Azerbaijan 2001 (Azerbaijan)

Member Name: maikli

Product:	Azerbaijan
Date:	16/08/02 (648 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cosmopolitan Baku, stunning mountains, beautiful Shexi, friendly people, just plain bizarre at times

Disadvantages: corruption, pollution, lack of tourist infrastructure, accommodation is dire in many towns, buses are decrepit, visas difficult

Azerbaijan isn't on the top of everyone's "must-see" list, and most people haven't got a clue where it is. Some might have heard of it because of oil, and others might remember hearing about it's long-awaited independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but that's about it. From reading a couple of articles on the net about travelling to Azerbaijan, I was lead to believe that it was just a concrete jungle built on a landscape totally destroyed by oil. It did not sound promising, but, ever one to disappear from the tourist trail as much as possible, I decided last summer to pay a visit to this unusual and bizarre country wedged between the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea.

Travel in Azerbaijan is not exactly like going on holiday to Tenerife. It is bl*&dy hard work, let me tell you! Firstly, there is the lack of tourist infrastructure...not many travel agencies, lack of hotels outside Baku (the capital), and a haphazard public transport system. The refugee problem resulting from the dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabagh has taken up most of the hotel beds in the country, and this dispute certainly hasn't helped Azerbaijan's image abroad. But, if you can cope without facilities and comfort (don't expect there to be constant water and electricity...or even any at all), then Azerbaijan is definitely worth considering as a destination.

Baku, the capital, was a pleasant surprise. Before my trip to the capital of Azerbaijan, I'd seen pictures of "nodding donkeys" in a polluted environment, and apartment blocks stretching for miles. Nobody had told me about the well-preserved old town, the tree-lined promenade alongside the Caspian Sea, or the streets of the oil-boom town filled with shops, cafes and "beautiful people".

The old city is maybe not the most atmospheric of places, although you'll still find stone houses leaning over cobbled streets where head-scarved women stand and gossip. But many streets are in the process of being "sanitised", buildings spruced up and renovated, converted into the headquarters of a dozen international oil companies. If you've read the wonderful book by Kurban Sa'id, "Ali and Nino", which is set partly in Baku, then you may be a trifle disappointed. Ali Shirvanshah would be turning in his grave if he could see the oil barons' mercedes or the fashion boutiques which have now invaded the once-quiet streets of his city.

That's not to say there isn't anything to see in Baku's old city. Right at the heart is the enormous Palace of the Shirvan-Shahs, the prime tourist attraction of Baku. It costs a few hundred manat (the Azeri currency) to enter, a few thousand to take photos, and a few thousand more if you want to bring a video camera in. What gold-toothed Gulia does not tell you as she happily relieves you of your manat is that much of the complex is under extensive renovation, so at present access is severely limited, and photo opportunities are few and far between! Sounds like a rip-off, but then you realise that you might be the only tourist that week, the fee is not really that much when you convert it to sterling, and somebody has to contribute to all that repair work. The parts you can access are undoubtedly impressive...

The other main draw in the old part of town is Baku's most famous landmark, the Qiz Qalasi, or Maiden's Tower. This oddly shaped structure used to mark the seafront entrance to the city, but now it stands like a beached whale at least 100m from the shore. There are many legends surrounding this tower, the most popular being that of a king who wanted to marry his own daughter. She agreed, but wanted him to build her a tower first...and when he had finished the tower, she threw herself off the top, to avoid marrying him! If you want to follow in her footsteps, you can climb the tower for a small fee, although throwing yourself off isn`t totally recommended. This is the place to come to get your bearings, as some of the best views of Baku can be snapped from here.

In an arc surrounding the old city walls is the Oil Boomtown, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries by all manner of businessmen who made it rich quick. Grand mansions and wide boulevards, this is where Baku's beautiful hang out. Fans of architecture will have a field day, as each of the oil barons tried to outdo the next, the mansions becoming larger and more bizarre as the years skipped by. Today, this is the heart of commercial Baku, where you'll find the majority of shops and restaurants.

Fountains Square is THE place to be seen, lined with trendy cafes and bars, although it is sad to see that the most popular cafe is the one with the golden archways...yes, yet again old Ronald MacDonald has bagged the best location and spoiled the atmosphere of a pleasant square. Walking through Fountains Square in the early evening, it is hard to believe that this is where Europe and Asia meet. It feels totally European, and could just as easily be a square in the south of France. But there are always reminders of nearby Asia...the beggar children from Nagorno Karabakh, the call to prayer from a nearby mosque (albeit, semi-drowned out by Madonna or Tarkan), two old men playing nardi (backgammon) on a park bench, fiddling with prayer beads between throwing the dice...

