Azerbaijan

We are currently travelling through Central Asia and Caucasus countries, with our last stop being in Kazakhstan. Next, we headed to Azerbaijan which sits at the southern base of the Caucasus Mountains, bordered by Russia, the Caspian Sea, Iran, Armenia, and Georgia. Once the gateway between China and Europe along the ancient Silk Road, Azerbaijan is now an oil and gas-rich country of around 10.4 m people.

Eclectic architecture in Baku, Azerbaijan

We flew into Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, handed over our visa (only the 2nd country on this tour where we’ve needed a visa), and were met by Marg’s long time teaching friend Lynsay who now lives and works in Baku. Driving into Baku’s centre, we were astonished by the eclectic architecture of this once grim Soviet and now modern and vibrant city. Azerbaijan these days, is considered a middle-to-upper income country with a high level of economic development, and Baku’s architecture reflects that.

Some of the very modern architecture in Baku, Azerbaijan

Some of the architectural delights we saw were the Heydar Aliyev Centre which has received worldwide acclaim, the round National Olympic Stadium, the three Flame Towers which are the tallest buildings in Baku at 190 m and that are lit up like flames at night, and the Caspian Waterfront Mall which looks like flower petals. There were many other attractive buildings in a variety of architectural styles such as Islamic, Russian Imperial, Soviet and Stalinist. Baku is so visually interesting.

View from Lynsay’s apartment in Baku, Azerbaijan

Lynsay had kindly invited us to stay with her and when we arrived at her home, we found it to be in a Soviet-era block of flats. After entering a typical Soviet-era foyer, we stepped through Lynsay’s door to find a lovely welcoming apartment with fantastic views of Baku’s Caspian Sea harbour. That night, we had a great catch-up with Lynsay, and the next morning, we walked into Baku’s Old Town for a look around.

Maiden Tower, Old Town Baku (UNESCO), Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, is famed for its medieval walled Old Town. It is the ancient core of Baku and contains many buildings of historical significance, making it a UNESCO World Heritage site. One of the most important of these is the 12th-century Maiden Tower. It was built as a place for Zoroastrian worship (an ancient Persian religion), but these days it is home to an interesting museum. Another is the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, a 15th century royal retreat that we explored.

Old Town Baku (UNESCO), Azerbaijan

Over the next few days, we walked into the Old Town several times. We loved wandering the cobbled, narrow and winding streets lined with houses built of sandstone. Many had a balcony overhanging the street that was either closed in and colourful, or open with beautiful wrought iron railings. We also wandered along the Caspian Sea waterfront and through some of Baku’s modern parts. The whole city has a very vibrant feel to it and we really enjoyed our time there.

Historic rock art (UNESCO) in Gobustan, Azerbaijan

We were in Baku for several days and so did some day trips into the surrounding areas. One trip took us south of Baku along the Caspian coast to a UNESCO site in Gobustan, that contains more than 6,000 prehistoric rock art engravings (petroglyphs). We walked around in the blistering heat of the day seeing hunting scenes, animals, and people carved into the rocks, reflecting around 40,000 years of history.

Mud volcanoes at Gobustan, Azerbaijan

Then we stopped at another interesting place in Gobustan to see little volcanoes that erupt with cold mud. It is believed that the mud begins as fluid silt-like sediment in the earth that is pushed to the earth’s surface by earthquake-like activity or gas. As Azerbaijan is a big exporter of gas, it’s no surprise that the mud volcanoes exist there. In fact, over half of the world’s mud volcanoes are in Azerbaijan. 

Fire Temple of Baku and Yanar Dag gas crater (top). Oil field and gas pipes, Azerbaijan

We had a few stops on this same trip, including to the Fire Temple of Baku which is a walled citadel that includes monk cells and a Zoroastrian temple that contains an eternal flame. We also visited the Yanar Dag gas crater, a very small version of the Darvaza Crater that we’d seen in Turkmenistan. The exportation of gas and oil is what makes Azerbaijan such a rich country and everywhere we went on this drive, we could see oil fields, and the silver-grey and yellow pipes that transport oil and gas.

Us at windy Candy Cane Mountain, Azerbaijan

On another day trip, we headed in a direction where the scenery was quite different and with not an oil field in sight. Our first stop of that day was at Candy Cane Mountain, a group of hills in the Caucasus mountain range that are streaked with pink because the iron in the earth has oxidised over thousands of years. It was hot and windy there but very pretty.

The mountain village of Khinaliq, Azerbaijan

Leaving Candy Cane Mountain, we travelled further into the mountains on winding roads through dramatic stony gorges, and lush forests. After a stop at the Honey House where we tried some of Azerbaijan’s beautiful honey, we reached the mountain village of Khinaliq. This is a small village of around 2,000 people that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the unique language, housing, and old customs still practiced there.

