A quick trip to Azerbaijan

I have had a few conversations recently with people telling me they didn’t even know Azerbaijan existed until they saw it represented the Eurovision song contest a few years ago. But more and more people are keen to get to visit the city. Having now visited myself it is somewhere I would highly recommend and I hope to go back.

In early June the city was bright, sunny and warm. I actually visited with friends during Ramadan. Interestingly for a Muslim country, there were no restrictions on entertainment or consumption and the city was alive with people enjoying the beautiful parks and the old walled city. The old town is gorgeous! Mainly pedestrianised and very easy to navigate on foot, visitors can take a walking tour (with a guide or self guided) to take in all of the history. There is so much greenery, a real change from Dubai and both locals and tourists take time to sit and enjoy the well tended floral displays and trees.

On the banks of the Caspian Sea, if you are a fan of Caviar this is where to try it or buy some to take home being sure of it’s authenticity. The authentic Azeri food was also one of the highlights for me. We visited a tiny restaurant offering traditional fayre and the host was so keen that we got to try plenty of dishes, he served us a feast. Flavours that we had never tasted before were delicious and we washed it down with locally produced wine which was so so good. We didn't speak each others language but the host did his best to share with us details of the Azeri traditions surrounding the dining culture which we were very interested in. What's more, it's such good value and the hospitality we encountered was wonderful with all restaurant and bar owners keen to share their story and introduce us to new flavours.

If you are more about the new than the history, Baku offers this for you too. With a lovely modern city centre with all of the brands a shopaholic could wish for and all of the modern entertainment venues and eateries you want from a big city. Indeed those of you who are fans of motor sport will find it is relatively good value to visit for the Baku Grand Prix.

Getting around is easy. For Uber users it is available at a very low cost as are taxis. And those of you preferring to walk will be happy with the well done underpasses that go deep underground but have escalators to save the legs and take you to street level again. Then when you want to get out and see a bit more, there are some really interesting tours available to places such as Gobuststan nation park with historical petroglyphs, caves and mud volcanos or perhaps Ateshgah Fire Temple.

Only 3 hours direct flight from Dubai, if you are looking for somewhere a little different, give Baku a try.