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Azerbaijan

The Caucuses are made of the countries Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. The surrounding countries to the south is Iran; to the east is the Caspian Sea; to the north is Russia and to the west is the Black Sea and Turkey.

In late September 2018 I flew from San Diego, California to Frankfurt, Germany to Baku, Azerbaijan. Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 92 feet below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku.

Baku's urban population was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku's metropolitan area. Baku is the sole metropolis in Azerbaijan.

The city is the scientific, cultural, and industrial center of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there. The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year.

A new shopping center located in Baku adjacent to the Caspian sea. It is called Caspian Waterfront, Baku. It is located on land reclaimed from the Caspian Sea, Caspian Waterfront will be an entertainment, retail, leisure and dining destination over five floors. A central ‘flame’ tower completes eight angled glass façades inspired by the eight-pointed star on Azerbaijan’s national emblem. It is massive in size.

Baku is also known as The City of Winds. It is an unofficial, literary name for Baku, mainly because it is windy throughout most of the year. The name derives from the ancient Persian name of this locality: . "pounding winds". There are two winds common to Baku: cold and rough Khazri, and mild and gentle Gilavar.

The old and the new of Azerbaijan. Here we have a lady sweeping the streets of the city.

Government House is a government building where a number of the country's ministries have their main office. This building is from the Soviet times (although that is not so evident) and was apparently built and designed by German POWs.

It is the place of concentration of ancient oil fields, well-known Oil Stones, unique plant of deep water foundations, high-capacity derrick barges, and modern drilling floating units. It is also famous for developed oil refineries, petrochemical, chemical, light, food, engineering branches of industry, oil equipment production, building materials, instrumentation, electrical engineering and radio electronics, shipbuilding. Baku is a large rail junction and port terminal in the Caspian Sea.

Old Soviet era buildings are evident throughout the city against the facade of the new oil rich development buildings.

Old and the new construction

Newer high rise residential buildings.

More new high risei residential buildings

Flame Towers is a trio of skyscrapers in Baku, Azerbaijan, including the tallest in the country, with a height of 597 feet.

Reflections of nearby buildings in the Flame Tower buildings.

The cost of Flame Towers was an estimated US$350 million. Construction began in 2007, with completion in 2012..The clouds and the sky reflecting in one the Flame Tower buildings.

The Baku TV Tower built in 1996, is a free standing concrete telecommunications tower in Baku, Azerbaijan. With a height of 1017 feet, it is the tallest structure in Azerbaijan and the tallest reinforced concrete building in Caucasus

Government offices Baku. I was told the average monthly salary in Azerbaijan is the equivalent of $250 US .

The Flame Towers symbolize the long history of fire worshipers that considered Azerbaijan as a birthplace for prophet Zoroaster.

The Mosque of the Martyrs , also popularly known as the Turkish Mosque is a mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan, near the Martyrs' Lane. The mosque was built in the beginning of the 1990s with assistance of the Turkish government

Martyrs Funicular Upper Station

Front view of Martyrs Funicular Station

Azerbaijan National Flag and the Eterenal Flame

The buildings consist of 130 residential apartments over 33 floors, a Fairmont hotel tower that consists of 250 rooms and 61 serviced apartments, and office blocks that provides a net 356,436 square feet of office space..

The Flame Towers are completely covered with the LED screens that display the movement of a fire visible from the farthest points of the city

The buildings consist of 130 residential apartments over 33 floors, a Fairmont hotel tower that consists of 250 rooms and 61 serviced apartments, and office blocks that provides a net 356,436 square feet of office space.

Martyrs Lane and the Eternal Flame

A husband and wife died on the same day. He was murdered and she took her own life to be with her husband.

Martyrs' Lane, Alley of Martyrs formerly The Kirov Park, is a cemetery and memorial in Baku, Azerbaijan dedicated to those killed by the Soviet Army during Black January, January 20, 1990, Ironically my birthday. and later to those killed in Nagorno-Karabakh War. .

