Ever since COVID, I have been trying to get back into a somewhat typical travel schedule.  Prior to COVID, I used to travel every chance I got.  However, there have been a few factors that have curtailed my travel for the last couple years.  As a result, I do not travel as much as I used to.  Part of the reason is more personal, but another key item has been that I think I have reached the point in which it is getting a bit more challenging to visit new countries.  While there are still a significant number of places that I can get to without major challenges, it has gotten to the point where an increasing number require more complicated travel plans and a bit more time than I sometimes have.

If possible, I always try to take the most direct route without having unreasonably short or long layovers.  Of course, sometimes this is not possible.  In the past, this has not been so difficult, but now some of the countries that are on my list require a bit more planning time since some places I have been looking at require sometimes ten, fifteen, or almost twenty-hour layovers.  That obviously eats into valuable travel time. Aside from a more personal reason, this is why I do not take as many trips as I used to.  

However, in Christmas 2023, I had the opportunity to spend Christmas in Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan had been on my list for awhile.  I had previously visited Georgia and Armenia back in 2013, so it would have made sense that I would have already explored Azerbaijan years ago.  Unfortunately, it did not happen that way.  At the time, I had read mixed reviews about people who had visited Armenia first then experienced problems with immigration in Azerbaijan because the two countries do not get along.  That was basically my case.  In addition, getting to Azerbaijan from my home in the Middle East was not particularly straightforward, and in the times that I found flights that would go to Baku, they were always on days that I could not make, or it would have been impractical with the holiday time that I had.

Yet, this time, the stars aligned, and I found a flight that lined up perfectly for my planned departure and return date.  This was my big chance, so I immediately booked the flight and hotel in Baku.  In addition, I applied for an Azerbaijan eVisa, which was granted very quickly.  Needless to say, I was very excited since I would finally have a chance to visit Azerbaijan and finish the countries in the Caucasus.

During my time in Azerbaijan, I based myself in Baku within the Old City at a lovely hotel that had an amazing foyer.  The room I was in was comfortable although I think the furniture was too big for the room, so it made it sometimes difficult to move around.  Much to my surprise, even though it was December, I found that the weather was nowhere near as cold as I thought it would be.  In fact, it was quite mild and very comfortable to walk around during the day.  More than once, I found myself sweating while walking around.  

When I decided to visit Azerbaijan, I was not really sure what to expect.  It is a country that I know actually very little about.  Admittedly, part of me expected to find a rather drab and characterless Soviet-style country. However, I did not find that to be the case at all.

Instead, I found Baku to be a very modern and cosmopolitan city.  In some ways, it kind of reminded me of Turkey.  There were a lot of different sites to see within the city, and one of my favorite views of Baku was from a panoramic viewpoint that is very close to the famed Flame Tower.  While it is possible to take a funicular up to the top, on the times that I went, it was closed. Therefore, I had to walk up a whole lot of steps. That was a bit of a challenge. Each time I made the trek, I was absolutely drenched in sweat, but the views during the day and at night were absolutely worth the effort. I also enjoyed talking walks along the coast of the Caspian Sea since it gave a wonderful panoramic view of Baku.

Baku's Old City is wonderful to explore and is full of different treasures to see.  In addition, even though there are maps of the Old City, it is very easy to turn yourself around and end up in a different area.  On more than one occasion, I got somewhat lost within walls of the Old City, but that is part of the fun of exploring since I often ended up in areas that I would not have been aware of otherwise.  While there are many different things to see within the area of the Old City, my two favorite sites within the Old City are the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, which was a palace of the rulers of what is now Azerbaijan that includes various buildings, and Maidan Tower, which now houses a museum on the history of Baku and which provides marvelous vistas of Baku from the top. In addition, to the treasures within the Old City, there are also many things to see outside of the area, such as the National Museum of Azerbaijan History, Heyday Aliyev Centre, and the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, which is shaped like a giant carpet with rolls. Anyone who has an interest in history and architecture will certainly enjoy their time exploring Baku.

Of course, during my time in Azerbaijan, I also had booked a few tours to see some more of the country outside of Baku, and I was definitely impressed.  During these tours, a vast majority of the other tourists were Indians and Pakistanis, and I learned that Azerbaijan is apparently a very popular destination for them which is something that I never knew before.

The first tour that I had booked involved several stops in one day. The first stop was the Bibi-Heydat Mosque, which is just outside of Baku. The mosque is famous because it holds the earthly remains of a descendant of the Islamic Prophet. The next stop was to Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve, and it is home to prehistoric petroglyphs and rock art that dates back from 5,000 to 20,000 years ago.  We also got to see the famous Mud Volcanoes.  While it is possible to bathe in these mud volcanoes, no one from the tour did that since on that day since it was fairly cold and windy.  These mud volcanoes are not enormous but are relatively small, but you can see bubbles come up and pop.

Two of the must-see sites in Azerbaijan are Yanar Dag and the Fire Temple of Baku (Ateshgah).

Azerbaijan is known as the "Land of Fire," and Yanar Dag is a natural gas fire that burns continuously from a hillside.  The fire is from natural gas that seeps out from the area, and today it is an important tourist attraction but also important for the Zoroastrian religion. Now, it is not like the entire hill is engulfed in flames. In fact, only a small portion of it is lit. However, When I saw it, I was immediately reminded of the Darvaza Gas Crater, which is in Turkmenistan, and which I had the opportunity to visit a few years ago.  However, unlike the gas crater which was created accidentally, this is natural but unfortunately is nowhere near as large as the gas crater in Turkmenistan, but it is still very impressive. During our time there, some people like to throw coins into the flames.

The other must-see site in Azerbaijan is the Fire Temple of Baku (Ateshgah of Baku).  This is a religious complex that is very similar to a castle and has religious significance to Hindu and Zoroastrian believers.  Within the center of the structure is a central temple that holds a flame that was previously fed by a natural gas field but which is now fed by a pipe from Baku. 

During the visit to Azerbaijan, I also had the opportunity to visit Sheki, which was an important trading center on the Silk Road. Sheki is quite far from Baku since it is approximately 150 miles away (240km), so it is definitely an all day trip. Sheki is mostly famous because it has the Palace of Shaki Khans, which is where the rulers of Sheki lived in the 18th and 19th century.  Unfortunately, no photos are permitted inside the palace, but it was definitely beautiful with a lot of stained glass and highly-decorated interiors.

Sheki is also famous for its caravanserai, which was like an inn for traders on the Silk Road.  Basically, a caravanserai was a place where traders could rest and also store and/or trade their goods.  The upper part is made up of rooms and storage areas, and the lower part had a large courtyard with more rooms and storage areas so that merchants could make sure their goods were safe.

Overall, I was quite impressed with Azerbaijan.  It definitely exceeded my expectations, and I am thankful that I got to spend Christmas there. However, due to weather, I was not able to see the two main sites that I really wanted to see; Khinaluq, which is a small mountain town high up in the mountains, and the Khizi Mountains, also known as the Candy Cane Mountains because their appearance looks somewhat similar to candy canes.  However, maybe I will have the opportunity to see them in the future.