Azerbaijan is a collection of stories. Even though it’s a struggle to get people who speak English, every face lights up with a warm smile and the willingness to make you feel welcome in their home.
Squeezed between two formidable powers- Russia and Iran, the country has been shaped by the apogees and nadirs of the two powers. Azerbaijan has been ravaged by several invasions ranging from
- Safavid Iran (the sacking of Baku in 1501 by Ismail I and a pivot towards Shi’ism from the Sunni Shirvanshahs)
- Ottomans (1722-36) and Imperial Russia (1722-23)
- Nader Shah (1736-47)
- The Qajars
- Imperial Russia (1804/13-1917)
- The first Democratic Republic in the Islamic world (1918-20) formed due to the the collapse of the Russian empire in 1917) and
- The USSR (1920-1991)
Azerbaijan has also given birth to literary stalwarts such as Nizami Ganjavi, who authored the immortal unrequited love story of Layla and Majnun (which went on to inspire Eric Clapton in the famous Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs in 1971) and to the ruthless invader, Nader Shah. Cultures have been exported (Kanishka, a ruler of the Saka dynasty most well known in Indian textbooks due to his headless statue, was one of the first cultures to master mounted warfare and conquer vast lands from the Eurasian Steppes to the Gangetic plains in India) and imported (Zoroastrian, Hindu and Sikh faiths proliferating along the Silk Route). Even though oil may have brought along significant riches, the unmatched set of aesthetics in the people (refer to images of Baku at night) gives this place the distinction of old-world charm and cultural amalgamation over simply nouveau riche.
Stories
“I have 5 brothers and 3 sisters. They run the little chai shop around the corner, my uncle runs the provision store and the remaining brothers stop cars along the highway to sell these fresh, young nuts. It gets hot sometimes and I often have to run along cars to convince them to buy from me. But I love it all, especially when I run back to hand out everything I earn to my elder brother. I have my family beside me and nothing makes me happier! That will be 2,50 Manat, sir.”
“Boom! We’re going straight to heaven now.”
Not the most comforting dialogues in the Middle East,eh. But this was the 10-km ‘bumpiest-ride-of-your-life-without-seatbelts’ with an 80-year-old man with gold teeth and a cumulative vocabulary of 5 English words. While trekking up bubbling ‘volcanoes’ of precious mud-packs, we chance upon a 2-mud-soaked sunbathers from France. And just when you think the adventure’s coming to a denouement, the engine gives up, in the wilderness. On second thoughts, the wrinkles on his face did resemble the dried mud of the timeless mud volcanoes quite a bit.
Things to do:
1. Highland Park for a panoramic view of the entire city: helps you prioritize and pick exactly what you want to see! Also, they have a sombre memorial to the victims (often 18-year-old civilians of Black Friday and of the ethnic war in the Armenian-Azeri disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabagh [a story I found akin to the Jammu and Kashmir situation between India and Pakistan]. Ironically, Karabagh literally translates to ‘big garden’ and has one of the most serene mountain landscapes out there)
2. Flame Towers: the absolute pride of the country, lit up in unmissable animated glory at night. A place for business, leisure (luxury hotel rooms) and wonder!
3. Heydar Aliyev Centre: for a building that is all curves, no corners!
4. Baku Promenade and Fountain Square and a host of museums close by:
1. The National History Museum of Azerbaijan
2. Azerbaijan National Art Museum
3. Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature (named in honour of Nizami Ganjavi, an author venarated across millennia and languages for his tales of love)
4. Baku Museum of Miniature Books
5. Independence Museum of Azerbaijan
6. The Museum Centre
7. House-museum of Samad Vurgun and many many more museums
8. Ataturk Merkezi
9. Azerbaijan Carpets Museum
5. Icherisheher (the old city, with the most densely packed set of interesting sites and museums!)
1. Baku’s mediaeval cultural centre (the Caravanserai)
2. Palace of the Shirvanshahs
3. Maiden Tower
6. Baku Boulevard: a 23-km long stretch that is the life of street performances and spectacular city views
1. National Carpets Museum
2. Flag Square
3. House of Government
4. Governor’s Garden
5. Magomayev Philharmonic Theatre
7. Gobustan: for the most unique experience of over 300 mud volcanoes (the highest in the world), you would be ridden through such desolate terrain in a rickety Soviet-era Lada, that you would be excused for thinking that you’re being kidnapped! There’s also an open-air museum with 6k engraved petroglyphs that date back to 20k+ years
1. Ateshgah temple of the eternal fire (Surakhani): If the charm of the Silk Route convinced traders of the Sikh, Hindu and Zoroastrian faiths to set up permanent residence at the Ateshgah temple, it’s not hard to imagine why the magnetism of this ancient land is so irresistible.
2. Yanardag Fire Mountain (Mehemmedli)
8. Qabala: the highlight was the shooting range we went to, but there’s a host of the usual touristy fare of lakes, cable cars and waterfalls. What you totally cannot miss though is the golden fields along the way, glimpses of snow-capped mountains and the perfectly manicured forests and water cascades of fresh mountain springs
1. Nohurgol
2. Gabaland
3. Tufandag Summer and Winter Tourism Complex
9. Shamakhi: a scenic stopover on the way to Qabala
10. Hamam: 8, Sayli Hamam
Places to eat at:
There’s loads of Turkish ice-creams and baklava to feast your eyes and heart on in this land. But generally, Azeri food has so many baked foods (fish) and fresh fare (salads with cheese, plum) that you don’t have to worry about that expanding waistline too much!
1. Buxara, Baku
2. Qabala Xanlar restaurant (where even the current president, Ilham Aliyev, has dined and loved it. Just a word of caution: the salad is serious business, it’s a whole meal, not just a side dish. Also, Azeris love everything to do with plums!)
3. Safa Fish Garden (Bibiheybet), just on the outskirts of the city (one of the numerous local outlets that specialise in sea fare, being located right at the edge of the Caspian)
4. Café City, Fountain Square
5. Dolma Restaurant
6. Dalida Deluxe
7. IST (for really inexpensive but tasty, cheap fare)
8. No 1 Shaurmaa
9. Maharaja Restaurant, near the Sahil metro station (for quite an authentic Indian taste)
Most meals cost 12-15 Manat per person (as of June, 2019)
Special thanks to Javid Jabbarli for orchestrating the entire trip!
bongfrombombay 