All slaughtered by the Soviet Army on January 20, 1990.

View looking the opposite direction as the previous.

Flame Towers in the distance. At night many colors appear on the buildings.

Azerbaijan is a low-lying city with coastline along the Caspian Sea. It's famed for its medieval walled old city, which contains the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, a vast royal complex, and the iconic stone Maiden Tower

The petroleum industry in Azerbaijan produces about 873,260 barrels of oil per day and 29 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry. Its history is linked to the fortunes of petroleum. It is poised to become an important oil and gas producer once again.

The Caspian Sea, a land locked sea.

The Caspian Sea or Mazandaran Sea is a landlocked sea between Asia and Europe . It is the world's largest inland body of water

View of the Baku Television Tower through the Eternal Flame Memorial at Martyrs Lane

Caspian Waterfront Baku in the foreground

The city is the scientific, cultural, and industrial center of Azerbaijan

Another view of the Flame Towers with the sky reflecting on the buildings. At night they are lighted digitally.

The old and new buildings in the city

The older part of Azerbaijan in the center of the photo surrounded by newer buildings

The City Hall is with the Government Building one of the few beautiful buildings from the Soviet era .

Soviet era apartment buildings near City Hall Baku

Old City or Inner City is the historical core of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Old City is the most ancient part of Baku, which is surrounded by walls were well protected. In December 2000, the Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower, became the first location in Azerbaijan to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Aliaga Vahid 1894 to 1965 was once known as a "master of satiric poetry" in his native Azerbaijan. There is a complete description following the photo of his sculpture.

Sculpted in 1990 by Rahib Hasanov, the approximately 10-foot-tall bronze bust stands in a small garden area of the Icheri Sheher (Inner City) section of Baku, Azerbaijan. Embedded in the hair of this unique sculpture are allegorical figures.

This is the description of the large head and person that it represented in previous photos.

In the old walled city you find a closed restaurant with hookahs. Hookah smoking is not safer than cigarette smoking. Also known as a narghile, shisha or goza, a hookah is a water pipe with a smoke chamber, a bowl, a pipe and a hose. Specially made tobacco is heated, and the smoke passes through water and is then drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece.

A small hotel inside the walled city of Baku.

Old Walled City with the Flame Towers in the background

Elgin, our local guide in Azerbaijan explaining what is contained within the walled city.

In the past, the palace was surrounded by a wall with towers and, thus, served as the inner stronghold of the Baku fortress. Despite the fact that at the present time no traces of this wall have survived on the surface, as early as the 1920s, the remains of apparently the foundations of the tower and the part of the wall connected with it could be distinguished in the north-eastern side of the palace.

Flame Towers in the back ground. Shah Mosque in the foreground.Inside the Shirvanshah grounds.

Bullet Holes in the wall of the Shirvanshah's Palace. Revolutions past.

Shirvanshah's Palace is a 15th-century palace built by the Shirvanshahs and described by UNESCO as "one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture". It is located in the Inner City of Baku,This is the entrance into the Shirvanshah Palace.

Weapons from history past

Ancient handmade carpets inside the Palace

Rare items on display inside the museum of the palace

Miniatures see next photo for description of this item

Traditional Men's belts worn ornately. Beautiful display

The glass is called Shabaka Glass window. Wood, Glass and Geometry form the pieces of glass that makes these windows so spectacular.

Antiquities from the 15th century

Gift shop within the Palace

Relief map of the old walled city of Baku

The Shah Mosque. In the front of the lower courtyard, there is a mosque building with a minaret. In terms of the mosque is rectangular, has a large hall, a small women's chapel and service rooms

Inside the Shah Mosque

The tombs next to the Mosque

Main entrance for men

Side entrance for women. The door is shorter and the women had to lower their heads to enter the mosque.to enter.

