Although the largest
and most populous of the South Caucasian republics,
Azerbaijan remains the least explored by foreign
visitors. Visits can concentrate on northern Azerbaijan,
beginning in Baku, the cosmopolitan Azeri capital.
From here, head west to 2,500 year old Shekhi and
its 18th-century, mosaic-fronted Khan’s Summer
Palace. En route, discover how the residents of
Ismailly painstakingly hand-weave exquisite carpets
and visit artisan masters of copper and leatherwork
in the ancient mountain village of Lahij.
Pirguli
Space Observatory near Shemakha attracted international
attention in 1971 for obtaining a particularly high
quality spectra of Mars. Weather permitting you
can spend an evening stargazing. In Shemakha itself,
for centuries the capital of Western Azerbaijan,
visit the Grand Mosque and Gulistan Fortress, where
Shirvan and Shemakha khans lie buried in octagonal
tombs.
Head back to Baku via
Maraza and the mausoleum of a Diri Baba, a Sufi
mystic. Finally time can spent at Gobustan’s
mud geysers and petroglyphs and on the Absheron
Peninsula.
For more information
on our holidays and city breaks, or on a tailor-made
trip to Azerbaijan, please contact our specialist:
