This book is laid out as a series of regional chunks. This introductory chapter is organized thematically in order to help you make the most of your visit to this country and its unusual selection of charms. Don’t miss the fire phenomena, the mud volcanoes, the mountain villages or the ugly but perversely mesmerizing oilfields and post-Soviet souvenirs.
GEOGRAPHICAL OVERVIEW
BAKU
Baku has pretty much everything you would expect of a historic city with a million plus inhabitants. The walled old-city area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the surrounding central area is delightfully cosmopolitan with attractive turn-of-the-20th-century buildings with a good balance of local and Western-orientated businesses. Full listings from shops to shoe repair start on p112.
Around Baku, the Absheron peninsula (pp142-57) is not immediately appealing but offers a selection of curiosities (castles, religious sites and fire phenomena). It is culturally fascinating if you scratch beneath the often-ugly surface and glimpse the range of superstitious practices that jarringly co-exist with Islam in the nation’s most self-conscious pious Muslim communities.
The Baku–Älät route (pp137-42) is similarly ambivalent but features the world-renowned Gobustan, petroglyphs and some of the most delightful mud volcanoes anywhere. Some surreal oil landscapes give the area a perverse fascination but the bizarre graveyards of Soviet tanks recommended in the last edition of this book are now out-of-bounds. To the north of Baku the wildly colourful geology of the Candy Cane mountains (p160), the quaint twin towns of Quba and Krasnaya Sloboda (pp169-72) and the modest beaches of Nabran are the easiest places to head for, but hidden in the mountains behind is a fabulous patchwork of canyons and hard to reach timeless villages (pp172-80).
The Shamakha–Shäki route (pp187-231) crosses the country skirting just south of the High Caucasus mountain range. It gives the best possible idea of Azerbaijan’s extraordinary diversity (desert, farmland, forests and high mountains) within a few hours’ drive. Lahic makes a great side trip and Shäki or Zaqatala are appealing choices for get-away-from-it-all breaks from Baku. This route is the recommended way to head for Georgia. Central Azerbaijan (pp233-68) offers much less in the way of scenery and many of its historic sites are underwhelming, though if you can make it to Lake Göy Göl (p252) the scenery makes up for it all. Beautiful but Armenian-occupied Nagorno Karabagh (p266) is still tragically out of bounds to visits from the rest of Azerbaijan. The south (pp269-291) is lushly fertile with thick woodlands and delightful hidden teahouses in the charmingly peaceful Talysh mountain foothills. The route from Baku offers some variety (oilfield hills, plains, marshes, mountain foothills, forests) though less drama than the Shamakha–Shäki route. Nakhchivan enclave (pp292-303) has several important historical monuments (eg in Ordubad, Cuga, Karabaglar and Nakhchivan city) scattered across a dramatically rocky semi-desert landscape. The region would be much higher as a tourist priority were it not blockaded by Armenia (so you have to fly or drive via Iran/Turkey).
LAND OF FIRE
Tourists and Zoroastrians alike are fascinated to see fire emerging spontaneously from the earth. The classic ateshgah is the Suraxani Fire Temple (p153) but some visitors prefer the spooky naturalism of Yanar Dag (brilliant, p154). The small natural ateshgah beyond Xinaliq (p179) is in a fabulously scenic amphitheatre of mountains. There are extraordinary Yanar Bulaq burning springs at Archivan (p290), near Qäsämänli (p262), in a river near Masalli and less interestingly at Yanar Suu (near Bärdä, p243).
BEACHES
Azerbaijan isn’t a beach paradise. Still, Baku weekenders can cool off with a dip at Shikhov (p138) or on the north Absheron (p144). Much harder to reach and virtually unknown are the narrow shell/sand beaches around Shurabad (p159) and Narimanabad (p281). There’s a fairly decent grey-sand beach at Astara (p291) though the town isn’t Azerbaijan’s most welcoming. In summer locals rush off en masse to Nabran (p167) but those with money prefer Turkey, Spain or Dubai.
MUD VOLCANOES (Azeri: Palchik Volkane, Russian: Gryazevye Vulkan)
Like cows, mud volcanoes constantly fart flammable gasses. They also like throwing gobs of mud and streaming forth watery flows with a vigour that varies seasonally. This behaviour is gently amusing rather than life threatening. Unlike ‘normal’ volcanoes, mud volcanoes are cold and have multiple gainarja (Azeri) through which they exhale. These are either gryphons, distinctive, abrupt conical nozzles, or salses, bubbling watery pools. Each has its own rather lovable character and when gathered in groups they almost appear to converse. Though not unique, Azerbaijan has more of these odd ‘creatures’ than any other country in the world (300+ groups on land plus hundreds more offshore where they sometimes rise to form islands in the shallow coastal waters). See also the box on p64.