Mohammed Mosque and Minaret in the old town of Baku

Entering a local well known restaurant Han Restaurant in the old town. Caravanserai of the 12th century, that was considered the"hotel"of the 12th century, which caravans, passing along the Silk Way, were resting.There are 2 entrances, one from the Caspian Sea and the other from the"Old City".

At the 20th century, it was used as a teahouse and after the 2000 years it turned into a UNESCO-saved historical monument. 2010-2017, the facility acted as a restaurant Art Garden and now it is a restaurant-HAN.

The restaurant continues the activity of Azerbaijani,Turkish cuisine and Steaks. A special dish Caburga Dolma,which requires 5 hours for cooked on its own steam.

Local shops and venders along the street display many items made locally.

Local restaurant and coffee house

From the top of the Maiden Tower. The Maiden Tower is a 12th-century monument in the Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan. Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a group of historic monuments.

The Maiden Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of historic evolution of the Baku city. It also has a gift shop. The view from the roof takes in the alleys and minarets of the Old City, the Baku Boulevard, the De Gaulle house and a wide vista of the Baku Bay. In recent years, the brazier on the top has been lit during the nights of the Novruz festival.

Located on land reclaimed from the Caspian Sea, Caspian Waterfront will be a 360,000 feet of entertainment, retail, leisure and dining destination over five floors. A central ‘flame’ tower completes eight angled glass façades inspired by the eight-pointed star on Azerbaijan’s national emblem.

To get to the top of the Maiden town it has over 220 steps in a steep circular stairs.

View from on top of the Maiden Tower of the surrounding city of Baku

You can see the diameter size of the top of the Maiden Tower

Selling ice cream is an art and a game. Here a young boy tries to take the ice cream cone from the vendor. The vendor twirls and pulls the ice cream cone back and forth. It is a fun time to watch the children laugh and try to catch the ice cream cone.

Finally the child catches the cone and gets his reward to eat the ice cream cone.

An adult is about to go through the same routine.

View from the ground of the Maiden Tower which I had just climbed.

Buildings have a number of facades and architecture as you walk along the street in the old part of Baku

Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature, Baku, Azerbaijan

The Monument to Nizami Ganjavi, a medieval Persian poet, is located in Baku in Nizami Square,

Carousel on the Nizami Street area

Nizami Street popular with locals and tourists

Restaurant where we had lunch. Very interesting.

Hard Rock Cafe Baku

Torgovaya Street popular with restaurants and locals in the evnings

Unique fountains

Baku Puppet Theater. Puppet Theater was founded in 1931

The Baku Ateshgah, often called the "Fire Temple of Baku", is a castle-like religious temple in Surakhani town a suburb in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This is a castle like Hindu temple and monastery complex. It is now a museum and is no longer used as a place of worship.

Local legend associates the temple at Surakhany with the fire temples of Zoroastrianism, but this is presumbly based on misunderstanding of the term 'Atashgah", which in Azerbaijan is literally any fire place. The technical term for the alter like repository for a sacred wood fire.

The Baku Ateshgah was a pilgrimage and philosophical centre of Zoroastrians from Northwestern Indian Subcontinent, who were involved in trade with the Caspian area via the famous "Grand Trunk Road". The four holy elements of their belief were: ateshi (fire), badi (air), abi (water), and heki (earth). The temple ceased to be a place of worship after 1883 .

In Baku in recent years a number of ultra modern buildings have been built.

How they build and engineer these buildings is beyond me.

One of the most unique buildings in the world Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku

The Heydar Aliyev Center is a 619,000 sq ft building complex in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles.

The Center houses a conference hall (auditorium), a gallery hall and a museum. The project is intended to play an integral role in the intellectual life of the city. Located close to the city center, the site plays a pivotal role in the redevelopment of Baku.

One of the most unique food carts in the world I have ever seen

Your truly sitting inside the infamous heart shaped B for Baku.

Close by more uniquely designed modern buildings found in the old Soviet Bloc areas.

Views of the rear of the Heydar Aliyev Building

A Full Moon reflecting on the Caspian sea at Baku

The Flame Towers illuminated at night with millions of LED lights on the buildings.

