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Azerbaijan |
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History
Azerbaijan lies strategically on the Caspian Sea cost and at the border of Europe and Asia and has a turbulent history. Throughout the centuries it has been conquered by many people, amongst them the Turks, the Russians and the Persians. In 1913, after the Russian - Persian war, Azerbaijan was divided between those two countries. In 1920, the Russian part together with Georgia and Armenia formed the Trans Caucasian Soviet Republic, and in 1936 Azerbaijan became a Sovet Republic on its own. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan became an independant republic. After a long conflict with Armenia about the Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabach, it has been calm in the region since 1994. |
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Geography and Nature
Azerbaijan has about 8 million inhabitants. It has borders with the Russian Federation, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and the Caspian Sea. The lowest point of Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea coast is 28 meters below sea level and the highest point is Bazarduzu Dagi mountain at 4485 meters. Azerbaijan has various climates, ranging from sub tropical to tundra climate. Average temperatures are between 25 and 27 degrees Celcius in Juli and 0 to 3 degrees Celcius in Januari. In the mountains the winter average is about minus 6 degrees Celcius. |
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Culture and Religion
Islam is the largest religion in Azerbaijan, 93% of the citizens being Muslims. Most of them are Shiites, like in the neighboring country Iran. Azerbaijan however, is a secular state and is much more liberal than Iran. Minority religions are Armenian Apostolic and Russian Orthodox. Conservative dress is appreciated when visiting mosques in Azerbaijan. For the ladies a head scarf is recommended. |
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Economy
Azerbaijan is not a rich country, but has economic potential because of it's oil. Oil has been won near the capital of Baku since the end of the 19th century. Azerbaijan used to be one of the main oil suppliers of the former Soviet Union. Currently a large pipe line is being contructed to transport oil from Baku, via Georgia, to the Black Sea. Other products of Azerbaijan are gas, iron, steel, concrete, livestock, grain, vegetables, fruit, tea, tobacco and cotton. The national currency is the Azerbaijani manat (AZM). A manat is diveded into 100 gopiks. Cash is the preferred method of payment. In the larger cities you can exchange your euro's or dollars at banks or change offices. There are several internet providers in Georgia. So you can send emails to friends and family back home from the larger cities. There are GSM networks, but whether your mobile phone actually works depends on whether your provider has an agreement with the local provider. |
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Language
Azeri, the official language of Azerbaijan is spoken by 90% of the people. Minority languages include Russian and Armenian. Azeri is a member of the Turkish language group. Before the Sovjets, most religious texts were written in the Arabic script. When Turkey switched to the Latin alphabet, Soviet leader Josef Stalin introduced the Cyrillic script in Azerbaijan. When Azerbaijan became independent it chose the Latin alphabet. Some usefull words in Azeri: |
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