I Want To Go There - Spotlight On Baku (Azerbaijan)

I'm a casual viewer of The Euro vision Song Contest and this year it was held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. I am all too aware that the promotional clips of the location are specifically designed to make you want to travel there and well... I guess you could say they did their job on me this time.

Baku is on the Caspian sea and it's walled Inner City has been named a UNESCO world heritage sight, and the reason behind it's inscription...

The Walled City of Baku represents an outstanding and rare example of an historic urban ensemble and architecture with influence from Zoroastrian, Sassanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman, and Russian cultures.

So If it's culture you're after then Baku should be next on your travel hit list!

SHOPPING

Carpets/rugs are the must have item of interest in Baku and if I visit I'll be keeping my eyes open for a beautifully made colourful focal attraction to warm up our cavernous loft room when we eventually get round to decorating it (big scary job...inwardly groans!)

CULTURE

I love stunning architecture and places that make me gaze, open-mouthed at how simply beautiful they are, whether man-made or naturally formed one of my favourite things to do in an unfamiliar place is just to sit and look for a while...something unheard of really in our daily lives.
So with this in mind I would without doubt be taking a trip to the Bibi-Heybat mosque which after being destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1936 was rebuilt and reopened in 1997.

A PLACE TO REST YOUR HEAD

After a long days sight-seeing trying to take in as much of a new city as I can I am always pretty exhausted so a nice hotel to relax in is essential. The Sultan Inn Boutique Hotel looks amazing with it's grandiose decor and Exotic cocktails on offer at the open-air bar I am sold! The price for a standard room (double bed in all rooms) in September is around £190.

TASTY TREATS

Azerbaijan is a land of tea and the fragrant local drink is served with a mouth-watering array of jams. Many British people like to turn to a cup of Rosy Lea to sooth their worries and in Azerbaijan the giving of tea is seen as a symbol of heartfelt hospitality.

Hopefully I will get to visit Baku in the near future...it looks like an adventure waiting to be had!
Do you have any holiday memories of Baku or other places in Azerbaijan? I'd love to hear about them.

Love
Lorraine
Lacroix x