Azerbaijan Travel Series 2: Backpacking in Baku

Summer vacation for my family began with a quick tour of Azerbaijan, a Central Asian country. Availing of a group package offered by a local tour operator, we were on a PIA plane from Karachi to Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, in no time. Carrying mostly tourists and vacationers, the plane went over the Caspian Sea to finally reach the destination in about 4 hours with a time difference of one hour. Just like getting the electronic visa on a 2-day notice, the immigration process is also smooth and hassle-free, even for green passport holders.

For Pakistanis, Azerbaijan is relatively a new tourist destination option, which is still in the process of development and growth as a truly tourism-oriented country. In a non-English speaking country like Azerbaijan, foreign tourists and visitors largely confront with a language barrier, which is a major source of worry for them, particularly when it comes to booking local rides. Despite  a Muslim majority population,  Azerbaijan is a secular state and one even has to carry a water bottle while visiting the washroom at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport. The glass building of the airport by itself is an exemplary illustration of the overall Azerbaijani mindset that revels in erecting some amazing architectural wonders throughout the country.

Manat, the official currency of Azerbaijan, is quite strong as 1 Manat is equal to PKR 117 (at the time of our visit), which is mostly due to their huge foreign exchange reserves earned by  exporting oil and gas to other countries . Not only do the people of Azerbaijan have a huge affiliation with Pakistan,  it’s very common to see a Pakistani flag waving around some corner of the city or even painted on different walls when moving around the capital. The brotherly love towards Pakistan, according to our tour guide, is largely due to the unprecedented help and military assistance provided by the Pakistan Army in Azerbaijan’s successful war against Armenia.

When visiting Azerbaijan for tourism and leisure, one’s tour must ideally be  five to seven days long. A day or two can be dedicated to visiting any of the Gabala’s resorts which lie 225kms away from Baku. Another day can be utilised for touring the Absheron peninsula, Yanardag and the Fire Temple or Ateshgah, while other days’ itinerary can be used for trips to the Old Baku City, the modern state-of-the-art buildings of the capital and some hours may also be spent shopping at the local malls or at the Torgovaya (merchant street in Russian) part of the centuries-old Nizami Street.

When it comes to the Modern Baku, its LED-lit trio, of the Flame Towers, happens to be the iconic structure for the entire country. Designed in a flame shape, the buildings depict the Land of Fire’s association with the fire and especially with their roots in the Zoroastrian, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. This 33-floor building has the same symbolic significance for Azerbaijan as held by the Petronas Twin Towers for Malaysia or the Burj Khalifa for the UAE. Azerbaijan is now focusing on making buildings with unique architecture, similar to the UAE. The construction of the Flame Towers  started in 2007 and it was completed in 2012. Many people claim that the Flame Towers can be seen from anywhere in the Baku city,  but this perception is not true.

Just opposite the Flame Towers, you can begin your walk on Baku Boulevard which lies in close proximity to the Caspian Sea. Traditionally, it starts from the Freedom Square, but in the last 10 years, the Yeni Bulvar or the New Boulevard has doubled the length to around 4 kilometres all along the Caspian Sea. The other places to visit near the Flame Towers are the Highland Park, the Alley of Martyrs, and the Mini Majlis or The National Assembly. The Highland Park lies at the end of a long flight of broad stairs. All these could be covered in a quick, panoramic one-day tour. Just near the Baku Boulevard, lies the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, which is the first specialized museum of carpets in the world. In an hour or two, you can easily visit the 3-floor museum designed in the shape of  a carpet. The first floor showcases Azerbaijan’s traditional carpets, highlighting its development and role in tradition preserving the heritage. The second and third floors of the museum display the art of carpet weaving, how the carpet-weaving schools work and also exhibit the contemporary carpet weaving as practised across the world.

The entry ticket to the museum is 7 manats for adults and 3 manats for children. Located near the old Shirvanshah Palace, the Museum of Miniature Books is one of its kinds, housing more than 6000 mini–books and collections, which cannot be read without using magnifying glasses.

Mini-Venice, also known as Little Venice, is an entertaining  family activity. The man-made waterways give a Venice look with a garden and floating boats and its entry fee is 5 to 10 manats. The Heydar Aliyev Center, designed by a British-Iraqi architect and designer Zaha Hadid, is another tourist attraction, especially because it offers some best locations for photography as well as boasts of an all-white ‘I love Baku’ sign, featuring in the green background of the flowers-filled garden. Made with curved lines and  fiberglass walls, the Heydar Aliyev Centre is a modernist structure that is supposed to be a building worth 250 million dollars.  It’s entrance fee is 25 manats which also includes the access to the the Classic Car exhibition. Children under 6 years of age have free entry.

Azerbaijan is also renowned for its clubbing culture helping people to truly enjoy and while away their evenings with dance and drink. Similarly, there are many  coffee outlets that  offer shisha smoking at reasonable rates. To one’s surprise, the Republic of Azerbaijan is considered to be an Asian country,  however, it is indeed a transcontinental country that considers itself being a part of Europe.

The writer is a physician and an avid traveller. He also hosts a YouTube channel named DocTree,  promoting organic gardening in Pakistan. He tweets @Ali_Shahid82