Destination: Azerbaijan - a Lost Diamond

Azerbaijan is a country with unlimited natural resources, centuries-old culture, history and ancient people, whose lifestyle presents a unique and harmonious combination of the traditions and ceremonies of different cultures and civilizations. Geography Azerbaijan is a region with unique geographical, climatic and geopolitical characteristics. The present Republic of Azerbaijan has rather small territory (86,6 thousand sq km) but it is possible to experience here 9 of 11 basic climate zones. F...

Hotel infrastructure supported by developments in the oil industry Developments in the oil and gas industry have boosted construction of new hotels in Azerbaijan. Over the last five years period, the number of hotels increased from 262 in 2005 to 296 by the end of 2007. There are several international hotel chains, like Hyatt and Radisson, already present in the country. In addition, Azerbaijan has started negotiations with such hotel brands as Marriott, Kempinski, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Merid...

If the shape of Azerbaijan on a map is similar to a bird flying towards the sea then the bird's "beak" would be the Absheron peninsula with an ancient and ever young city situated on its southwest coast. The city is Baku – the capital of Azerbaijan. The population is 2-2,5 million. Even though administratively Baku is separated from Absheron suburb settlements (in a total number of 32), historically they are indivisibly linked to the capital both in cultural and economical as well as in g...

In early history Azerbaijan was called the “land of the sacred fire”. Although the “everlasting fire” mentioned by early travelers such as Alexander Dumas was caused by the gas and oil deposits erupting from the earth, it became surrounded by legends and mystery. Some 2,600 years ago, Zarathustra formulated Zoroastrianism, one of the first major monotheistic religions. His idea to use fire as a metaphor for the mysteries of God probably came from witnessing the spontaneou...

One of the most popular sites in Azerbaijan is definitely Gobustan and its ancient rock engravings. Gobustan Dancers Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape covers three areas of a plateau of rocky boulders rising out of the semi-desert of central Azerbaijan, with an outstanding collection of more than 6,000 rock engravings bearing testimony to 40,000 years of rock art. The site also features the remains of inhabited caves, settlements and burials, all reflecting an intensive human use by the inh...