AZERBAIJAN || Baku - travel vlog (plus Gobustan) 15 Degrees North

15° North are travelling again! This time we are heading to Azerbaijan, to visit its capital Baku including the Heydar Aliyev Centre, Flame Towers and Palace of the Shrivanshahs as wells as nearby Gobustan to see the cave paintings, mud volcanoes and Zoroastrian Fire Temple.
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a European roadtrip exploring the best places for a city break on the continent. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that Europe has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Azerbaijan, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
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Transcript:
Azerbaijan is the largest, richest and most populous country in The Caucasus. It sits on the coast of the Caspian Sea, between Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Iran and Russia, of whom it used to be a part. Its capital is Baku, an oil-rich metropolis of five million people.
Since Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country has capitalised on its vast oil reserves to transform into a thriving modern country. Like Georgia, its northern border is the Caucasian Mountains, meaning that a portion of Azerbaijan is geographically located in Europe. But unlike Georgia, Azerbaijan doesn’t feel European at all - or even Russian - aligned much more with its Middle Eastern neighbours.
A secular Muslim society, its closest comparison is Turkey, who is actually its best mate. So much so that you see Turkish flags all over Baku. The two are neighbours. Well kinda. It’s complicated. And contentious. Because Armenia is in the way. And divides Azerbaijan into two chunks. And then there’s Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed territory in Azerbaijan that Armenia says should be theirs and several wars have been fought over.But Turkey has Azerbaijan’s back all the way.
Baku’s old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which sits within the old city walls and surrounds the Palace of the Shrivanshahs. Built in the fifteenth century, the palace was the home of the shah of the shirvan dynasty, ruling Azerbaijan and swathes of modern Iran and Russia between the ninth and sixteenth century. Their capital had been the city of Shamkhi, but following a devastating earthquake, the shah relocated his capital and his palace.
Much of the old city was cleared and redeveloped by the Soviets, but thankfully the old town and its historic Maiden Tower have survived unscathed. The Tower is ancient, dating back to the fifth century CE, when it is believed to have been a Zoroastrian temple.
From Baku you have to make the trip out into the nearby Gobustan National Park. It has been preserved not for its natural beauty, but instead because of its multitudinous prehistoric rock carvings, which litter the rugged landscape with more than 6000 carvings etched into the rock. Pictures of warriors, animals and ancient rituals can be found across the area, with many of them preserved and easily accessible for the public. And they date back - on average - to between 5,000 and 20,000 years!
The region is also covered with mud volcanoes. There are approximately 700 mud volcanoes on the planet and 300 of them are located in Gobustan. Mud volcanoes are associated with areas of oil-rich soil and all of Azerbaijan sits on a vast oil field. Despite their appearance, the volcanoes are actually cold, with the substance emerging from their cones a combination of water, mineral deposits and oil.
The combination of this seismic activity and the presence of oil has led to explosive results over the years - Which is why the country is known as the Land of Fire. It should then come as no surprise that Zoroastrianism - an ancient religion that worships fire - was extremely popular here. One of the world’s oldest faiths, it is still active today with over 100,000 worshipers scattered across the world, but was at one stage a vast religion that dominated Iran, the Caucasus and their neighbours.
Our final stop is arguably Baku’s most beautiful building. The Heydar Aliyev Centre is striking museum set in acres of rolling parkland that is named after the country’s first president and designed by iconic architect Zaha Hadid. Opened in 2012, the eight-storey structure contains exhibitions about Azerbaijani culture and art, but the real star of the show is the building’s remarkable design, which looks absolutely amazing inside and out.

[@AutumnTheGuy]

Azerbaijan is one of the most beautiful countries I have seen! They know how to make a spectacular capital.

[@dairy1994]

Nice lil channel

[@giiviero]

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