Azerbaijan

Visited: June 2010, August 2024

Duration of visit: 9 days

Capital city: Baku

Population: 10.50 million (2024)

Estimated reading time: 2 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.
• Appreciating the modernization of Baku, exploring Gobustan mud volcanos and Rock Art Cultural Landscape, before sailing across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan (in 2024).

The ex-Soviet Union republic of Azerbaijan is a Caucasian country located on the border between Europe and Asia, with a large Turkish and Iranian influence. The Land of Fire has been metamorphing from a relatively reserved, insignificant and limited state into a modern, attractive, tourist-oriented metropolis.

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.