General Information

Country name: (conventional long form) Republic of Azerbaijan, (conventional short form) Azerbaijan

Area: 86 600 sq km

Population: 8 327 618 (2005)

Capital: Baku (Baki)

Population: 1 708 000

Ethnic groups: Azerbaijani 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%, other 2.3%(1998)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region

Government: Republic. Independence: 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Head of State: President Ilham Aliyev since 2003
Head of Government: Prime Minister Artur Rasizade since 2003

Language: Azerbaijani. Russian is widely spoken; English may be spoken in Baku and other main centres

Religion: Mostly Shia Muslim although there are Russian Orthodox and Jewish communities

Time Zone: GMT/UTC +4

Electricity: 220V, 50Hz

Weights & measures: Metric

Visas: The information about visa regimes should be learned in Embassy of Azerbaijan or in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
Websites: http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/ and http://www.travel-images.com/az-visa.html

Economy

Azerbaijan's number one export is oil. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997 but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to long-term oilfield development, should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. One obstacle to economic progress is the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector. A second obstacle is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects will depend on world oil prices, the location of new pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan's ability to manage its oil wealth.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) composition by sector: agriculture 14.1%, industry 45.7%, services 40.2% (2002)

Labor force (by occupation): industry 7%, agriculture 41%, services 52% (2001)

Unemployment rate: 16% (2003)

Industries: petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles

Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats

Exports - commodities: oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs

Exports - partners: Italy 30.1%, Germany 15.5%, Czech Republic 10.8%, France 8.8%, Georgia 7%, Russia 4.9% (2002)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals

Imports - partners: Russia 16.8%, Turkey 13.5%, Germany 7.4%, Kazakhstan 6.8%, France 6.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, China 5.7%, UK 5.1%, US 4.2% (2002)

Money

Currency: The national currency of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the Manat. At present, banknotes with nominal values of 50 000, 10 000, 1000, 500, 250, 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1 Manat are in circulation

Currency exchange: US Dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro are the preferred currencies and can be exchanged at the airport, bureaux de change, all hotels, some restaurants and major banks

Exchange rate indicators: £1.00=9298.07 Manat, $1.00=4910.00 Manat (November 2004)
Website: http://www.nba.az/eng/

Banking hours: Mon-Fri 09.00-17.30

History

Azerbaijan has been inhabited for at least 3000 years, and probably a lot longer than that. Bronze Age settlements have been found in and around Baku. Scythians settled in the area in the 9th century BC, followed by the Medes, followers of Zoroastrianism. The Archaemenid Persians took over half the country 200 years later, only to be absorbed by the Greeks in 330 BC.

Beginning in the 1st century AD, the area came under the control of the Romans, though after the 3rd century the Persians came back into the picture. Arabs had control by the 11th century, but Seljuk Turks displaced them, laying the foundation of modern Azerbaijan. Beginning around 1050, the country enjoyed a cultural renaissance, and achieved many of its greatest architectural and artistic achievements.

A three-way struggle between Russia, Turkey and Persia ended in 1813, when Russia and Persia divided Azerbaijan along the Araks River. During the period of Russian rule, Azerbaijan's economy grew in relation to Russia's. The region was a participant in the birth of the modern petroleum industry. The first oil well was drilled in 1848, and the first oil refinery constructed in 1859. Azerbaijan provided Russia, and later the Soviet Union, with crude oil, chemicals, textiles, food and wine.

Azerbaijan had a brief taste of independence between 1918 and 1920, but was lumped by the Soviet Union into a 'federated republic' with Armenia and Georgia in 1922. In 1924, the USSR created the autonomous province of Nagorno-Karabakh, which at that time was virtually all Armenian (and thus Christian), inside the Azerbaijan Republic, placing it under Azeri rule. The Soviets dissolved the federated republic in 1936 but held the three republics within its orbit. After the brief Soviet occupation of northern Iran during WWII, the Iranian government crushed the nascent independence movement that had been started there by ethnic Azerbaijanis.

Democracy remains an endangered species in Azerbaijan, with President Aliyev's ruling New Azerbaijan Party romping home in the November 1995 parliamentary elections, October 1998 presidential elections, December 1999 municipal elections and November 2000 parliamentary elections.

Heydar Aliyev died in October 2003, but by that time he'd ensured a smooth - if legally dubious - transition of power to his son, Ilham.

