Azerbaijan

Part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, Azerbaijan sits comfortably on the Caspian Sea with large oil and gas reserves.

In the north are the mighty Caucasus Mountains where hiking, skiing or just plain admiring the stupendous scenery are worthwhile activities. Or see the massive transformation taking place in Baku, its capital, where new modern oil funded architecture vies with age-old citadels and turn of the century oil-baron mansions.

Visit 12,000-year-old petroglyphs, or comparatively modern Roman era graffiti. Find out about the fire worshipping religions that once existed at an ancient Zoroastrian temple outside Baku. And discover where all the money comes from these days as you gaze at a field of oil-pumps diligently extracting the black gold from the ground.

The language of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani (aka Azeri), which belongs to the Turkic language group, so if you know Turkish you are in luck, it should help out. For those who aren’t familiar, it might be an idea to learn some basic phrases, or if you are travelling on through other former Soviet Republics, Russian would be a good idea as it is still widely spoken all over that region. English however isn’t, so don’t bank on using that as your main means of communication.

There are accommodation options in all ranges, including hostels in Baku, and homestays on the countryside.