Azerbaijan

Bronze Age petroglyphs, medieval minarets and mosques, as well as the famous carpets are just a few of the things you can see in the ancient cities of Azerbaijan, which was once a major stop over on the Great Silk Route.

Understanding the Geography

Officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south.

Regions of Azerbaijan

• Nagorno-Karabakh
• Nakhchivan - Autonomous republic
• Apsheron Peninsula - (including Baku and Sumqayit) juts into Caspian Sea
• Kura-Araks - Lowland (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north.
• Karabakh Upland) - in the west.

Cities

• Baku – Capital
• Sumqayit

Understanding the Culture

The culture of Azerbaijan has developed as a result of many influences, including its Turkic, Persian, Islamic, and Central Asian heritage as well as Russian influences due to its former status as a Soviet republic. Today, Western influences, including globalise consumer culture, are strong.

Around 93 percent of Azerbaijan's population is nominally Muslim, about 5% of the population adheres Orthodoxy’s. There are fairly sizeable expatriate Christian and Muslim communities in the capital city of Baku; authorities generally permit these groups to worship freely.

The official language of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani, a member of the Oghuz subdivision of the Turkic language family, and is spoken by around 95% of the republic's population, as well as about a quarter of the population of Iran. Its closest relatives are Turkish and Turkmen. As a result of the language policy of the Soviet Union, Russian is also commonly spoken as a second language among the urbane.

Climate Conditions

Azerbaijan contains 9 out of the 11 climatic zones. It is arid, dry, and subtropical with hot summers and mild winters. Temperatures vary by season and area. In the southeast lowland, temperatures average 6 °C (43°F) in the winter and 26 °C (80°F) in the summer — though daily maxima typically reach 32 °C (89 °F). In the northern and western mountain ranges, temperatures average 12 °C (55 °F) in the summer and 9°C (20 °F) in the winter.

Annual rainfall over most of the country varies from 200 to 400 millimetres (8 to 16 in) and is generally lowest in the northeast. In the far southeast, however, the climate is much moister and annual rainfall can be as high as 1300 millimetres (51 in). For most of the country, the wettest periods are in spring and autumn, with summers being the driest.

Things To See and Do

• Gandzasar Monastery
• Dadivank Monastery
• Gtichavank Monastery
• Amaras Monastery
• Shushi City Walls
• Askeran Fortres