Where to see them?
Classic giants such as Turaguy are impressive from a distance but smaller volcano hills may have just as good a collection of active gryphons and salses. From Baku the most accessible group is right beside the road to Shamakha (see p188). Less dramatic but even nearer there are some extinct gryphons along the Baku bypass (p139) and a crater at Lökbatan which exploded dramatically in 2001 (see p138).
The most interesting active groups are between Älät and Gobustan at ‘Clangerland’ (p140) and Bahar near Dashgil (see map p140) where a recent giant mud flow is particularly impressive. Deep in the desert between Ceyrankachmas and Pir Hussein are yet more (p188).
POST-SOVIET CURIOSITIES
In its wake, the Soviet system left a legacy of appalling pollution and ecological mismanagement (especially on the Absheron Peninsula) which will take years and billions of manats for independent Azerbaijan to clear up. Stacks of junked vehicles, despoiled oilfields and satanic ruined factories are not obvious tourist attractions. Yet perversely, some such places are so awesomely dreadful that they are compulsively photogenic. Seeking out the isolated last statues of Communist icons also appeals to certain tastes.
Vehicle graveyards
The tanks and military vehicles massed in the shadow of Mt Kyarkas near Puta (p140) are currently out of bounds but you’re free to nose around old radar units at Damba (p147) and inspect the hulks of old Soviet battleships dumped behind Nargin Island in Baku Bay (impressive but you’ll need to charter a boat, eg via SI Travel). There are a few more boats off Bailov/Bayil, old buses west of the main road out of Sumqayit, wrecked trains (including a couple of old steam locos) about an hour north of Baku on the west side of the Quba highway, truck chassis north of km38 on the eastern side of the Sumqayit bypass and, supposedly, crashed aircraft hulks at the far end of the runway at Baku’s Bina Airport (p133). What looks like a gigantic old helicopter sits out in the middle of the scrubland to the west of the dreadfully potholed Baku bypass (p139).
Oilfield landscapes
The greatest views of massed derricks are between Bailov/Bayil and Bibi Heybat (p137) or looking down from Ramana Castle (p152, awesome with oily pools and forests of blackened metal). From Lökbatan’s blown-out mud volcano there are fantastic all-encompassing views of oilfields, building yards and off-shore installations. Assuming you can’t get to Neft Dashlari (p151) the next best thing is the network of roads on stilts heading miles out to sea between Gobustan and Sangachal (p139).
Other sad scenes
Fascinatingly disturbing landscapes include the huge looming reanimated hulk of the aluminium smelter on the eastern edge of Gänjä, the cement works at Qaradagh (depending on the wind the billowing chimneys can produce a peculiar, photogenic grey curtain or simply smother everything in a filthy dust cloud, p139), Shafaq graveyard and post-holocaust Ashagi Agcakänd (p245), the village of Narimanabad (apparently idyllic till you walk down Narimanov St, p281), the vast quarry at Dashkasan (p255), and almost anywhere in Sumgayit – wow! (p155-7).
Lenin
On 20th Jan 1990 the Red Army massacred hundreds of innocent civilians in Baku. Spontaneously people began to discard their Communist Party membership cards as a sign of defiance to the perpetrators of the outrage. As the country became independent, Lenin statues disappeared from virtually every town square, village office and factory gate. But not quite all of them.
Vladimir Ilich still stands proudly near Puta (p139) and in the middle of Äniq (p184), while there are two minuscule busts on the summit of Mt Shahdag. He is also rumoured to stand in Divanli village near Bärdä and at Neft Dashlari (p151). There’s a brilliant giant Lenin in Yevlax, sawn in half (see photo opposite and pp240-1). A defaced smaller Vlad cowers in a yard in Krasnaya Sloboda (pp171-2).
For years locals couldn’t imagine the attraction of the old Soviet symbols. However, a certain comic-nostalgia is creeping in. There’s now a handful of places that sell Lenin heads (eg in Baku) and the brilliant tongue-in-cheek Retro Café at Amburan (p145) is entirely decorated with communist icons.
