| | Must Visits | Need to Know | Capital City Baku | | Tipping 10% | | Electricity 220V | | Weights and Measurements Metric system |
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Sneak Preview
Azerbaijan isn’t affluent – yet. With the area around Nagorno Karabakh (under dispute with Armenia) just waiting to be tapped for black gold, things could change before you make your trip. The capital Baku, at the edge of the Caspian Sea, already has hues of prosperity. Azerbaijan like many countries in the region offers rich and rewarding cultural, historical and natural sights to the tourist.
A word of caution though, ethnic tensions with neighbour Armenia run high, so think twice before you take a jaunt to Nagorno Karabakh in particular, and any part close to the border between these two. Go east instead. Discover the medieval mosques, rock-carvings by Bronze Age civilizations and sights of a country that straddles both the Islamic and European ways of life.
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Historically Speaking
Azerbaijan has been home to human civilization for longer than 3000 years. Petroglyphs (rock-carvings) discovered around Baku, date as far back as the Bronze Age. In the 9th century BC this was Scythian territory – the Scythians were a nomadic tribe inhabiting the North and the East of the Black Sea. Next came the Medes, the Persians and finally the Greeks. Like many regions on the path of conquereres Azerbaijan was host to many. First the Romans, then the Persians who grabbed it back around the end of 3rd century and 700 years later it was the turn of the Arabs. Finally it was the Seljuk Turks that took over and created the region that we today know as Azerbaijan. It was only in around 1050 that the community began developing an architectural and cultural identity. Russia, Turkey and Persia each decided they wanted to control the country and finally in 1813 Russia and Turkey split it in two along the Aras River. Under Russian rule the fate and fortune of the country was tied to the economic health of it’s master. Azerbaijan fed it’s captor crude oil, textiles, wine and chemicals. Though the Russian appetite consumed a large part of Azerbaijani resources, the country has had enough reserves of oil and a healthy textile industry throughout the last century.
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Habitat
Azerbaijan is a small speck of a country – a break away Republic from the Soviet Union. It is situated between the western shore of the Caspian Sea and the southeastern side of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Russia stands to its northeastern border. It shares borders with Georgia on the northwest, Armenia on the west and Iran to the south side. The Aras river flows along the southeastern border and joins the Kura river and onward into the Caspian Sea.
The snow-covered Mt. Bazardyuzyu in the Caucasus range at 4465 m (14,645ft) is the highest point in Azerbaijan. The Sheki Zakataly region lying at the foot of the mountains has an abundance of rivers and a dense population. Grain, tobacco and nuts are the major produce here. The coastal low lands are where you find an abundant production of vegetables, fruits & grains. Azerbaijan’s major resource is the oil reserves –most of which is still untapped.
Azerbaijan has a profusion of plant species, 4000 in all. Due to external and internal strife, inflation is high at 20%. The GDP is US$11.9 billion. Azerbaijan’s major trading partners are CIS, European Union and Turkey. Its major industries are metallurgy, cement, textiles, caviar, chemicals, petroleum and Beech, ash and maple forests cover of the lower reaches of the mountain ranges. The south coastal lowlands are dotted with orange groves.
Home to 12,000 different types of animal species and 350 species of birds, this is rich wildlife country. The Kizilagadj Reserve is a good place to see the birds whilst in the mountains it isn’t unusual for one to sight goats, deer, bears and wild boars. It is however reptiles that form a majority of the fauna in the country.
The Talysh forests, south of the Lenkoran Lowlands are excellent for a rendezvous with tiger and porcupines, and if its gazelles you are looking for, move to the coastal plains.
The Caspian is home to the rare Pike Perch, herring, salmon and most of the world’s sturgeon . Good fishing grounds.
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Travel Tools
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