Liquid Crystals shine on the buildings

Fire and flames light the buildings in moving reflectons on the harbor at night.

The National flag of Azerbaijan lighted in movement upon the 3 towers.

A ferris wheel alongside the harbor for entertainment

Athletes parading on the Flame Towers with the National Flag of Azerbaijan

In all my travels I have never seen anything like this with the movements of the athletes walking with the National Flag around the buildings..

Absolutely Amazing

Traveling along the harbor side in the trolley train.

I took this small trolley train around the Fountain Square at the Harbor in Baku

Old Soviet Block Building lighted up with the fountains across the street from the building.

The square is a public gathering place, especially after business hours and during the weekend. It is an attractive tourist destination with many boutiques, restaurants, shops, hotels and passage.[

Illuminated buildings in the background with multiple fountains in the foreground. Beautiful in the evening to see.

The fountains square is a location where the city authorities hold many public festivals, shows and celebrations.

I went next door to another hotel which was much taller and to the roof top bar to take night time photos of the city of Baku.

In the distance from the roof top of the hotel next door you can see the colors of the Flame Towers changing.

A large multi story mall and food court across the street from the hotel I was staying.

Having been a Rotarian for 41 years I always like to see where the Rotary Clubs meet. Rotary Clubs locally in each city and country internationally help their local communities as well as projects around the world. Rotary Intenational has worked to eliminate Polio 99% around the world today.

Sports Complex Baku

Departing Baku this morning we view some of the old Soviet era apartment buildings alongside the highway

Soviet era Apartments built during the Russian occupation.

Local gasoline station

Azerbaijan freeway leaving town for the countryside

Attendants service all automobiles for gasoline.

Newer housing developments outside of Baku

Private company on the outskirts of Baku. Notice the Azerbaijan flag blowing in the wind.

Neighborhood Mosque in a neighborhood on the outskirts of town.

This is the largest solar installation I have ever seen anywhere in the world.

Wind power as well as solar.

View of the countryside outside of Baku. Very rural.

Juma Mosque of Shamakhi or Friday Mosque of Shamakhi, Azerbaijani. Construction date of the mosque- 743-744

Inside the Juma Mosque

The Yedi Gumbrez, seven tombs, yet only three of these desecrated octagonal royal tombs remain reasonably complete. They are the 18th - 19th century mausoleums of the Kans of Shemakha.

These are the ruins of the 18th century mausoleums of the Khans of Shemakha .

The small town Shemakha. In the center of the photo you can find the Juma Mosque. For a long time the capital and trade center for western Azerbaijan. .

The octahedron turns to a hexahedron with the help of trumpet arches and then turns into a circle of the cupola with the help of angular rosettes. The cupola is distinguished for its trefoil arch. Trunk of the mausoleum is finished with cornice made of black stone and built in a shape of simple muqarnasses.

Wild rasberries gowi along the side of the road.

Highway leading from Shemakha to Sheki across hills and countryside

Local fruits pressed and drying in the sun and then for sale to tourists and locals. .

Many home grown fruits and vegetables prepared and placed in jars and cans for sale retail. for sale. They look good too.

Sheraton hotel announced it would open a Starwood Hotel & Resort signed an agreement with Improtex Real Estate LLC to open a new Sheraton in Ismailli, Azerbaijan. The hotel was scheduled to open in 2014. The hotel was scheduled to have 132 rooms, 32 suites and conference center. There is nothing around the area, no industry, or population. A big question is WHY? To date it never opened and sits vacant and unfinished..

The Palace of Shaki Khans, Azerbaijani in Shaki, Azerbaijan was a summer residence for the Shaki Khans. It was built in 1797 by Muhammed Hasan Khan.

Large Interior portions of the residence's facade, including the entire southern elevations of the central halls on both floors, are covered by a mosaics..