A 200-hundred-year-old house, Khinaliq, Azerbaijan

We had lunch with a local family in their 200-year-old house and the food was traditional, generous, and delicious. The woman of the house knits socks with Khinaliq wool, so Leigh bought a pair. The villagers are shepherds and weavers, and items woven with Khinaliq wool are famous throughout the region. But it seems that, although Azerbaijan is rich in oil and gas, the money does not get to the hinterland and mountain villages such as Khinaliq.

Women making lavash (L) and kutab (R) (UNESCO), Azerbaijan

On both of our day trips, we saw roadside stalls with women making a bread called lavash; a staple food in Azerbaijan. The preparation and sharing of this traditional bread is seen as an expression of culture and is recognised by UNESCO as ‘intangible cultural heritage’. The bread is made of flour and water, rolled out into a large thin disc with a slim rolling pin, and put onto a concave heated metal plate which cooks it very quickly. It can also be folded and filled with meat or greens before it is cooked, and this is called a kutab. We ate many kutabs in Azerbaijan and they are delicious.

The artisan village of Lahich, Azerbaijan

After a few days, it was time to move on. We wanted to see more of Azerbaijan, so Lynsay arranged a driver to take us to Lahich, a small (860 people) village situated in central Azerbaijan. Lahich is known for being one of Azerbaijan’s oldest settlements (5th century BC), and for the workmanship in its crafts. It is full of artisans, weavers, blacksmiths, and coppersmiths and we enjoyed wandering its narrow, cobbled streets seeing people making and selling their wares.

A coppersmith adding artistic detail to copper, Lahich, Azerbaijan

We particularly wanted to see copper being worked. The ancient craft of copper work, like making flatbread, is seen by UNESCO as an ‘intangible cultural heritage’ because of its significance to community life in Azerbaijan - copper ware is regularly used in family and special events. We watched a coppersmith beating copper for use on a samovar, then made a small purchase of a copper bowl.

Tea with bread and traditional whole-fruit jam, Azerbaijan

After leaving Lahich, we drove further into Azerbaijan through some beautiful scenery. Then our driver suggested we stop for a cup of tea – tea is the drink of choice in Azerbaijan, particularly black tea. So he found a tea house, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, where we had tea with traditional and locally made jam and bread. The jam here is to die for – it has the full berry or fruit still in the jam. The taste is fabulous!

The baker, the tandir oven (centre), and Marg, waiting for our bread to cook

After travelling another few hours deeper into Azerbaijan, the driver pulled over onto the side of the road suddenly, and jumped out of the car. He strode over to a roadside stall where a woman was making bread in a tandir, a traditional round clay oven. Next, he signalled us to come over, saying that it was the best bread in Azerbaijan. We tasted it and agreed with him; it was delicious. He bought three loaves and we bought one, all wrapped in last week’s newspaper.

A tired Marg mid-mouthful of Azerbaijan bread and cheese in Sheki, Azerbaijani

Driving onwards, we stopped for some home-made cheese and supermarket supplies, then arrived at our hotel. We were in Sheki, a small town at the base of the Caucasus Mountains north-west of Baku. Once in Sheki, we said goodbye to our driver who had been wonderful in sharing some of Azerbaijan’s customs with us. Then we unpacked and had a make-shift dinner of our recently purchased bread, the local cheese, and our supermarket local beer. A good ending to a good day.

Historic Sheki (UNESCO), Azerbaijan

Sheki was a popular resting place on the ancient Silk Road, and dates back to the 6th century BC. Its history and architecture have earned it UNESCO status, so the next morning, we went into Sheki’s old town to explore. We found the architecture interesting, then discovered a caravanserai. We entered through a wooden gate that opened into an inner courtyard with a high ceiling. Once used to accommodate Silk Road travellers and their camels, it is still true to its roots and is now a hotel.

A backstreet in Sheki (UNESCO), Azerbaijan

Getting off the main street, we wandered around the backstreets of Sheki finding it a lot less touristy. We stumbled along on cobbles that were ankle-twisters, and saw many interesting houses. It was so much more fascinating than the touristy part of the main street. We had been climbing upwards for most of our walk, and arrived at the top of a hill where we found the 18th century Palace of the Sheki Khans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Khan’s Palace and church (top). Kids and musicians and gates, Sheki, Azerbaijan

We found the palace to be an attractive building, as was the Khan’s church. Then we heard music and spotted a couple of musicians playing folk music on traditional instruments. Some school children had also heard them and spontaneously broke into dance. It was a lovely moment. Later, we waked back to our hotel, admiring the town’s colourful gates on the way, and got ready to leave Sheki. Our next stop is a wine village in Georgia, but you can read about that in the next blog. 

This blog is one in a series about our travels along the Silk Road of Central Asia.