In Georgia you’re not likely to see Lenin but Stalin busts have been re-erected in Batumi and Borjomi, complementing the big statue in his home-town, Gori (pp235-6).
ARCHITECTURE
Thanks to the multitude of earthquakes and invasions, relatively little of Azerbaijan’s truly ancient architecture remains. The most notable medieval exceptions are Baku’s unique Maiden’s Tower and the Momine Khatun mausoleum tower in Nakhchivan (12th century).
Surviving buildings from the 12th to 19th centuries are predominantly religious, though several caravanserais (Baku, Shäki, Sangachal, Agdash), brick bath-houses, and many castle ruins (best at Chirax, Gädäbäy/ Rustam Aliev, Perigala/Muxax) remain. There are khans’ palaces in Baku and Shäki.
Architectural styles
Tomb tower design
There are three main types: a polygonal cross-section with pointed polyhedral roof comes from ancient Hittite design and was also the most popular throughout eastern Turkey and Armenia. The best examples are at Xazra, Yeddi Gumbaz (Shamakha), Kalakhana and Göylar Dag. Taller Persian-influenced polygonal or cylindrical towers are often decorated with blue majolica tiles as at Nakhchivan, Karabaglar and Bärdä. Stubby cubic or cuboidal bases with a dome are taken from stylized miniaturizations of local mosque designs and are relatively common.
Mosque design
The most visually appealing old mosques are in Baku, Gänjä (Imamzade shrine), Ordubad and Bärdä, with several more in Shäki. Traditional designs vary considerably from area to area. A flat-roofed stone cube with a simple central dome is particularly common on the Absheron Peninsula, while a simple wooden-house-style box with a timber-pillared entrance area is more common in the foothills above Ismaili (Lahic, Damirchi). Around Zaqatala, large multi-arched structures are favoured (Tala, Muxax, Balakän) while in the far south several follow a quite distinct style with small central chimney-like turret and arched stained-glass windows (Pensar, Qumbashi, Alasha). Baku’s old stone mosques are relatively ornate by Azeri standards. Quba’s brick churches, some synagogues and some mosques follow curiously similar rhomboid floorplans.
Many similarly square Lezghian village mosques (Qächräsh, Alpan, Qusar Laza etc) have spaceship metallic towers and steep pitched corrugated roofs belying their often considerable age. A few dramatic Turkish-style new stone mosques with big dome and associated minarets have been built in recent years, notably in Qusar, Zaqatala, Mingächevir and Nardaran.
Mosque and tomb ornamentation
Pre-14th-century builders mostly used geometrical patterns and stalactite vaulting. Where tiled, the predominance of blue decoration was due to the durability of available dye stuffs. More often carved or smoothed stone was left bare. A more recent fashion for shrine interiors are the dazzling mosaics of mirrored mini tiles like the Emamzadehs of neighbouring Iran.
Hamams
Bath-houses (hamams) were a great leap forward for public sanitation, especially in desert towns where there was little fresh water or firewood to heat it. Usually multi-domed, brick-built low buildings, many century-old examples have only recently fallen out of use (Yengijä, Basqal) and some antique examples are still functioning (Baku, Agdash, Qazax). Quba’s has a strange single-domed bee-hive design while Baku’s delightful 1887 Fantasia Bathhouse was, and is, palatial (p102). The historic Tazabäy hamam (p105) has just been beautifully restored and re-opened.
Caravanserais
Caravanserais were the truckers’ motels of the Silk Route: a place to sleep, eat and park the camel. While each design has its own peculiarities, the essential feature is a series of small basic rooms around a lockable courtyard, all very solidly built to keep out thieves and bandits.
In the more luxurious places there would have been two storeys, with the lower floor used as private stables. For accommodation, corner rooms were considered the most luxurious as they had their own ante-rooms and windows on two sides. While the term now seems deeply antiquated, in fact caravanserais were still being built until the beginning of the 20th century.
When city walls were demolished in the 19th century, there remained little need for the traditional town gates. However, a recent fashion has led several provincial towns to erect imposing new gateways at their nominal city limits, often several kilometres from the town centre.
Oil-boom architecture
Styles started to change radically from the latter half of the 19th century. The initial division of oil-prospecting land into very small, affordable plots meant that even the poorest peasant or worker had a lottery chance of digging out a ‘gusher’.
