Azerbaijan
The shape of Azerbaijan is like a sharp-beaked eagle scouting over the Caspian Sea, looking for prey, with the cosmopolitan city of Baku nestled into its mouth. It’s a fiery-eyed bird because Azerbaijan is known as the Land of Fire with places where fires burn continually due to natural gas under the ground. There are fire temples, too, with ongoing flames, and even the earth burps in the country with the most mud volcanoes in the world, over 300.
Azerbaijan was the first Muslim majority democratic secular country in the world, the world’s first Muslim majority country with theaters, operas, and modern day universities, and one of the first to grant women the right to vote and champion women’s liberties. They were also pioneers with oil drilling.
Its arch-enemy is its nearest neighbor, the Christian majority country Armenia. If you’d like to visit Azerbaijan, go there before you visit Armenia or you may get a hassle. Likewise, if your last name ends in “-ian” or “-yan,” which is common in Armenia, you might not be let in. It’s possible to visit the disputed region that recognizes itself as the Republic of Artsakh, but you’ll need to get a separate visa because if Azerbaijan sees that you’ve been there, you won’t be allowed in Azerbaijan. Saying the word “Armenia” is akin to the word “Voldemort” in Azerbaijan. And it seems to be the hope that if you just ignore the dreadful word, the country, and its very real history, it will go away.
I found an in-depth history textbook, over 300 pages long, with encouragement at the beginning that the book be used by high schools and universities. Apparently sound in other respects, it took me off guard by completely white-washing out the history of the Armenian people. It sent me back to my sources.
The Nagorno-Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh) was one of the provinces of the Kingdom of Armenia in the 4th century AD. St. Gregory the Illuminator established Amaras Monastery there and Mesrop Mastots founded the first school to use the Armenian alphabet at the monastery. The claim in the Azerbaijani textbooks that Armenians never lived in the area and had no right to it is false to anyone who looks at old maps of the region, reads the history, and studies the monuments existing in the area. Artsakh passed from the control of the Muslim Arabs, the Iranian Persians, and the Soviets, maintaining a predominantly Armenian population and often having Armenian provisional leadership. The change came at the end of World War I. British troops briefly occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) region and, for the first time, an Azerbaijani representative was appointed as governor-general. This was not agreed to by the Armenian people actually living there and lead to fighting between the Azerbaijanis and Armenians, beginning the dispute over the region that continues to this day. In 1988, it was the local citizens who voiced that they wanted to be part of Armenia. And now, they just want to be their own independent country as the Republic of Artsakh.
The Republic of Artsakh is in the interesting position that it is recognized by the people who live there and the Armenians and no one else.
This began a bloody war between the two nations creating hatreds that continue to this day. As of this writing, fighting has flared up once again at the northern border between the countries.
In reading the histories of all the countries, there have been many frustrating situations. Again and again, human beings, of which I am one, show their selfish, fearful selves and all of the ways humans can be illogical and inhumane.
Like most situations, what happened is really not either country’s fault. So many factors, including years of Soviet rule and the doling out of territories after war in whatever way strikes the fancy of the deciding powers who don’t have any real stake in the region, came into play.
In the travel journeys I’ve read, the people in Azerbaijan are kind and friendly, as long as you are not Armenian and your name does not end with “ian.”
I wish I could wave a magic wand and take away all of the years of hate between the Azerbaijani people and the Armenian people. I wish they could hear each other’s music and how similar it is. I wish they could find common ground. Unfortunately, what has happened has happened and there has been a lot of disrespect and death on both sides. When you are hurt and abused, it is difficult to reconcile. A recent article by Leon Aslanov delves into the shared musical past of the two people groups. To read his article, select Songs of the Enemy: The shared melodies that connect Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
Mugham is Azerbaijan’s improvisational modal music based on melodies rather than chords. Typically, the singer plays the drum. The kamancha is a fiddle played like a cello. The tar, a lute with eleven strings and a long neck, is considered the musical symbol of Azerbaijan.
Select “Getme, Getme,” meaning “Don’t Go, Don’t Go,” to listen to renowned mugham vocalist Alim Qasimov sing with his daughter Fargana Qasimova and the Kronos Quartet.
For more music and an introduction to the instruments, select Fargana Qasimova Ensemble.
To learn about Azerbaijani Writers, select 10 Best Azerbaijani Authors and Azerbaijani Famous Poets and Writers.
Carpet weaving is the principle form of handicraft in Azerbaijan and the colors are bright. There is a Carpet Museum in Baku.
Black tea is central to the Azeri culture and is often served before meals. To learn more about the foods of Azerbaijan select Most Popular Azerbaijani Dishes and 11 Most Delicious Dishes & Drinks of Azerbaijani Cuisine.
