Is it safe? How expensive is the country? How are we going to get around? What are the must-visit places? And so on. Honestly, before arriving in Azerbaijan, we did not know much about the country, so logically, we did not have an idea of what to expect from Baku. Iconic Flame Towers looming over the old town are unmistakable.Įven when walking the streets of Baku, you'll be wondering how those two worlds, the traditional one, when an elderly looking man is selling Persian carpets outside a small shop, and the new one, which is represented by people in expensive suits strolling the beautiful waterfront, can coexist together. The city offers so many things to see and do, it combines the old historical center, mosques and centuries-old palaces with modern architecture. If you are thinking if five days for Baku are not too much, we can genuinely tell you it is not. Although during almost four weeks in the country we passed Baku several times, because it is not only a capital city but also a major transport hub for Azerbaijan, we properly discovered the city during the last five days in the country as it finally fitted in our itinerary. We explored ancient towns, the beautiful mountainous landscape around the highest village in Europe, Xinaliq or swam in the sea and relaxed on undeveloped beaches near Lenkoran, and drank tea. The infrastructure was undeveloped, tourism was almost an unknown word, and during almost four weeks in the country, we barely met a foreign travelers except for a few Russians, Iranians and a few American engineers who worked there in the oil industry.

Traveling around Azerbaijan was for us absolutely new experience, as at that time we were newbie travelers, who'd never been in a similar country before. Of course, it is not true in a hundred percent cases, for example, Australian cities such as Sydney or Melbourne are not any worse than the capital Canberra, but this trend, at least what we could see was doubly true in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, until recently an off-beaten country located in the Middle East at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Usually, it is larger, more modern, more rushed, and more developed. Almost everywhere in the world, you can notice a trend that the capital city is always a bit different than the rest of the country.

Bibi heybet