Western Asia · Asia

Azerbaijan

Discover Azerbaijan - the Land of Fire where natural gas flames burn eternally, the Caspian Sea meets futuristic architecture, and Silk Road heritage blends with oil wealth.

Where Is Azerbaijan?

Azerbaijan is a country in Western Asia. Its capital is Baku.

Where Azerbaijan isWestern Asia · Capital Baku

Capital Baku
Population 10.2M
Area 86,600 km²

Azerbaijan calls itself the Land of Fire, and it is not just marketing. Natural gas seeps have been fueling eternal flames here for thousands of years - Zoroastrian fire temples were built on spots where the earth itself seemed to burn. The Yanar Dag mountainside has been continuously ablaze for decades, and mud volcanoes bubble and spit across the Absheron Peninsula. When Marco Polo passed through, he described oil seeping from the ground in quantities that could fill a hundred ships. That oil turned Baku into the petroleum capital of the world in the early 1900s, and it remains the foundation of the economy today.

Modern Baku is a study in contrasts. The medieval walled Inner City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, sits in the shadow of the Flame Towers - three skyscrapers shaped like tongues of fire that dominate the skyline. Soviet-era blocks give way to a waterfront promenade lined with futuristic buildings by Zaha Hadid. Azerbaijan sits at the exact meeting point of Europe and Asia, Christian and Muslim worlds, Russian and Turkish influence. The result is a culture that is genuinely its own - mugham music that sounds like nothing else, a cuisine built on saffron and pomegranates, and a national obsession with tea served in pear-shaped glasses.

At a glance

Language

Azerbaijani

Currency

Azerbaijani Manat (AZN)

Calling Code

+994

Drives On

Right

Internet

.az

Timezone

AZT (UTC+4)

Script

Latin

Government

Unitary Semi-presidential Republic

Independence

1991

By population

Largest cities in Azerbaijan

Baku

Capital on the Caspian shore where a medieval walled city meets Flame Towers and Zaha Hadid buildings, the oil-rich heart of the Caucasus

2,300,000

Ganja

One of the largest cities and birthplace of the great poet Nizami, an ancient cultural center at the foot of the Lesser Caucasus

340,000

Sumgait

Industrial port city north of Baku on the Caspian coast, once a major Soviet chemical center now undergoing modernization

350,000

Sheki

Silk Road gem in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, famous for its stunning Khan's Palace with stained glass windows

65,000

People

Famous people from Azerbaijan

Nizami Ganjavi
Literature
12th-century poet who wrote the Khamsa, five epic poems considered among the greatest masterpieces of Persian literature
Garry Kasparov
Sport
Born in Baku, became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion at 22 and is widely considered the greatest chess player of all time
Vagif Mustafazadeh
Music
Pioneer of jazz-mugham fusion who combined Azerbaijani traditional music with jazz, creating an entirely new genre
Lotfi Zadeh
Science
Mathematician born in Baku who invented fuzzy logic, a foundational concept in artificial intelligence and computer science
Rustam Ibrahimbeyov
Film
Screenwriter of Burnt by the Sun, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995

Food

Traditional cuisine of Azerbaijan

Plov: Saffron-infused rice with lamb, chestnuts, dried fruits, and herbs, Azerbaijan's celebratory centerpiece cooked in dozens of regional variations
Dolma: Grape leaves stuffed with spiced lamb and rice, also made with cabbage, pepper, and eggplant - a national obsession
Shah Plov: Rice pilaf wrapped and baked inside a crispy lavash pastry crust, cut open at the table to reveal the steaming contents
Qutab: Paper-thin stuffed flatbread filled with greens, pumpkin, or minced meat, cooked on a sadj griddle and eaten with sumac
Pakhlava: Azerbaijani diamond-shaped baklava layered with ground nuts, cardamom, and saffron syrup, a staple of Novruz celebrations

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Azerbaijan

GobustanLandmark: UNESCO-listed landscape of ancient rock carvings dating back 40,000 years, alongside bubbling mud volcanoes
Greater Caucasus MountainsMountain: Northern mountain range forming the border with Russia, with peaks over 4,000 meters and alpine villages
Yanar DagLandmark: Hillside that has burned continuously for decades from natural gas seeping through sandstone, a symbol of the Land of Fire
Caspian Sea CoastCoast: Azerbaijan's eastern shore along the world's largest inland body of water, stretching hundreds of kilometers
Shahdag National ParkNational Park: Alpine wilderness in the Greater Caucasus with diverse wildlife, glacial lakes, and Azerbaijan's premier ski resort

Sport

Sports in Azerbaijan

Chess: Produced Garry Kasparov and multiple other grandmasters, chess is deeply embedded in Azerbaijani culture
Wrestling: Multiple Olympic gold medals in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, one of the country's strongest sporting traditions
Football: Hosted the 2019 Europa League Final in Baku, with a growing domestic league and rising international profile

Facts

Did you know?

Azerbaijan has more mud volcanoes than any other country in the world - roughly 350 of the 800 known globally
Baku hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2016 on a street circuit that runs past its medieval old town
The Maiden Tower in Baku's old city is 29 meters tall, dates back possibly 2,500 years, and nobody knows its original purpose
Azerbaijan was the first Muslim-majority country to grant women the right to vote, in 1918 - before the US and UK
Natural gas flames at Yanar Dag have been burning continuously for at least several decades, possibly centuries
Garry Kasparov, often called the greatest chess player in history, was born and raised in Baku

Stories