The summer residence is renowned for the lavish decoration of its exterior. Outside garden area of the palace. Remaining surfaces on all façades are decorated with floral tile panels and tile mosaics . Muqarnas hoods crowning the four iwans, a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. are highlighted with gold on the lower level and covered with mirror fragments on the first floor. .

The museum contains many pieces of tapestry and art from the original palace.

Shebeke Mosaic windows. A mosaic of colored glass set in a wooden latticework called Shebeke, that was assembled without nails or glue.

The interior walls of the residence are covered entirely with frescoes painted at different times during the eighteenth century. Many of the frescoes feature flowers in vases, while a series of paintings on the first floor halls depict hunting and battle scenes.

More of the Shebeke mosaic colored glass.

A local artisan demonstrates for us the art of making Shebeke Mosaic colored glass set in wooden lattice.

Karvansaray is a historical monument in Sheki, a part of which is used as a hotel today. It was built in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Exterior passages to some room andleading to a courtyard.

Four entries led to the yard from all four corners of the buildings. There are 242 rooms in the lower caravanserai. Earlier there were merchant stores and storage rooms in the coaching inn, but the first floor was intended for guests whom the rooms were leased. Each room had a manhole which was connected to the ground floor with a stepladder and it was very comfortable for merchants who wanted control the safety of their products at any time.

Young food servers waiting to start their shift.

Views across the hills

We are up early this morning and stop at a local open air market in Sheki, Azerbaijan

Great looking watermelons

Everything is grown locally

Check out these pomegranates

Good looking spices

Look at the size of those pepers

Definitely a little bit of everything. This is a daily market too.

Dried products.

Definitely no need for refrigeration .

He was ready to pose for the photo

Interesting parts of the animals

Interesting with all this beef hanging in the air I saw no flies

Fresh fish anyone?

Notice the style of the clothing for the ladies. This is fall 2018.

Kind of looks like someone cleaned out their garage.. Oh they have no garages.

Ok you name it you can have it. Interesting dish for the dining table tonight

There is something for everyone here

Ladies gathering for the latest gossip maybe?

Fresh bread anyone? I like their enthusiasm.

Delivery Service

If he does not have it no one has it.

Leaving Sheki for the country of Georgia

Last glimpse of a Monastery high upon a hill as we are close to leaving Azerbaijan.

Throughout this region, snowy peaks can just be made out through the haze. The emptiness of the road today belies the fact that this is an ancient trade route, a tiny part of the old Silk Road that linked China with Western Europe before an alternative route was discovered by sea.

We see The Caucasus Range as we travel along the foothills nearby. Beautiful countryside.

Normal everyday life is not easy in the countryside of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan our Homeland

A war memorial dedicated to the lives lost from local residents on the outskirts of Zaqatala.

We drive through the small town of Zaqatala, Azerbaijan on a way to the boarder of Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is a city in northwest Azerbaijan with a municipal population of 31,300 inhabitants.

Everyone seems to know everyone in small towns.

The city's most prominent feature is a ruined fortress, built in the 1830s by occupying Russian forces during the Caucasian War to defend the city from rebels

We stopped for a bathroom break and came across a most unusual toilet in a gas station. Similar to the toilets in Asia.

The Caucasus Mountains provide it with natural protection from the north winds. The wooded mountainsides, with frequent waterfalls offer great hiking opportunities.

Wedding Dress anyone?

We just happened to catch the local market day.

What a great time we have enjoyed ourselves in this interesting country. The people we have met have been very friendly and helpful. Here we have children at play in an open field.

Onto Telavi 45 kilometers, 27 miles to our next evening stop in Georgia.

Grapes going to Market. We say goodbye to Azerbaijan as we get ready to leave the country to enter the country of Georgia. Thank you for the memories. They are all positive and good memories.

Leaving town to the Georgian border at Lagodekhi a few miles from town as well as by a small airfield. We have enjoyed the hospitality of the locals in Azerbaijan. They have been very friendly as well as helpful.

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© 2025 Jim Schroder