Azerbaijan – 2024

Visited: August 2024

Duration of visit: 4 days

Capital city: Baku

Population: 10.50 million (2024)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

• Appreciating the modernization of Baku, becoming Dubai of the Ex-Soviet Union.
• Contemporary Baku’s landmarks topped with Formula One Grand Prix.
• Exploring Gobustan mud volcanos and Rock Art Cultural Landscape on an exciting trip from Alat port.
• Waiting 2 days in Alat port, before sailing across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan.

In August 2024, I returned to the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, which served me as an easily accessible starting point to reach Turkmenistan. The plan was to travel by ferry from the port of Alat (an hour drive south of Baku) to Turkmenbashi, on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea. It was impressive to observe the progress of president Ilham Aliyev’s plan to transform the country into a modern, attractive, tourist-oriented metropolis.

In this article I describe my second trip to Azerbaijan in 2024: modernization and contemporary Baku’s landmarks, exploring Gobustan mud volcanos and Rock Art Cultural Landscape, waiting in Alat port to cross the Caspian Sea.

More articles about Azerbaijan adventures are available here:

Baku was a pleasant destination to return to after 14 years, since the city had gone through mayor transformation process, financed by petrodollars. If in 2010 the renovation of The Old City was ending and the construction of modern city was starting, in 2024 most of the projects were finished.

The capital of Azerbaijan was in full preparation to receive Formula One GP.

Large infrastructure projects have been moved to the Nagorno-Karabakh, a recently acquired territory that Azerbaijan won in the war with Armenia.

My first stop were the triple towers on top of the hill called The Flame Towers, which are visible from almost any part of the city. During the day, the glass facades of the buildings reflect in blue, and at night, colorful animations in the national colors are projected.

The Flame Towers were inspired by Azerbaijan’s long relationship with fire and represent the eternal fire of modern Baku. Baku’s most prominent landmark is located on a hill overlooking Baku Bay and The Old City. The Towers are approximately 140, 160 and 170 meters high.

I ascended the hill via a funicular alongside a few tourists, who were relatively scarce in the city during my stay. Not far away, I visited Martyrs’ Lane, dedicated to the fallen soldiers killed by the Soviet Army during Black January 1990 and in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War between 1988 and 1994.

A pleasant walk through Highland Park led me to viewpoints that offer a wonderful panoramic view of the city. Baku Crystal Hall, the unfinished State Flag Square, Baku Eye, Caspian Waterfront Mall and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum are located on one side of the corniche, while the other extreme is marked by Crescent Mall Terrace & Park and Baku White City.

Heydar Aliyev Center is one of the most outstanding modern structures in Baku, located on a small hill, alongside the Baku Convention Center.

The elegant curved style structure, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, contrasts with monumental Soviet style and reflects the futuristic vision of the nation. It consists of a conference room, museum, library, auditorium and exhibition spaces.

The museum offers and exhibition of musical instruments, cars, modern art, traditional clothes, sculptures and carpets, wrapped up by the extravagant architectural expression of the building itself. In the auditorium, mock-ups of new projects show most of the modern or renovated projects that Baku can offer in 2024. There are more than 20 of them, attracting visitors from ex-Soviet countries, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe.

New and modern shopping malls are not only marked by luxury brands, but also architectural creations: Crescent Mall, with an extraordinary vaulted structure, which is about to be completed; 28 Mall Baku provides an extensive range of products from global brands in luxurious boutiques; Deniz Mall, which resembles a lotus flower offering, beside shopping, a universe of amusement, relaxation, and delectable dining.

The Old City hasn’t changed a lot. Walking around the labyrinth of streets, narrow alleys and stairs, getting lost among perfectly renovated houses, museums, hotels, residential buildings and palaces took me back to the times, when Marco Polo wrote:

“Near the Georgian border there is a spring from which gushes a stream of oil in such abundance that a hundred ships may load there at once. This oil is not good to eat; but it is good for burning and as a salve for men and camels affected with itch or scab.”

There are more street vendors, wider range of souvenirs, new bars and restaurants. Nizami Street, especially in the section of Torgovaya, is now a large pedestrian and shopping street, accommodating embassies, banks and fashion boutiques.

Nevertheless, I was disappointed with the small number of foreign visitors, but the early preparation of the Formula One GP track, which passes through the downtown, was indicating that huge crowds will follow the remarkable event.

It seems that preparing Baku to become the Dubai of the Ex-Soviet Union has been well-planned and effectively implemented under the oversight of president Ilham Aliyev.

Police, army, private and government security groups keep an eye on everyone and everything. Video surveillance is set to the highest level in Baku. On the streets, in parks, malls, museums or public transport, cameras are controlling every single detail.

