Travel Guide to Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a Turkic state in the Caucasus of Southeastern Europe and Asia. Most inhabitants are Shia Muslim, a faith it shares with neighboring Iran. It achieved independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has borders with Armenia, 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 neighbor, Georgia, but at the same time have consolidated greater power among themselves.

Climate

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

Terrain

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

• Baku — The capital and largest, most cosmopolitan city of the Caucasus
• Ganja — Azerbaijan’s second largest city has a long history and some important sites
• Lankaran — Southern city near the Iranian border
• Mingechivir — A mid-sized city on the large Mingechivir Reservoir
• Naftalan — A town best known for its special petroleum oil baths (spas)
• Nakhichevan City — The administrative capital of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave
• Sheki — A beautiful city in the forested Caucasus Mountains with lots to see and do
• Sumqayit — Azerbaijan’s third largest city, on the Absheron Peninsula
• Xachmaz — This is the largest tourist destination in Azerbaijan with great beaches and beautiful forests. Also spelled Khachmaz.

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. Multiple visas are generally not issued for tourists outside of Azerbaijan. The best deal you may get abroad is a 3 month double entry. However since April 2009 an invitation letter is required. Single entry tourist visas can also be obtained without an invitation at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku. (From July 2009 invitations should become compulsory also here.) You will need to have two passport size photographs ready for this visa. EU nationals generally pay 60 AZN for any visa from 1 to 3 months length. For Information on visa requirements visit the relevant page in the web site of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Those of Armenian ancestry are regularly denied entry, no matter what passport they hold, so just showing up without a visa is not always a good idea.

Note that if your passport shows any evidence of travel to the separatist republic of Nagorno Karabakh, such as a Karabakh visa, Azerbaijani consulates will deny you a visa. Even if you already have an Azerbaijan visa, you will be turned away and deported, or possibly arrested, if you attempt to enter the country with a Karabakh visa in your passport. If you do intend to visit Karabakh, the authorities there can issue the visa on a separate piece of paper at your request, although sometimes they forget to do this even if instructed to do so.

By plane

There are plenty of airlines offering flights to Azerbaijan from major UK airports including London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Aberdeen, Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff, New Castle, London Gatwick. National air company AZAL (Azerbaijan Airlines) is the main carrier which flies to Ganja, Nakhchivan, Yevlakh, Lenkoran, Tbilisi, Aktau, Tehran, Tel-Aviv, Ankara, Istanbul, Trabzon, Antalya, Aleppo, Dubai, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Nizhniy Novgorod, Rostov-na-Donu, Urumqi, Mineralniye Vodi, Milan, London and 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.

Never pay more than 15 Manat for the taxi to the center. Negotiate in advance. Go out of the airport and ask the cabbies in the parking lot. Ignore all people offering a ride to you in the airport building. A normal price to the center is 10, 12 or 15 Manat. Don’t let cabbies renegotiate the price with you. Insist on the price agreed in advance. For 5 Manat you can take a cab from the airport to Metro Azizbeyov. From there it’s four to six stations to the city center - but only from 6AM until midnight.

Azeri is the official language. This is a Turkic language, related to Turkish itself. However, English is spoken in some places frequented by Westerners. Many people also speak Russian (which is now declining and slowly being replaced by English), especially in the capital city, Baku.

Legal system 

based on civil law system

Corruption is widespread. Carry some money to keep you out of trouble. Only use licensed taxis. Watch out for beggars. Also, the international soft drinks (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, etc.) may be homemade and contaminated, so watch out when buying such drinks. To make sure they are safe, buy them from big supermarkets and stores.

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, so make sure to buy them from a clean, respected place and watch out for roadside sellers.

When going to someone’s home, make sure to bring them a gift. Anything is fine from wines to flowers to chocolate. When you arrive at the house take off your shoes and if you really want their respect, compliment their yard or house. When inside the house, don’t ask for anything for they will surely offer it. The host will make sure to make you feel at home, so don’t take advantage of their kindness. Most people in Azerbaijan respect older people, so in a bus or in a subway young people will always offer you a place to sit if you are an older person, or if you are pregnant or have kids with you. Azerbaijan has a Turkic and majority-Muslim population.

Religions 

Muslim 95.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.8%, other 1.8% (1995 est.)note: Religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower.

Ethnic groups 

Azeri 92%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, other 2.3% (1998 est.)note: Almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region

• Flights to Azerbaijan from Aberdeen
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• Flights to Azerbaijan from Birmingham
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• Flights to Azerbaijan from London Gatwick
• Flights to Azerbaijan from London Heathrow
• Flights to Azerbaijan from Manchester
• Flights to Azerbaijan from Newcastle