Azerbaijan has 9 regions and 1 autonomous republic called Nakhchivan, or Naxjivan, which means “Place of Descent”and is consided to be the area where Noah and his family lived. There is a second autonomous republic, the Republic of Artsakh, within the country that is more than 90% Armenian.
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. A secular Muslim city with few mosques, it is the largest and most prosperous city on the Caspian Sea. Rich in oil wealth, Baku is a coastal show place that juxtaposes the old and the new.
The Flame Towers, perhaps the most recognizable feature in Baku, are three flame-shaped skyscrapers in honor of Azerbaijan as “The Land of Fire,” completed in 2012.
Icherisheher: Old Town with some buildings that might be as old as the 7th century
The Qasim Bey Bath Complex ruins are visible in the Old Town.
Maiden Tower is perhaps the oldest structure in Baku.
Shirvanshas Palace dates from the 15th century.
The Carpet Museum is in a building that looks intriguingly like a rolled carpet from the outside.
Mini Venice is an area of designed canals by the coast right next to the Carpet Museum.
Taza Pir Mosque is a 100 year old mosque.
Heydar Aliyev Center, named for the third president of Azerbaijan, is a surrealistic, futuristic building by female Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid.
Shahidlar Monument and Martyrs’ Alley commemorates those killed by the Soviet Army during the January Massacre in 1990.
There is a Museum of Minature Books and a big Fountain Square.
Taza Bazaar and Yasil Market are great places to go to immerse in Azeri culture.
Sabayil Castle, the Atlantis of the Caspian, is an underwater castle off the coast of Baku.
Atashgah (also Ateshgah) Zoroastrian Fire Temple is located on the outskirts of Surakhani village just west of Baku.
Surakhani Fire Temple is right next to the Ateshgah Fire Temple near Surakhani village.
Masazir Lake, north of Baku, is a salt lake that is sometimes pink in color, especially during the warmest months.
Yanar Dag (Burning Mountain) is a continually burning fire because of natural gas underground.
Absheran National Park is a park on the beak of the bird that is Azerbaijan.
Qobustan, also known perhaps more commonly as Gobustan, is a land of mud volcanoes and 15,000 year old petroglyphs. Nearly half the mud volanoes on earth are in Azerbaijan. Follow the link to learn about The Musical Stone of Gobustan.
Heading south along the Caspian coast toward Iran, the terrain becomes green and lush and there are the towns of Lankaran, where Joseph Stalin was once imprisoned, and Astara, on the border with Iran with a burning springs at Yanar Bulag.
Heading north toward the border with Russia, there are beautiful mountain villages.
Quba is known for carpet weaving.
Xinaliq is the highest and most remote village in Azerbaijan with a ski resort near the highest point in Azerbaijan, Mount Bazardüzü, a mountain of 14,656 feet in the Caucasus range. Select Xinaliq to read about a backpacking trip in the area.
Laza is a village high up in the Caucasus near Xinaliq.
Lahich (also Lahic and Lahij) is a village known for its handicrafts and copper.
Ivanovka is a village with a heavy Russian presence and collective farms.
Sheki (also Shaki) was an important market place on the Silk Road and is known for the Palace of Shaki Khans and the Shaki Fortress from the 15th century.
Kish (also Kis) is just north of Sheki in a beautiful mountain village with an Albanian church built by the Caucasian Albanians, who have no relation to the people who live in the country Albania. They just happen to have the same name.
Dashkasan is an old Soviet mining town.
Qax (also written Qakh) is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with Albanian and Georgian Church ruins.
Göygöl National Park, in the western part of the country, has a beautiful lake.
Ganja, just north of Göygöl, is the second largest city and has a mausoleum where Nizami Ganjavi, a famous Azerbaijani poet, is buried.
Gabala is one of the oldest cities in Azerbaijan and there is a waterfall nearby.
Republic of Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh
Select the link to learn more about traveling in the disputed Republic of Artsakh.
Azokh Cave is the site of the discovery of some of the oldest human evidence in Eurasia.
Amaras Monastery was founded by Gregory the Illuminator and was the place where the Armenian alphabet was first taught by Mesrop Mashtots.
Stepanakert is the capital city of the Republic of Artsakh.
We Are Our Mountains is a warm and intriguing monument near Stepanakert.
Nakhchivan, also known as Naxjivan, means “Place of Descent.” The oral tradition in the region is that Noah and his family settled in the Nakhchivan area.
Visit Noah’s Mausoleum
Also, visit what the local’s call the Machu Picchu of Nakhchivan: Alinja Fortress.
Backpacking in Azerbaijan
The 11 Most Beautiful Places in Azerbaijan
5 Awesome Places to Visit in Azerbaijan
8 Magnificent Places One Must Visit While in Azerbaijan
Visiting Azerbaijan: What to See and Do
17 Fascinating Places to Visit in Azerbaijan
Best Places to Visit in Azerbaijan