Culture

Azerbaijan literature has dated back to the 7th century BC. Monument of ancient culture of people of Near and Middle East is "Avesta" belonging among the most ancient literary production. National Azerbaijan language developed at 7-11th centuries. The epos " Kitaby Dede-Korkud" has been created in the 10-11th centuries. The top of the Azerbaijan art and public idea is represented with creativity of the great poet and humanist by Nizami Gyandzhevy (12th century). His creativity rendered huge influence on development of the literature of many peoples of the East. In the 16th century the oustanding role in development of the literature belongs to M.Fizuli, the author of a romantic poem " Leily and Medzhnun ". In the 16-17th centuries national heroic epos "Ker-oglu", a monument of oral national creativity, has appeared. In the 19th century the elucidative realistic literature has appeared. The philosopher-materialist Mirza Fatali Akhundza was its ancestor. His comedies are well known. Under his influence the satirical poetry, publicism, dramatic art has developed.

The most ancient monuments of art on the territory of Azerbaijan are decorations from bronze, products from a stone, color ceramics. In the Middle Ages various kinds of an architectural decor and an applied art have been advanced. Azerbaijan is famous for its embroidered textiles especially carpets. Carpets of Azerbaijan already in the 8-10th centuries were taken out to other countries. Carpets are notable for high technical qualities, riches and a variety of patterns and colours. In the 13-14th centuries the significant phenomenon was the Azerbaijan miniature. Tebrize school of a miniature (16th century) is known. Azerbaijani architecture went through many different stages over the centuries but the lasting legacies belong to the medieval period, especially the Maiden Tower and the palace of the Shirvan Shahs in Baku.

The folk music of Azerbaijan differs by complex fret system, advanced melodic structure, original rhythmics. Azerbaijan's musical traditions are preserved by ashugs, or poet-singers, who often strum the kobuz (a stringed instrument) while singing of the deeds of ancient heroes. Another popular form of music in Azerbaijan is mugam, which is improvised by voice and wind and stringed instruments and is often compared to jazz. The first national opera " Leily and Medzhnun " by U.Gadzhibekov was created in the beginning of the 20th century. U.Gadzhibekov and M.Magomayev have put the bases of Azerbaijan composer's schools.

The national Azerbaijan cuisine is heavy on meat - especially lamb, beef, mutton and poultry - and richly spiced. Common items are pilaf (rice fried with meat, fish, vegetables or even fruit) and fish, especially sturgeon. Not that you can't get your veggies - beets, cabbage, eggplants, spinach and others are common. Many dishes use saffron, though you'll often taste coriander, fennel, mint and parsley. Soup is a staple of Azerbaijani cuisine, often made with meat and sheep fat. Everything is washed down with black tea in little teardrop glasses; in the traditional chaykhanas (tea houses), you can linger over a pot all day if you like.

Environment

Azerbaijan is a small country located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea in the south-eastern part of the Caucasus Mountains (Bolshoy Kavkaz). The Little Caucasus (Malyy Kavkaz) stretch along the western border. Russia is on its north-eastern border, Georgia on the north-west; Armenia borders it to the west, Iran to the south and there's a 10km border with Turkey in the south-west. The Araks River runs along the southern border, flowing into the Kura River, which runs from the north-western mountains to the south-eastern coast, where it empties into the Caspian Sea.

There are over 4000 plant species in Azerbaijan, including 200 indigenous varieties. Oak, hornbeam, beech, ash and maple forests cover the lower slopes of the mountain ranges, and orange groves carpet the southern coastal lowlands.

Running the gamut of nine climatic zones, Azerbaijan's climate alternates between extremes in the northern and western mountains and pleasantly moderate along the Caspian Sea. Expect temperatures in the 20^oC and 30^oC (70^oF and 80^oF) through spring and summer (mid-April to October), and average temperatures of 5^oC to 10^oC (40 to 50^oF) from December to March.

Geology

Geological structure. The territory of Azerbaijan is located in the east of the Caucasus region of the Alpine geosyncline area. In the east, the large depression of the Caspian Sea abuts Azerbaijan. In the territory of Azerbaijan in the mid-course of the River Zagemchai, most ancient deposits (the Lower Paleozoic) occur, which were formed 400–500 million years ago. Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments most common in the mountains are dated at 130–200 million years and the age of youngest Quaternary sediments (volcanic, marine, fluvial, glacial and others) amounts to 600 thousand years or less.

