Illuminated stoned mansions
Neither Europe, not even Asia, Azerbaijan lies somewhere between…with tree shaded teahouse terraces and gently paced click of nard in provinces, where women stay home and wait for their husbands to come from work, and only 3 hours drive away the capital Baku with shiny mercedes , illuminated stoned mansions, and old Soviet apartment blocks , that’s how different is this country. Baku is one of the few cities in the world, that changes every minute, having incredible growth, the only place where East and West blend so chaotically. Yet the country is still searching for itself, this new nation needs to search its feet, getting rid of a war-torn post-Soviet chrysalis, and trying to proof to be more than a petroleum-funded gust of optimism.The boomtown, Baku, is the nerve of the country, with semi desert on the oil rich Caspian Sea, a capital that hosts mushrooming skyscrapers and amazing Unesco listed ancient part, just 60km away is incredible Qobustan, where volcanoes and petroglyphs are swarming, fascinating beaches and oil workings will give you the right idea of this country, where James Bond Oil Field lies since 1930s nodding-donkey oil. Even if there are many tranquil place, where to get rest, to visit this country you will need a little patience and a lot of imagination, most of the people living in here mostly appreciate getting together in family, tourism in here is still new , in a process, as country itself, so be creative. Getting deeper in the country , you will experience a totally different world, and I mean it, timeless villages with huge gardens, farms lead into the soaring high Caucasus mountains.
This country cost a lot conflicts with Arabs, Kazars and Turks,it was a pearl,and no wonder why, mother nature gave it a lot of resources to be one to fight for, not only the oil, Azerbaijan is rich with mountains, 60 percent of Azerbaijan republic is covered by mountains, and the rivers makes its map like a spiders web, having more than 8400 small and large rivers…rich of plants, being number one between Caucasus countries by the total number of species, and a huge territory of woodland, 1213.7 thousand hectares…animals and all kind of minerals…the landscapes you will experience will be splendid.
The food in this country is unique and original, serving a lot of vegetables, such as eggplants, sweet peppers, cabbage, spinach, sorrel, beet, radishes, onions and meat, cooked from mutton, beef and poultry, same as muslims they don’t eat pork, so a lot of fish and beef. They have different types of bread, the most popular ones are oblong churek and pita, the bread baked in tendir. Azerbaijan is definitely a country with strong traditions, which seem won’t disappear, for example traditional dinner starts with tea, once the guests arrive they will get tea, the advantage of this specific and particular traditions is that it makes conversation flow smoother, it’s also a symbol of hospitality. The tea is served with fig, watermelon peel , apricots, sweet cherry, cherry, peach, plum and walnut, to make its taste stronger, they might add some ginger or cinnamon, after eta comes pickles, tomatoes and cucumber, than the main course with rice and meat and they end it up with something sweet, such as sherbert, which is a sweet drink, a symbol of celebration, often used in weddings and dinner parties, prepared from lemon, basil, mint, saffron, or other aromatic herbs. They have many traditions, all of them accompany Azerbaijanis from the moment of their birth with strong family and dance traditions, it’s even hard to tell which is the most unique, you have to find it out yourself!
