General information about Azerbaijan:

🌍 Overview

Official Name: Republic of Azerbaijan

Capital: Baku

Area: Approximately 86,600 km²

Population: ~10.5 million (2025 est.)

Location: Located in the South Caucasus, on the western shores of the Caspian Sea. It borders Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic shares a small border with Turkey.

🏛 Political Structure

Type of Government: Unitary republic, presidential system

Official Language: Azerbaijani (Turkic language)

Currency: Azerbaijani Manat (AZN)

Head of State: Governed by the President.

📜 History

Antiquity: The region hosted the Albanian and Median civilizations.

Middle Ages: With the spread of Islam, Turkish and Islamic cultures became influential.

19th century: It was a strategic region between the Ottoman Empire, Iran, and Russia. It came under Russian rule in 1828.

1918: The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established (the first democratic republic in the Turkic and Muslim world).

1920–1991: Became part of the Soviet Union.

1991: Gained independence with the collapse of the USSR.

🌆 Important Cities

Baku: The capital, famous for its oil and natural gas resources. It is also notable for its modern architecture and historic Inner City on the Caspian Sea.

Ganja: A city of cultural and historical significance.

Nakhchivan: An autonomous republic known for its historical structures.

Sumgayit: A center for industrial and chemical industries.

🌐 Economy

Natural Resources: Oil, natural gas, gold, iron, copper.

Energy: Known as the “Land of Flames”; Thanks to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, it plays a strategic role in the global energy market.

Agriculture: Cotton, grapes, tea, grain, fruit, and vegetable production.

Tourism: The Caspian coast, the historic Silk Road cities, Gobustan rock paintings, and modern Baku.

🌄 Culture

Music: The Mugam and Ashik traditions are UNESCO cultural heritage sites.

Sports: Wrestling, football, and chess are popular. The Formula 1 Baku Grand Prix is ​​world-renowned.

Food: Plov (pilaf), various kebabs, dolma, piti, lavash, shekerbura, and baklava are famous.

Symbol: The Flame Towers (Baku) represent the fire culture and rich oil resources.

🗺 Highlights

Icheri Sheher (Baku): A UNESCO heritage site, it is famous for the Shirvanshahs’ Palace and Maiden’s Tower.

Gobustan National Park: Thousands of years old rock paintings.

Yanardağ (Yanar Dağ): A constantly burning natural gas fire.

Sheki: A historic city on the Silk Road, the Sheki Khan Palace is worth seeing.