What to See in Baku, Baku, Azerbaijan

‘Azerbai-WHAT?’ Tell most people you’ve chosen to holiday in Baku, Azerbaijan, and you’re likely to be met with glazed eyes or, at best, quizzical looks. While it does resonate with a small handful of Eurovision or Formula 1 fans who have seen the city host those respective events, it’s fair to say it is not on most people’s radar, leave alone travel bucket list. I, on the other hand, had been inexplicably fascinated by this obscure, faraway place for some years.

And finally, in May 2018, there I was, sitting on the plane, face pressed eagerly against the window, watching the sprawling, sandy landscape and glistening glass buildings draw ever nearer. I had to pinch myself. It could easily have been a mirage. But it wasn’t. And a few minutes later I had touched down on Azerbaijan soil, with a freshly inked Azerbaycan stamp in my passport and a giddy desire to head out and see if this enigmatic, almost fabled, part of the world would meet my lofty expectations (Spoiler: It did, and I returned a year later to explore it further - this blog post is a mix of experiences and impressions from those two trips).

As you would expect from the capital of an oil-rich, former Soviet nation situated in the Caucasus between Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and the Caspian Sea, Baku is a city of great diversity in every respect. It is nicknamed ‘the Dubai of the Caspian Sea’, and there are certainly some parallels with the Middle Eastern metropolis. Glittering skyscrapers sprout up right left and centre, the most iconic of all being the 182-m-tall Flame Towers. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).