Round the corner is Nizami's Museum of Literature (Nizami is Azerbaijan's most noted writer), although unless you have a deep knowledge of Azeri literature, your enjoyment will be limited to admiring the building. Bright azure and turquoise tiles, Persian style, form the backdrop for a row of statues, six of Azerbaijan's leading writers and poets, but don't ask me to name any!

Walking along the promenade, you can get a good view of Baku's eclectic architecture. A ten minute stroll will bring you to a strange monster of a building. I've never seen anything quite like it...a cross between Soviet architecture at its worst and Moorish architecture at its best, if you can begin to imagine that (probably not easy!). Well, this is in fact the Government House. Behind it lies an enormous square, flanked by two obscenely ugly structures sitting like bookends, both former Intourist hotels, the Azerbaijan and the Apsheron.

The promenade is worth wandering along just to escape the busy streets and the heat, taking refuge in one of the many teahouses or waterside restaurants. But be warned...the Caspian Sea does give off some rather alarming odours at times!

On a hill to the south is maybe the best vantage spot in all Baku. A long flight of stairs runs adjacent to a sadly disused funicular railway, leading to Martyr's Lane, a large cemetary dedicated to those who gave their lives in the struggle for independence in 1991, and more recently, the war with Armenia in the province of Nagorno Karabagh. It is quite eerie walking between the gravestones in complete silence. You might feel as if you are being watched, and indeed you are...each of the gravestones has the face of the victim carved into it.

From up here, you can see how the city has exploded from behind the old city walls...tower blocks stretch as far as the eye can see. Look to the south, and you'll see one of the oddest sights in the world...hundreds of nodding donkeys (I don't know the proper term for these oil pumps), pools of black shiny water, oil flames. It provides a stunning scene for a sunrise or a sunset though...as someone once said, there's much beauty in physical deterioration.

There are many such views in Azerbaijan. On the road heading south out of the city, you'll pass Shixov Beach. Someone has obviously decided to make this into a tourist paradise, and I must admit they have given it a good shot. The sand is raked and cleaned regularly, beach umbrellas and sunbeds are provided, and there are even a couple of good beach bars. You could almost believe you were on the Mediterranean. Almost. If you look inland, you could. But look towards the sea, and you can't really ignore the whopping great oil rig which lies within swimming distance! A surreal sight.

My guidebook described the shape of Azerbaijan as a chicken in full flight, with the Apsheron Peninsula forming the beak. This is the centre of oil production, a place so polluted by oil that it has a strange appeal, and is one of the must-see attractions of Azerbaijan. It is close enough to Baku almost to be considered within the city limits, and it is an easy day trip from the city. One of the most popular destinations is to the Ateshgah in Suraxani. What is an ateshgah, I hear you ask? Well, it is a Zoroastrian fire temple, and not having been to one before, I thought I'd pay it a visit. Although the Zoroastrians have long since departed, the fires continue to burn inside, and it is now protected as a state museum. As busy as Azeri tourist spots go, I was again the only visitor, waking the caretaker from his slumber. He waved away any attempts at paying to enter, my admission fee consisting solely of promising to drink tea with him on my way out! As unusual as it was to look round a fire temple, I left none the wiser for the experience, as the caretaker knew very little about the place, and the captions on the exhibits were in Russian only.

Heading north, you soon reach one of the most polluted places in the region, if not the whole world. Sumgayit. Huge chemical works and factories rusting on barren land, the earth stained a reddish brown from leakages and fumes. Pipes twist like tentacles between the derelict hulks, the shells of freight trains lie on tracks to nowhere. No signs of life, save for a lone man hurdling a pipe on his way home, a fresh loaf of bread in his arms. Bleak and
depressing, but in the evening light strangely beautiful.

However, there is another side to Azerbaijan...the Caucasus mountains. Places like Shexi seem like worlds away from the polluted landscapes on the coast. A picturesque old town surrounded by perfectly-rounded green hills over which the tall peaks of the Caucasus poke their heads. You could be mistaken for thinking that time has not moved on for a long time in Shexi. A row of wood and stone houses, many containing shops selling the sticky Shexi halva, run beside a mountain stream heading uphill until the Xan Sarayi (Khan's Palace) comes into view, surrounded by evergreen trees. With the only other tourists I met during my two week trip round the country, two Russians living in Baku, I took a guided tour of the surprisingly small palace compound. Next door, a couple of museums would have undoubtedly been interesting if only the curtains had been opened to allow enough light in to make the exhibits visible (no electricity again!). If ever Azerbaijan makes the tourist trail, Shexi is sure to be the major pulling card.