Dozens of illiterate overnight millionaires spent the years between 1880 and WWI vying to out do one another with displays of new-found opulence and ‘good taste’ with typical nouveau-riche zeal. Teams of architects were brought to Baku from Europe and Russia, while local architects and the oil magnates themselves toured Europe looking for designs and motifs which caught their fancy.
The resulting ‘oil-boom style’ is thus an unabashed mélange with an immediate appeal to anyone except po-faced architectural purists. Though neglected and sub-divided during the Soviet era, the basic fabric of most of these mansions survives.
20th-century architecture
Impressario guide Fuad Akhundov succinctly sums up the three main phases of 20th-century design:
1900-1915 Impressive
1920-1955 Oppressive
1955-1990 Depressive
He sees the cycle reversing now. Although there’s no new Stalin trying to daunt people with massive stone edifices as in the ‘40s and ‘50s, the independence-era tower blocks characterize a new oppressiveness – of rich over poor. As the economy recovers let’s hope for a return to something rather more impressive.
The oppressive phase was not only a political gesture but a real need to provide decent housing for some 10,000 families working in appalling conditions in the Absheron oilfields. Thus 380 apartment blocks were rushed to completion between 1925 and 1929. Initially apartment design tried to incorporate a few traditional features of local architecture such as pointed arched entrances, windows on wooden frames in 5x7-pane Shebeke patterns and, most practically, steps up to the doors to prevent dust collecting.
The remarkable post-WWII construction boom and the return to high-quality stone buildings with a surprising level of carved detail was possible in large part to the free labour of relatively-skilled German prisoners of war who, in a little-known post-script to WWII, were not allowed to return till 1949-50 or even 1951. They were also put to work on the construction of railways.
MUSEUMS
Except in Baku, Azerbaijan has really only two types of museum: historical museums and ‘house’ museums. Both have a predictable format and content, which, after a couple of visits you’ll start to find cosily familiar or crashingly monotonous. Fortunately few charge entry fees so there’s no need to fear stepping inside except for the embarrassment of waking up the slumbering attendants. Even if you don’t understand the language, you may be treated to a guided tour in Russian or Azeri if only because you’re the first visitor that week. There’s also the comical formality of signing the guest book – the few people that do visit manage to fill acres of paper with their reflections. Occasionally guest books started in the 1970s have not yet been filled up. The communist-era entries can make intriguing reading (eg at the Narimanov Apartment in Baku).
House museums
House museums are the mothballed homes of the great and the good, filled with personal effects of the one-time resident. Fascinating if you know of the individual concerned but hardly a draw for the average foreign tourist. A notable exception is Stalin’s father’s hovel in Gori, Georgia.
Historical museums
There’s one in almost every mid-sized town/provincial capital. Some such museums do have knowledgeable directors (Göychay, Qazax, Dävächi) and in a few cases they are situated in attractive buildings with an historic importance of their own (eg Länkäran, Ordubad, Qäbälä, Quba, Gänjä). Almost inevitably the displays follow the same basic progression: they start with some neolithic spearheads and probably a papier-maché tableau of cavemen and a tatty troop of stuffed animals or birds. Then there’ll be a very cursory blast through 7000 years of history depicted in one or two rooms with a few copper pots, Jujums etc (see diagram p204) and a carpet or two. Then you reach the room of WW2 (‘Great Patriotic War’) relics.
The most interesting part of the museum is usually the photo-board depicting local scenes of architectural or archaeological interest. Sadly, the wardens who trail behind you like vultures don’t always know exactly where to find half the sites depicted. Instead you’re likely to be hurried on to give due honour to photos commemorating 20 January 1990, the Hojeli massacre, and portraits of Karabagh war heroes which fill the majority of later rooms.
INTO THE MOUNTAINS
Azerbaijan’s roads may be poor but parts of the country offer virtually unrivalled opportunities for summer off-road adventures by four wheel drive vehicle (4WD). The brilliant mountains also offer fascinating yet little tested hiking, climbing and mountaineering options. There are delightful alpine wild flowers, and biologists vie with hunters in the search for Caucasian black grouse, jeyran gazelles and tür mountain goats.
The following is a synopsis of where to find the best Azerbaijan has to offer.