The ranges of Caucasus Mountains (Bolshoy Kavkaz) extend in the northern area of the country. Their structures for the major part comprise sedimentary deposits of the Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene and Anthropogene systems. Most common of them are Middle Jurassic beds of clay shale, flysh formations of the Middle Jurassic–Early Paleogene and Oligocene–Neogene molasses. To the southeast, ancient layers are replaced by more and more younger ones, which are characterized by linear folding. At the southern foot of Caucasus Mountains Middle Jurassic and Cretaceous formations of volcanic origin are abundant.

The central area of Azerbaijan belongs to the area of Kurinskaya intermontane basin characterized by the accumulation of a thick bed of Neogene–Anthropogene molasses. Those deposits are crumpled in steep folds and in Kura-Araksinskaya lowland form gently sloping anticline highs. In Apsheron Peninsular, Apsheron and Bakinsky Archipelagos considerable accumulations of oil and gas are located in the productive strata of the Middle Pliocene and Maikopian Suite (the Oligocene–Early Miocene).

In southern Azerbaijan the system of Little Caucasus (Malyy Kavkaz) is located in the structure of which Middle Jurassic rocks of volcanic origin, volcanogenic and carbonaceous deposits of the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene volcanogenic terrigene deposits play a major role. In the north of Little Caucasus minor outcrops of Pre-Cambrian metamorphic rocks are noted. Granitoid intrusions are abundant, which came in two stages approximately 150 million years ago and 30 million years ago (in the Jurassic and the Eocene). Nakhichevan depression is composed of Miocenic sedimentary rocks formed in lagoon conditions and modern volcanism actively manifested itself in Karabakh highland. Talish Mountains separated from Little Caucasus by a transversal valley make a system of folds complicated with ruptures and are composed of Paleogene volcanogenic rocks and Miocene sedimentary rocks.

There are more than 200 volcanoes in the southeast of Caucasus Mountains subsidence, in Kura Araksin lowland and in the considerable part of the Caspian Sea water area abutting Azerbaijan. Many areas of Azerbaijan are characterized by an increased seismicity, especially the southern slope of Caucasus Mountains and the southern Little Caucasus.

Natural resources. The territory of Azerbaijan is rich in oil, natural gas, iron, chrome, tin, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ores, alunite, rock salt, Iceland spar, and other useful minerals. Azerbaijan abounds in mineral sources, which are characterized by hydrocarbonic, alkaline, saline, various mercuriferous and radioactive waters. One group of these waters is cold and the other is thermal (+60^o - +70^o). Mud-bath sanatoriums were built near some of the sources. Unique naphthalane oil is well known all over the world for its medicinal qualities. The majority of proved reserves are associated with Pliocene rocks represented by alternating sandy and clayey deposits recognized as a productive strata. Its thickness reaches 3700 m. Its formation is associated with the development of a shallow-water basin 5 – 2 million years ago where abundant and various materials was taken down from abutting lands (the Caucasus, paleo delta of the River Volga). Sixty-nine deposits of useful minerals were discovered in Azerbaijan, including 42 deposits located on land and 27 in the sea. The amount of produced oil is growing from year to year. >From 1996 to 1998 oil production amounted to 9.1 million tons, in 2001 14.9 million tons were produced in Azerbaijan, and in 2002 oil production reached 15.3 million tons. The oil field is located in the sea in Apsheron Archipelago. It is located at a large anticline fold of northeastern strike. The fold is complicated by an old mud volcano exposed on the surface. Oil and gas accumulations are located at the Pliocene productive stratum of a thickness of 2200 m where more than 20 oil-bearing horizons are distinguished.

Getting Around

Large towns (with population): Baku (1 099 700), Ganca (300 900), Sumgayit (261 200), Mingechevir (94 600), Lenkoran (48 400). The last population census was held in 1999.

The bus is the best way of getting around Azerbaijan. It's actually faster than the train, and it tends to be much safer. Buses connect Baku and most of the main towns. Driving a hired car is not recommended as the country's roads are falling apart. If you decide to try it, there are agencies in Baku. You'll need an international driver's licence; driving is on the right.

The best way to get around Baku is by taxi, though they're not metred and lack seatbelts. There's a subway system in Baku, but the US embassy there has voiced concern about the possibility of electrical fires, so use it with caution. Other public transport is overcrowded and prone to breakdowns.

Accommodation

Hotels. Most hotels are now private and standards of hygiene, service and catering have improved a great deal. Most hotels have satellite connection facilities, telephone and fax services. Many major hotel chains, including Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Park and Grand Hotel Europe are now represented in Azerbaijan.
Website: http://azerbaijan.allrussiahotels.com/