Azerbaijan - Day 6

 

Day-6 01/11/24

Our flight out of Baku was at 11:35 am and the pickup had arrived on time. We observed that it was difficult to get parking on roads around the city and every time we had to walk with our baggage to the car. The driver’s name was Suleman and was very friendly and to our surprise he was very good in English. We had great chat with him on our way to the airport. Suleman had seen the bloody long war between Azerbaijan and neighbouring Armenian nationalists. 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (cop29) is scheduled to be held in Baku from 11 to 22 November 2024. Suleman was vocal about the challenges, city will face during cop29. How on the sidelines of cop29 there is likelihood of discussions putting an end to the conflict between Azerbaijan & Armenia. 55 county heads are expected in Baku for the event and he was hopeful that the other waring nations may follow Azerbaijan to end their conflicts the same way during those 10-11 days. He is family man and travelled across many countries. He was originally from Russia. It was a pleasant farewell and we left Baku discussing, how nice it would have been if he had accompanied us as driver/ guide during our entire travel.

Our trip to Azerbaijan was memorable one and an experience to be cherished!! 

Baku Airport:

Tips:

Russian and Azerbaijani are most used languages. Though a tourist place, English is not spoken fluently or understood.

Codes of behaviour are more traditional: take what might seem, the minor matter of wearing shorts - in Yerevan ( capital of Armenia), perfectly acceptable on both women and men, but in the Armenian countryside a no-no; in Baku now fashionable on men in informal situations, but in some other parts of Azerbaijan positively offensive!

Drinks: The national drink is cay (tea), usually served in pear-shaped armudi glasses along with lemon slices and sucked through a sugar lump for sweetness.

Bread is a sacred symbol of abundance and prosperity in Azerbaijani culture, and there are many traditions and customs associated with it. Bread is never to be wasted, and if you see it on the ground, you should pick it up, kiss it, and put it on a higher surface normally in tree branches.

Azerbaijanis will swear by bread in difficult situations, asking God not to deprive them of it. 

Lavash is a celebrated flatbread. It is so thin that it is almost transparent. In Azerbaijan and Iran, it is put on the bride's shoulders or crumbled over her head to wish the couple prosperity. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed the making of lavash on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

Tandir is a national bread. It is baked in a clay oven and eaten with almost any meal. It is usually eaten in the morning with white cheese and sour cream mixed with honey. 

The Manat (ISO code: AZN; sign: ₼; abbreviation: m) is the currency of Azerbaijan. It is subdivided into 100 gapik. The language(s) of this currency do(es) not have a morphological plural distinction. We paid around Rs. 50/- per AZN.  

We carried it from Pune from EBIX dealer. 

Metros are most efficient and the cheapest mode of transport (0.5 ₼) to any station and 2 ₼ for the metro card, which also works with well-connected public bus transport available in Baku. Metro Card loading machines do not return balance cash, use exact amount. 

Water is not served in any restaurant and all restaurants charge 10% service charges.

The water available in kitchen is said to be potable, but not advisable. If it had to be used then one must boil it before using. Purchasing water by bottle is around 1.5 ₼ for 1 liter. It is cheaper to buy 5 liter or bigger cans.

Most of the super markets are open 24X7. Alcohol is available in most of them and independent wine shops were not seen.

Though an Islamic country, most of the women are seen without hijab. Men and women prefer formal western style dressing. 

Pomegranate is the national fruit of Azerbaijan and number of vendors selling fresh Pomegranate juice are seen at all the places. It takes 4-5 pomegranate to make one glass of fresh juice and costs between 4 ₼ to 6 ₼ depending where you buy. 

Most restaurants and shops accepted FTC / Credit Cards. 

If you happen to pick up food from take-away joints please check the menu for pricing before you order.