I was never stopped by police, but various times warned by security officers to avoid certain areas around government buildings, where walking or taking photos is not allowed.

The Port of Baku, located on the ancient Silk Road connecting Europe and Asia, 70 kilometers from the capital, is a prime transport and logistics hub of Eurasia. The location in Alat is also a new acquisition, finished in 2018, since the original port in the capital became too small and in the way of new development projects in the capital.

Although I had been in contact for several weeks with representatives of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) regarding the itinerary of their ships that could take me to the other side of the Caspian Sea (Turkmenbashi), the information I received before landing in Baku, was very unreliable.

Following two days of exploration in Baku, ASCO representatives notified me that their vessel, Sheki, was set to depart from the port in the afternoon of the third day. I was advised to approach ASCO office in Alat port at 11:00am.

I hired a taxi to travel from Baku to the port, and upon arriving at the main entrance, I began inquiring for the ferry tickets. The employees were directing me to the booth stand of Ferry Chart Company – Turkmen shipping company, which also operates ferries from Alat to Turkmenbashi. Since this was not my original option, I continued to persuade ASCO staff for the information.

At the end I convinced an indifferent ASCO employee to sell me two tickets to board Sheki vessel (for me and my friend Ales), but he didn’t have a clue of when the ship would actually leave the dock. With the ticket in my hand, I passed the security checkpoint and accommodated in the waiting room.

A large room with 50 seats, air conditioning, a toilet and nonoperational television were available only to the two of us, as there were no other passengers. During the day, I visited the restaurant and a shop in the harbor, where I freely walked around to gather more information. I learned, that most drivers wait several days or weeks to board one of the ships or pick up inbound cargo which is afterwards transported to the Eastern European countries or Turkey.

I quickly realized that no one could assure, when the ferry vessel Sheki would be ready to sail.

My friend Ales started monitoring the movement of ships on the Caspian Sea on Marinetraffic web portal. We quickly discovered that our ship had been moved to another pier and would not be sailing that day or night. In the back of the main waiting room we found some beds where we were able to comfortably spend the first night in the port.

I was calm and relaxed, knowing that only time can solve the problem. The next morning a new employee of ASCO explained to me that the Sheki vessel needed maintenance due to technical issues. It would be ready by 8:00pm, when the official departure was scheduled.

We decided to leave the port and explore the nearby Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape and Mud volcanos. After hard negotiations we hired a Mercedes taxi with a rather young driver who could not communicate in either English or Russian.

Over 50% of mud volcanos in the world are located in Azerbaijan. They are the result of gas and hot water building up under the earth which needs to be released up in the air. During my first trip to Azerbaijan, in 2010, I visited Garasu Volcano. This time, I walked around smaller volcanos that don’t rise higher than 8 meters, while their diameters could be from 30 centimeters to 3 meters.

Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape covers three areas of a plateau of rocky boulders rising out of the semi-desert of central Azerbaijan, with an outstanding collection of more than 6,000 rock engravings, dating back to 5,000 – 40,000 years.

I walked along well-trodden paths and observed various stone carvings that are not properly protected and are rapidly losing their intensity. The rock art represents flora and fauna, hunting, lifestyle, and culture of pre-historic periods of time depicting men, ritual dances, animals, bullfights, camel caravans, the sun and stars. The view of the barren, desolate landscape with piles of stones, the nearby settlement and the Caspian Lake in the background is magnificent.

In the meantime, I contacted the ASCO representative again, and somehow as expected, he mentioned that Sheki ship would be delayed again. I accepted the refund (60.00US$) and decided to travel by Turkmen ship Bagtyyar, which was much more expensive (150.00US$), but seemed to be more reliable.

Upon returning to the port, other passengers started to arrive in the waiting room. We exchanged some information and concluded that the vessel should be ready to leave in the evening.

For unknown reasons we were not called on board on Day 2 and I was obliged to spend the second night in the waiting room.

The next morning, I walked around the port and, after breakfast, even the hairdresser who was off duty for two days, opened his salon. He professionally cut and washed my hair.

When Ales and I returned to the waiting room, all the passengers were gone. According to the security guards, they had been taken aboard the ferry. I was a little worried about missing my departure after waiting 48 hours, but soon another vehicle picked us up and took us to the immigration checkpoint.

We finally departed the port of Alat just before the sunset on Day 3.

The navigation across the Caspian Sea to the port of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan was smooth, the food onboard simple. The cabin was comfortable, while the small bathroom offered the luxury of hot shower, which was highly appreciated after two days of abstinence.