If you are planning to put on your travel bucket list Azerbaijan, a country where East meets West and stands at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, scroll down below!
Caspian News has compiled the most uncommon reasons for you to visit the ultra-modern and historic Caspian and South Caucasus regions country.
Reason #1: Get an adrenaline rush from Formula 1
A selfie photo with one of the world’s renowned Formula One racecar drivers – Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso – or a slow-motion video of a roaring Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz supercar is a perfect way to show off to all your friends back home just how much fun your having in a country whose name means “land of fire.” Baku, the capital city, has hosted Formula One races since 2016, and is currently under contract to do so each year until at least 2026.
The city will play host to its third Formula One race next month, from April 27-29. The 2017 race won “The Best Picture Award” from Formula One’s masterminds, thanks to social media posts made available on Twitter. Event organizers for the 2018 race promise to up the ante and deliver more action-packed fun for Azerbaijanis, tourists, and fans of racecar driving around the world who will be watching.
Reason #2: If you can find them, see the world’s tiniest books!
Baku’s UNESCO-protected historical Old City is in the Guinness book of World Records for being home to a miniature book museum, which contains the world’s largest collection of tiny books – numbering 5,600 and curated from 66 countries around the world.
A tour inside the miniature book museum in Baku would leave unforgettable impressions on you. Browsing the glass cases that house the collection is fascinating but pretty easy compared to reading one of these 0.75 by 0.75 millimeter texts, which require the use of a magnifying glass. The museum’s oldest miniature book dates to 1672 and is a copy of the Quran. But religious and historical text is not the only thing you’ll find: One book is a collection of lyrics from the legendary songs of the Beatles.
Reason #3: Take a bath in crude oil
You won’t be deep fried and tasty by soaking in oil, but you will feel rejuvenated! Several of Azerbaijan’s natural oil deposits are high in mineral content that have healing and therapeutic properties – and visiting a spa to soak in some to kill pain and pamper oneself in a truly unique way.
Naftalan, located in the western part of the country, is home to mineral oil baths, and spas throughout the area cater to medical tourism. No shower gel, exfoliating body sponge, or anti-dandruff shampoo on the shelf at your corner grocer will compare to the experience of immersing yourself in a bathtub full of odorless black oil. Ailments like rheumatism, arthritis and psoriasis have been known to be cured or at least temporarily relieved by those who soak in the oil, which has been scientifically proven to have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, vasodilator and anti-allergic effects.
Around 100,000 health aficionados per year have their ill and tired bodies cured and relaxed in one-and-only oil baths of Naftalan.
Reason #4: Delicious tea and jams that should make the British jealous
Tea in Azerbaijan is a traditional and even national drink, which is served in the iconic crystal pear-shaped armudu glass in the middle of a tray filled with colorful sugar cubes, fruit jams and scrumptious pastries. Tea, and tea ceremonies, are imbued with a cultural significance for Azerbaijanis.
Tea is on every table and menu across Azerbaijan, both in winter and summer, and “no tea, no party,” is a common slogan. A guest leaving someone’s house without being offered a cup of tea is a grave insult. Pürrəngi, or the dark red color of the tea, is considered the national standard for the highest quality of the drink.
Tea is served with fruit jams, including quince, red rose petals, and white cherry, accompanied by a nut filling in national pastries like pakhlava, shekerbura, goghal and badambura.
Reason #5: See a hillside wrapped in fire
A shepherd could never imagine that a cigarette butt he tossed to the ground would suddenly ignite an eternal fire that would lure people from around the world for years.
But that is exactly what happened, and tourists flock to areas where natural gas is flared from crevices inside the earth. Unextinguished flames bursting out of the cracks on the ground just 25 kilometers north of Baku have been named Yanar Dag by locals, meaning “a burning mountain.” The site is best seen at night, when a spectacle by Mother Nature in the middle of the semi-desert wilderness just outside Baku looks like a gateway into hell. A traditional nearby teahouse and outdoor benches accommodate tourists and locals who come to enjoy the dance of meter-long flames rising out of the earth.
The 10 meters-long wall of fire, running alongside the edge of a hill, sits on vast reserves of natural gas, for which Azerbaijan is known and which it will be exporting to Europe via the mega-pipeline known as the Southern Gas Corridor.
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