4WD adventures
Land was communal under the Soviet system and mostly remains unfenced. So, when the contours and terrain allow, you can go pretty much where you please on the wide sheep-grazed slopes. By far the best choice of routes is in the north-eastern mountains around Alti Agach, Chirax, Qonaqkänd, Söhub and Xinaliq, all approached from the Baku–Quba road. Here there is a fabulous variety of landscapes, some just-passable canyons and a web of challenging inter-village tracks on which you’ll stumble into timeless stone hamlets that rarely if ever see visitors.
The map on p70 shows a compilation of routes and average levels of difficulty (very subjective). Even in the dry it’s best to go in a convoy of vehicles with a winch to pull each other out of muddy sections. After rain and especially as the snows melt, the mountain tracks can be treacherously slippery. Take spare fuel and tyres.
Approached from the south, the same mountains are harder to penetrate so there is a lower wow-per-ouch factor. Nonetheless, there are some challenging excursions behind Lahic and Pirguli and attempting to find the route between the two (via Damirchi) is something of an offroader’s holy grail. The Talysh mountains in the far south offer some interesting possibilities too, but with a greater population density, more arable agriculture, and fewer dramatic peaks to discover it is something of a second choice (the Allar and Sim trips are interesting but punishingly tough).
In the lesser Caucasus there are some exciting routes south of Gänjä (Todan), Dashkasan (Mt Qoshqar) and Gädäbäy (via Rustam Aliev) but proximity to the ceasefire line reduces one’s options at present.
In the north-west a 4WD is handy to reach the forgotten Albanian churches in mountain villages such as Läkit and Bideyiz. These are a series of out and back trips, however, and even the toughest vehicles will struggle to ascend the upper river valleys where slopes are too steep and tree cover too thick for much off-roading.
Hiking
The off-roading areas mentioned above are perfect for hiking, as are the high mountains of the north-west. On foot, or with a horse (p19), you can climb into some magical ridge-top scenery with relatively minimal effort. Free camping, particularly in the north-east, is relatively safe though keep away from flocks of sheep – the shepherd dogs are trained to be extremely fierce. There are a few wolves and bears in the forests of the north-west.
Laza (Qusar Laza), Shäki/Marxal, Ilisu and Car/Zaqatala make excellent bases for day hikes into the very best scenery and have handy places to stay. Mondigar, Qalacik, Durja and Xoshbulaq are other tempting potential trailheads if you have a tent or a local friend to put you up. Xinaliq is a great starting point for longer-distance hikes and, though there’s no formal accommodation, the sublime village will surely become increasingly accustomed to visitors appearing from nowhere to hire guides and horses (p177).
Climbing and mountaineering
Baku rock climbers practise on a cliff near Bilgah/Amburan on the Absheron and occasionally venture to (holy) Besh Barmaq (p162) which makes for curious culture clashes. Baltagaya and Qizilqaya (between Xinaliq and north Laza) have spectacular mountain-top cliffs that offer particularly exciting climbing possibilities. In winter a frozen waterfall on Shahdag has proven an interesting ice-climb, if access allows.
If you want to climb any of the highest mountains, a guide is pretty much essential. In Baku you could approach the Mountaineering Association (Alpinistskii Klub, tel 938110, website sarik@azintex.com) at Vurgun 22, beside the Rig bar). Alternatively contact experienced climbers Alexandr Nacafov (tel Baku 250726, email nadjafovba@mail.ru) or Elchin Mamedov, (mobile tel 50 318 6390, email sirius@azevt.com). Travel agencies can also arrange guides for you: CGTT in Baku charges 8% for the service (website www.cgtt-tq3.az/cgtt/index).
Three of the big four Azeri mountains (Tufan, Bazardüzü, Shahdag) are approached by walking up the valley from Laza (Qusar Laza) or by driving the extremely rough river-bed route by 4WD via Xinaliq to the very foot of Shahdag (see pp179-80).
The fourth great mountain of Azerbaijan is 3629m Babadag. Somewhat away from the group described above, it can be approached from the north by following the Qarachay river south from Rük (see p173 for getting to Rük) or from the south via Sumagalle/Istisu (tough) or Lahic/Zarat Baba following a rough pilgrims’ trail. On the top, prayer ribbons and cairns mark Hazrat Baba pir, honouring a mysterious Albanian-era holy man who climbed the mountain and then disappeared, advancing directly to heaven without passing ‘Go’ or collecting £200.
If you want to get up a mountain with no effort, Mt Marxal near Shäki is your peak. A 4WD track now wiggles its way right to the top for incredible views (p220). The planned cable car has yet to materialize.
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