Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, an ex-Soviet Muslim country, is located in the southern part of the Caucasus, at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe. Azerbaijan is a real blend of East and West, with a deep and intriguing history. Sovietism and the Middle East are mixed up in the most interesting way possible. They greet everyone with Salaam, drink tea with lots of sugar, but also drink a lot of vodka! Its capital, Baku, is famed for its medieval walled Inner City but also has many extravagant modern buildings. Everything is cheap in Azerbaijan, be it a filling doner kebab meal or a taxi ride around the town. Besides the capital, there are many small cities like Sheki rich with history and are easily accessible from Baku.

My Trip

• 2021 November 17 to 25 (9 Days) : I travelled to Azerbaijan from Doha with friends and covered many areas there through a package tour that included transportation in a Benz van and 3/4 star hotel stays. We hired local guide on some days. Besides the capital Baku, we spent few days in other cities like Gabala and Quba.

Visited Places/Attractions

• Baku: Icheri Sheher (Walled Old City), Qız Qalası (Maiden Tower), Fəvvarələr Meydanı (Fountain Square), Nizami Street, Heydar Aliyev Centre, Dənizkənarı Milli Park (Baku Boulevard), Flame Towers, Highland Park, Şəhidlər Xiyabanı Məscidi (Mosque), Shirvanshah Museum Restaurant, 28 Mall, Ganjlik Mall
• Near Baku: Yanar Dag (Fire Mountain), Atashgah Zoroastrian Fire Temple
• Gobustan: Rock Art Cultural Landscape, Mud Volcano
• Shamakhi: Cümə məscidi (Jummah Mosque), Diri baba turbesi, Pirsaat piri (Pilgrimage place), Şirvan Şərabları Winery, Silent Lake
• Gabala: Tufandag Mountain Resort, Gabala Shooting Club, Yeddi Gozel (Seven Beauties) Waterfalls, Nohur Lake, Şəlalə Xalxal (Waterfall), Lezginka dance (private performance)
• Sheki: Şəki Xan Sarayı (Palace of Sheki Khans), Sheki Caravanserai, Restoran Çələbi Xan (Traditional Restaurant), Aliahmed Sweetstore (Traditional Sweets)
• Quba: Çənlibel Gölü (Lake), Qusar Town, Shahdagh Mountain

Visa

Visa on arrival for Qatar Residents. After landing, go to the visa section counter on left side of immigration counters and apply for visa showing all docs (Passport, Qatar ID, Hotel Booking). They will enter it in the system and after that, go to payment machine and pay 26$ using card. With the receipt, go to immigration and they will ask usual questions and will stamp the entry. All was quick and easy.

Day Plans

• Day-0: 2021-Nov-17, Wednesday
  Flight from Doha by Qatar Airways. Landed in Baku, Azerbaijan by midnight and checked into the hotel.

• Day-1: 2021-Nov-18, Thursday
  Baku City walks: Nizami Street, Fəvvarələr Meydanı (Fountain Square), Dənizkənarı Milli Park (Park & promenade along Caspean Sea waterfront)

• Day-2: 2021-Nov-19, Friday
  Guided Tour in a car to Gobustan: Rock Art Cultural Landscape. Lada Taxi trip from there to Mud Volcanos. Traditional lunch from a local restaurant. Long drive to Atashgah Zoroastrian Fire Temple. Then to Yanar Dag (Fire Mountain).

• Day-3: 2021-Nov-20, Saturday
  Long drive from Baku to Gabala through Shamakhi. On the way visited Şirvan Şərabları Winery, Shamakhi Silent Lake, Pirsaat piri (Pilgrimage place), Shamakhi Jummah Mosque and had traditional soup from Ismaeli. Reached a Malayalee guy's restaurant in Gabala by evening. Had dinner and stayed in a villa there.

• Day-4: 2021-Nov-21, Sunday
  Long drive to Sheki from Gabala. Stopped at Xalxal Waterfall. Reached Sheki city by noon. Tried out Khan era traditional dress. Visited Palace of Sheki Khans and Sheki Caravanserai. Bought traditonal sweets from Aliahmed Sweetstore and tried variety of local food from Restoran Çələbi Xan. Reached back Gabala by evening. Enjoyed a private performance of Lezginka dance.

• Day-5: 2021-Nov-22, Monday
  Gabala Tour: First visited Tufandag Mountain Resort. Cable car was not operational. There was some snow on mountain sides. Tried Skeet shooting with shotguns and airgun shooting at Gabala Shooting Club. Hiked to the top of Yeddi Gozel (Seven Beauties) Waterfalls and did pedal boating at Nohur Lake.
• Day-6: 2021-Nov-23, Tuesday
  Long drive to Quba. Stopped at Diribaba Turbesi monument and hiked to the top. Had kebab sandwich lunch on the way. Reached Quba by evening. Went to Çənlibel Gölü (Lake) near Macara Village Resort. Was closed. Walked around the lake. Then went to our hotel bit far from the center.
• Day-7: 2021-Nov-24, Wednesday
  Trip to Shahdagh Mountain Resort from Quba. Stopped at Qusar town. Cable car was not operational in Shahdagh. There was some snow on mountain sides. Hiked the mountains and spent some time there. Returned to Baku by noon. Reached by night.
• Day-8: 2021-Nov-25, Thursday
  Final day in Azerbaijan and Baku. Visited 28 Mall and Ganjlik Mall. Walked around Hyder Aliyev Center for photo shoots and views. Had traditional lunch from the famous Shirvansha Museum Restaurant. Evening walks along the Nizami street. Took a taxi to Highland Park for views of Flame Towers and Şəhidlər Xiyabanı mosque. Went to airport by midnight and returned to Doha.

Expenses

• Air Ticket: 3,335 QAR (Buddy Pass: 775 QAR)
• Tour Package: 485 USD per person for a group of 4 covering airport pickups, drops, 3/4 star hotel stays and Benz van transportation by non English speaking driver.
• English speaking guide charges: 50 Manat per day.

Notes

1 Azerbaijani Manat (AZN) = 2.14 Qatari Rial (QAR) = 44.15 Indian Rupee (INR) = 0.59 United States Dollar (USD)

Photos

Place Notes

Gobustan, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a unique monument of prehistoric rock art. The area has been inhabited continuously for at least the last 20,000 years, and petroglyphs of all major period of human history are here.

Lada, the classic Soviet car, which is still well loved in Russia and post-Soviet countries...

Mud volcanoes are among the most unique natural phenomena on earth. The most gentle, but constantly bubbling, mud-filled mounds of earth emit mainly methane. Azerbaijan, often called the Land of Fire, has the highest number of mud volcanoes in the world.

Ateshgah, the Temple of Eternal fire, is a castle-like religious temple used by Zoroastrians in ancient times to worship fire. It was also used by Hindus and Sikhs.

Yanardag, the burning mountain has a thin porous sandstone layer from which natural gas fire jet into air continuously since many years.

Sheki is Azerbaijan's true travel gem, a small city off on the forested slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Rich in Islamic architecture, Silk Road history, good food, and friendly people, this is travel and leisure in the Caucasus at its finest. 18th century Palace of Sheki Khan, Caravanserai and finally a private performance of Lezginka dance!