edit Azerbaijan Travel Guide

Azerbaijan is a Turkic state in the Caucasus of Southeastern Europe. It achieved independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has borders with Armenia, Georgia_(country)|Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey as well as a Caspian Sea coastline.

Conflict has been ongoing with neighbouring Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, and the country is regarded by some as something of a kleptocracy. The ruling Aliyev family and their allies are making limited democratic concessions to posture for a potential European Union accession bid along with their more democratic neighbor, Georgia_(country)|Georgia, but at the same time have consolidated greater power among themselves.

edit Highlights

The Petroglyphs at Gobustan
Xachmaz %u2014 This is the largest tourist destination in Azerbaijan with great beaches and beautiful forests
Sheki %u2014 a beautiful city in the forested Caucasus Mountains with lots to see and do

edit Getting Here

Visa Requirements

To enter Azerbaijan, an entry visa is required for most countries. If you have the luxury of time and are planning your visit from your home country, it is a good idea to try to get your visa from an Azerbaijani consulate. Single entry tourist visas can also be obtained at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku. You will need to have two passport size photographs ready for this visa. For Information on visa requirements visit the relevant page in the web site of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

By plane

National air company AZAL (Azerbaijan Airlines) is the main carrier which flies to Ganja, Nakhchivan, Yevlakh, Tbilisi, Aktau, Tehran, Tel-Aviv, Ankara, Istanbul, Trabzon, Antalya, Dubai, Moscow, Saint Petersburg (Russia)|Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Nizhniy Novgorod, Urumqi, Mineralniye Vodi, Milan, London, Paris. BMI flies seven days a week to Baku. Lufthansa also has several flights a week to Baku. Turkish Airlines is another carrier connecting Baku with and via Istanbul. Also, there are several Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Iranian, and Austrian airlines connecting Baku with several cities of the world.

By train

There are trains that run daily from Georgia to Azerbaijan.

By car

There are roads to all cities of Azerbaijan. They are not really wide , most of them have only two lanes.

By bus

There are buses that run daily from Georgia, Turkey, Iran and Russia to Azerbaijan.

By boat

There is a ferry to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

edit History

Azerbaijan includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991, but receives support from Armenia.

Azerbaijan regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict.

Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled.

edit Government

edit Money

edit Geography

Large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea

; Elevation extremes :
; lowest point : Caspian Sea -27 m
; highest point : Bazarduzu Dagi 4,466 m
; Environment - current issues : Local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT as a pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton

edit Weather And Climate

Azerbaijan is known for having 9 of the 11 existing ecological zones, although a great deal of it is dry and semiarid steppe.

edit Culture

edit Food

Cabbage, grape leaves, and eggplant wrapped meat (kelem, yarpaq, badimjan - dolmasi), kabab (kebab), rice with chicken and other stuff (plov - It is said that plov is the king of Azerbaijani cuisine), gutabs and meatballs (kufta) are some of the specialties of Azerbaijan. Often foods, no matter what it is, are referred to as the national dishes. Bread is a staple, and is quite revered by the people of Azerbaijan.

Drink

Some local drinks include ayran (a yogurt drink based on sour milk), sherbet (made from rose petals or saffron). There are also different sorts of quite decent wines produced from local grapes, and a wide array of mineral waters from natural springs.
In some areas of Azerbaijan the markets offer lemonades (limonat/dushes)made from pears, antibiotics, and green tea.

edit Accommodations

Rental apartments might be a good choice as they are cheaper than hotels and sometimes are even more comfortable.
There are a lot of hotels in the capital of Azerbaijan - Baku: Hyatt Regency, Park Inn, Absheron Hotel, Excelsior and a lot more. Prices for the hotels start from 60$ and higher.
There are some hotels in the regions too.

edit Education

You can get the information you need about Azerbaijan from the hotels where you will stay. They have different guides for Azerbaijan. Also at some new bus stations in Baku there are maps of the capital.

edit Work

There is a great deal of work to be done in Azerbaijan from teaching and NGO work to work in the oil and tourism sectors.

edit Communications

edit Health And Safety

Make sure to get your shots a couple weeks before departure. The air in the cities where oil is produced isn't as clean as in other countries so that results in diseases.
Some meats are also old or spoiled, make sure to buy them from a clean respected place and watch out for roadside sellers.

edit Getting Around

; Railways : total: 2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge: 2,125 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (1993 est.)

; Highways : total: 36,700 km
paved: 31,800 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)
unpaved: 4,900 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)

Buses, minibuses (marshutka), and taxis connect most cities. There is often a hub such as a bus station near the bazaar in these cities. The price for a fare buses and minibuses are posted usually in both old and new manat(qupik). Taxies on the other hand require negotiating skills, and this usually takes a proficiency in the language that ordinary non-Azeri/Russian/Turkish speakers do not have.