Deeper into the mountains is the small town of Zaqatala, the only place where I felt at all uneasy. No one spoke to me, preferring to stare right through me, and people seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Even the cows eyed me suspiciously. Back in baku, the reason for this became clear...I read an e-mail from the Foreign Office website with a report advising against all travel to the Zaqatala region due to political unrest.

Close to the Daghestani border in north-west Azerbaijan lies Quba, a rather run-down town where clapped-out cars swerve expertly round gaping potholes to stop outside modest white-washed cottages or brightly coloured wooden mosques (which bore a remarkable resemblance to Methodist Churches!). Life here revolves around the nardi board, and throwing dice in local park is THE thing to do during the afternoon. I liked the place immediately. Across the river opposite Quba's decay is the prosperous town of Krasnoya Sloboda, noted for being the only all-Jewish town outside Israel. Here sparkling Mercs speed past flash restaurants and brand new synagogues, and the skull-capped boys are more likely to shout "Shalom" than "Selam". Back in Quba, I asked two local students about the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews...did they get on? "We don't really get on with each other. They tolerate us, and we tolerate them, but that is as far as it goes". Still, it is far, far better than the situation in Israel.

As I said, travel in Azerbaijan is not exactly stress-free. There are so many hurdles to jump over. Transport is a problem...roads are not brilliant, and I cannot imagine how on earth the buses keep running (maybe they use vodka instead of petrol!!). Distances are not huge, as it is only a small country, but it can take hours to get anywhere (Zaqatala-Baku is a seemingly never-ending 10 hour trip), and those hours seem even longer when you see the state of the inside of buses! Why is it that I always pick the one seat which does not recline, but the passenger in front's seat reclines so much that his head is practically in my lap?!!! There is next to no information for tourists, and not many English speakers, so at least some Russian or Turkish (very similar to the Azeri language) is essential. Bus stations can be a nightmare, even if there are several people handing out bus times and prices...they tend to be extremely unhelpful, but in a friendly way!

Visas are also difficult, as tourist visas are only issued if you have an invitation from someone in the country (which basically means you are forced to book a tour or a very expensive hotel). I managed to get a business visa through a friend of a friend, but that was very lucky. Border guards are often not paid well, and will look at foreigners as a good source of money, so bribery and "official fees" are common at borders.

Accommodation in Baku caters for all budgets, from Hyatts and Sheratons, through the former Intourist hotels, right down to the cheap and cheerful Hotel Araz, where the friendly owners charge $11 for a spotless room with its own babushka (gold-toothed granny) to make the tea. Outside Baku, the situation is dire, with one exception...the Hotel Kervanserai in Shexi. For $7.50 you can stay in this restored 19th century caravanserai (a pit-stop for merchants). There may not be constant electricity or water, but the welcome is warm, and the atmosphere is great. Plus the gardens hide one of the best restaurants in the country. Elsewhere, there is usually at least one hotel, usually ex-Intourist. In Quba, the octagenarian owners (a comic pair if ever there was one!) charged me $3 for a very basic room, but you will sleep well here, and you can at least venture into the bathroom at this hotel. In Zaqatala, the rooms should come with a health warning. And don't even think of venturing onto the balcony! But if you meet one of the hundreds of refugees living in this hotel, and they invite you to see their living space, you'll soon realise that your three dollar room is a palace in comparison. The refugees live here because they have no choice, which made me question the ethics of paying for the privilege of staying.

Food in Baku is no problem...in fact, the azeri restaurants are outnumbered by the huge numbers of Indian, Chinese, Italian, Turkish, fast-food etc...you won't have any problem finding something to eat in Baku. Away from the capital, you'll be at the mercy of the chef...no menus here, you'll eat whetever he has in his kitchen, usually dolma (stuffed tomatoes and peppers) or some variety of kebab, but you can come across some more interesting items like sturgeon kebab with pomegranate sauce.

Azerbaijan certainly isn't for everyone. Go to Azerbaijan if you want to see an interesting country before tourism spoils it (probably no need to rush!). If you can cope with a bit of hardship, live without constant 5* luxury, and can battle your way through bureaucracy galore, then maybe Azerbaijan is for you. There are certainly many reasons to visit, and maybe one day, the country will attract plenty of visitors, but for now, it remains firmly off the tourist trail. If you can't hack a bit of adventure and uncertainty, then maybe you should look elsewhere.

Summary: