Azerbaijan – 2010

Visited: June 2010

Duration of visit: 5 days

Capital city: Baku

Population: 9 million (2010)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

• The capital Baku – a unique combination of tumultuous past and modern-extravagant development supported by oil industry.
• In 2010, Baku Old City is undergoing extensive restoration, which will enhance its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Swimming in the Caspian Sea near Baku with exciting view of offshore oil and gas platforms.
• The mystery of conical shaped mud volcano Garasu, which sporadically erupts mud, solid rock fragments, gas and water.
• Visiting a burning mountain of Yanardag – the area where fire never stops.
• Walking around the perfectly restored Palace of Shaki Khansin, at the foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains.

I had the opportunity to visit Azerbaijan on two occasions: in 2010 and again in 2024. Observing the swift progress and modernization of the nation was profoundly fulfilling.

In this article I describe my first trip to Azerbaijan in 2010: modernization of Baku, swimming in the Caspian Sea, exploring mud volcanos and a burning mountain of Yanardag, finishing the trip at Palace of Shaki Khansin.

More articles about Azerbaijan adventures are available here:

I visited Azerbaijan in 2010 as a part of my South Caucasus Tour, which also combined Armenia and Georgia. My first stop was Georgia, from where I crossed overland to Azerbaijan. It was obvious that the countryside was still stuck in time. I didn’t notice much of a difference, when crossing the border; only bigger impact of Soviet architecture, traditions and influence … until I reached the capital city 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 penetrated on the countryside of the Caucasus yet and it will probably not soon, at least among the elders and less educated.

The capital and economical center of Azerbaijan, Baku, is located 28 meters below sea level on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It combines the medieval old city, legacy of a turmoil past, as well as the new modern areas, that are in ever growing motion.

Between 1898 and 1901, Baku produced more oil than the whole US together. By 1901, half of the world’s oil was produced from 1900 wells located within a few kilometers outside of Baku.

The largest city in the world located below sea level was also the major oil city of the Soviet Union. It seems that the wealth had gone somewhere else and only now the city is starting a real development boom.

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 of the guests were experienced backpackers who were travelling in the region. My visit occurred during the football World Cup in South Africa. Throughout the day, I explored various neighborhoods within the city and its outskirts. In the evenings, we gathered in bars to watched the matches.

The whole old town looked like an enormous construction site, piled up with sand, cement and numerous towers of cobblestones, blocking traffic on narrow streets. Old trucks occupied parking spaces, normally used by decaying Ladas and Moskvich, which were slowly being replaced by the latest luxurious Mercedes limousines. Strong contrasts between the old system and the new wealth are present at every step.

Baku Old City – Icherisheher is still under complete restoration. This project, in addition to its listing on UNESCO World Heritage Site, will attract visitors to explore the mystery of Maiden Tower, fortress and its walls, the ancient Palace of the Shirvanshahs with mausoleum, a mosque, burial vaults and bathhouse.

Swimming in the Caspian Sea near Baku is a dip in a slightly different experience than most of other beaches where I had been before.

The view of offshore oil and gas platforms was imposing. They were be kilometers away from the shore, but their presence felt closer ant rather unpleasant.

The big majority of the swimmers were male. A handful of women, dressed in dark, flowing skirts, were playing with their children and only occasionally getting wet.

Azerbaijan has the highest amount of mud volcanos in the world; 400 out of the 700 mud volcanoes in the world are in Azerbaijan. 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, the eruptions expelled mud over 1,000 meters into the atmosphere, whereas now the cold mud flow seems more like hot chocolate fountain.

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

In this trip, my knowledge of Russian was put to a test again. Oleg, the taxi driver, was speaking and smoking all the time. I didn’t know, if he actually had that much knowledge about the area of volcanos or if he was referring to other topics.

I definitely need to invest some effort to learn Russian before visiting other countries in the region. It would have been so much easier to communicate with people, who seem friendly, and could have helped me to better understand their culture, gripping past or simple weather news.

One of the main landmarks of the so-called Land of Fire is the never-ending open fire place at Yanardagh, half an hour from Baku. A sector of land appears to be permanently ablaze due to the gas deposits under the surface of the sandstone found here.

According to the storytellers, when Marco Polo first visited Baku in the 13^th century, he noted mysterious flames all around the region. Others argue that these flames even played a big role in the birth of Zoroastrianism, a religion that involves fire rituals.

The area of open fire is rather small, flames jet into the air a few meters from a thin, porous sandstone layer that is 15 meters long. The smoke of gas, the burned area around the source and the heat make it a unique natural wonder.

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, there were wide fields stretching for kilometers, where petrol is being mined.

Pump jack oil pumps are used in the petroleum industry to extract crude oil from oil wells, when there is not enough pressure to force the oil to the surface. This process of creating artificial lift simply increases the pressure within an oil well to pull oil to the surface. Their slow movements are calming and relaxing, but all the pollution around them makes me think that the environmental awareness is not a high priority in the region (yet).

On my way back, I visited the perfectly restored Palace of Shaki Khans at the foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The palace’s construction was funded by the riches acquired through silkworm cultivation and the trade of silk cocoons 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 processes the finishing has apparently maintained the original aspect. Each room of the palace differs from one another and each one is skillfully decorated. All the walls and ceilings are painted with miniatures: mythical birds in a garden of paradise, with unusual flowers and animals.

I finished my trip around Azerbaijan, with a walk around the town of Sheki. Observing historical authenticity in relation to the intactness of its urban typology, where most of the buildings still reflect their former traditional use and functions.

At the end of the trip I returned back to Georgia.