Cold and Hot on Azerbaijan

Brezhnev-era mosaic on the Baki Soveti metro station

Our friend Maya, who has been to more former Soviet republics than anyone we know and is our go-to girl for advice on Eurasian travel, said Azerbaijan combined all the worst aspects of post-Soviet countries with all the worst aspects of Muslim countries. So our expectations of the country were low (in fact, one of the highlights of our preliminary sightseeing itinerary was a baby cemetery.)


Maiden's Tower in the 12th-century Shah's palace

But toward the end of our first day, Azerbaijan had grown on us. Baku is part Istanbul, part Moscow (both cities I like a lot), but with a population of 1.7 million - a tenth the size of either of those monsters - is has a more laid-back, manageable feel. There’s a handsome Old Town, with medieval fortress walls, grand European-style mansions from Baku’s 19th-century oil boom-town days, and lots of Islamic ornament. That's all framed by the broad, tree-lined avenues and abundant public parks found in any major (ex)Soviet city. While nominally Muslim, Bakunians don’t seem very observant (there was ham in my pide!), certainly not to a degree where infidels would feel unwelcome. And they are friendlier than Russians (faint praise, I know). But Maya since was traveling in the more remote areas of the country, so we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.


Sunset in Old Town


Looks Mus to me