sure whether he had detailed knowledge about the volcanoes or was talking about other topics.

I definitely need to invest some effort in learning Russian before visiting other countries in the region. It would have made communication easier and helped me better understand the culture, history, and everyday life.

One of the main landmarks, Land of Fire, is the eternal flame of Yanardagh, about half an hour from Baku. A section of land appears to be permanently ablaze due to natural gas seeping through the sandstone.

According to local stories, Marco Polo noted mysterious flames around Baku when he visited in the 13^th century.

These natural fires are also said to have influenced Zoroastrianism, which includes fire rituals.

The open flame area is relatively small, with fire jetting a few meters into the air. It emerges from a thin, porous sandstone layer about 15 meters long. The gas smoke, burned area, and intense heat make it a unique natural wonder and an exciting place to visit.

The road from Baku to Yanardagh led me through changing landscape. From the view of the city with its charming buildings, through Zabray highway with more basic architecture to the village houses, small retail stores, farmlands and lots of sheep! Among them, I observed vast fields stretching for kilometers, where oil is extracted.

In the petroleum industry, pump jacks extract crude oil from wells when natural pressure is not enough to bring it to the surface. This artificial lift increases pressure in the well to pull the oil up. Their slow movements feel calm and almost relaxing. However, the surrounding pollution makes me feel that environmental awareness is still not a high priority in the region.

On my way back, I visited the perfectly restored Palace of Shaki Khans, a highlight at the foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and a major attraction in the region. The palace’s construction was funded by riches from silkworm cultivation and silk cocoon trade during the late 18^th and 19^th centuries.

The palace is renowned for the lavish decoration of its exterior and interior. Large portions of the residence’s façade are covered by a mosaic of colored glass set in a wooden latticework that was assembled without nails or glue. While walking through the sumptuous interior, I was able to confirm that everything is in its place thanks to this special craftsmanship. Although the unique knowledge had been lost in the meantime, local artisans have been bringing it back to life.

Through constant preservation and restoration, the building has largely retained its original appearance. Each room in the palace is uniquely and skillfully decorated, with walls and ceilings painted with miniatures of mythical birds, exotic flowers, and animals in a paradise garden.

I finished my Azerbaijan travel adventure in 2010 with a walk around the town of Sheki. I observed its strong historical authenticity throughout the town. The intact urban layout and buildings still reflect their traditional uses and functions.

If any country in the world will be completely transformed in the next decade or two, it is Azerbaijan. In particular, Baku is likely to become a completely different metropolis in the coming years.

I felt I had the last chance to experience Azerbaijan in its original form before petrodollars would transform it.

People in the countryside are easy-going and friendly, as in many former Soviet republics. They often have limited knowledge of foreign languages.

Azerbaijan is a highly centralized state with a population of over 9 million and only a few cities above 100,000 inhabitants. Outside Baku, there are limited attractions, interesting places to visit, cultural landmarks or sightseeing opportunities. I think that the gap between Baku and the rest of the country will grow, with most economic benefits concentrated in the capital.