Baku

Like neighboring Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan is a small country. It is a former Soviet republic that has Russia to the north, Iran to the south, and Turkey to the southwest. Azerbaijan is an independent nation, but there is also a bordering region of Iran known as Azerbaijan, divided into West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan provinces. Like Iran, Azerbaijan is predominantly a Shiite Moslem country by religion.

Azerbaijanis are sometimes referred to as Azeris.

The first thing that most people think of when it comes to Azerbaijan is oil. The oil is relatively near the surface and was discovered long before the oil in the Middle East. In the Second World War, the Nazis very much wanted control of the oil in the Caucasus region, and that is likely what caused them to overextend their forces before the Battle of Stalingrad, which proved to be the turning point of the war.

Although Azerbaijan is on the western side of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijanis are of Turkic ethnicity. The original Turkic homeland was to the east of the Caspian Sea. The nation of Turkey, although well to the west, is so-named because it's people are also predominantly Turkic. In between Azerbaijan and Turkey is Armenia, which is historically Christian and not Turkic. That is why Armenia has had extensive conflict in the past involving both Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The nation of Turkey recently changed the spelling in English to "Turkiye".

A thought that occurred to me once was the unrecognized power of the people who publish world atlases. Their power has been greatly diluted by the internet but, in the days before the internet, companies like Rand McNally and National Geographic actually had a tremendous amount of control over whether declared countries are recognized. 

Consider the would-be countries that would have liked international recognition of their independence, such as Somaliland, Northern Cyprus or those South African "homelands" like Bophuthatswana or Transkei. What might the difference have been if one or more major world atlases had shown them as legitimate countries?

The capital and largest city of Azerbaijan is Baku. It is a fairly old city, probably close to a thousand years old. The city is far below sea level and is located on a peninsula extending out into the Caspian Sea. If you wonder why the water doesn't come rushing into the city, remember that the Caspian Sea is cut off from the rest of the world seas. But the Caspian Sea is saltwater, so that it is a sea and not a lake.

The following scenes begin in the oldest part of Baku. Some of what is here, such as the Maiden Tower, dates to the 12th Century. If you see a building that looks like a folded carpet, that is exactly what it is, a museum of Azerbaijani carpets, which the country has long been known for. Baku Boulevard is a seaside promenade, reminiscent of the Malecon in Havana.

The three tall glass buildings, that are shaped like flames, are known as the Flame Towers, and have illumination to appear like flames in celebration of Azerbaijan's oil and energy resources.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3639273,49.833093,3a,75y,52.5h,96.94t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipO7ecM-os_GU-uEoZ3lYg64-1TRbFfD0bRXcip6!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO7ecM-os_GU-uEoZ3lYg64-1TRbFfD0bRXcip6%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-6.941883-ya9.499999-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Here are some more views of Baku close to the waterfront.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3682826,49.842996,3a,75y,220h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNmSWWK7B-s2Tjc954KKAAYEV0IY0W1wxAf5OIa!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNmSWWK7B-s2Tjc954KKAAYEV0IY0W1wxAf5OIa%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.2146182-ya6.816127-ro-0.28516307-fo100!7i5760!8i2880

This is the modern city of Baku, further from the waterfront.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3887809,49.8380413,3a,75y,193.5h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNw5uEHo9rTB7jYeLnL-SnVDu3TtOiXS2tGVrPi!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNw5uEHo9rTB7jYeLnL-SnVDu3TtOiXS2tGVrPi%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya222.49998-ro-0-fo100!7i6144!8i3072

The modern part of the city extends still further from the waterfront.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4013101,49.843812,3a,75y,7.5h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOykPyXL8y31sowWubvya04FBuYPzgy0gWQNe03!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOykPyXL8y31sowWubvya04FBuYPzgy0gWQNe03%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-3.188638-ya29.855492-ro-3.9353476-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

This is more of a residential and small business area of Baku.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4230366,49.8308786,3a,75y,140h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPv4V7YmkaCemNy9pEX3t1iudqdgUaQetqCl9a2!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPv4V7YmkaCemNy9pEX3t1iudqdgUaQetqCl9a2%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi2.977228-ya284.77484-ro-0.5101744-fo100!7i5120!8i2560

Just as Armenia is in two pieces, with a separate enclave within neighboring Azerbaijan that was known as Nagorno-Karabakh, and is now the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan also has a separate enclave on the other side of Armenia, bordering Iran, known as Nakchivan. 

An obvious question is why don't Armenia and Azerbaijan simply exchange Nakchivan for Nagorno-Karabakh? Since I am not of either nationality myself, I won't try to answer for them. This is what Nakchivan looks like today, on the other side of Armenia from the rest of Azerbaijan.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2051968,45.4065547,3a,75y,180h,100t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPlm_lzCjc4ELpOqU6ofDyXFcHAz2qLu1b1ier5!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPlm_lzCjc4ELpOqU6ofDyXFcHAz2qLu1b1ier5%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-10-ya303-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120