Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus with around 8 million inhabitants and is located on the border of Europe and Asia. It borders on Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Iran. The Caspian Sea is on the east side. Nachitsjevan is an exclave from Azerbaijan. On the north side are the mountains of the Greater Caucasus and in the west the Lesser Caucasus. However, the central and southern parts are flat, with the Kura and Aras rivers. Further east coast plains, which are far below sea level. There is a steppe climate. Only in the west and north does a mountain climate prevail. The capital of Baku is also located on the Apsjeron peninsula, with around 2 million inhabitants. Sights in this port city are the Maiden Tower and the Dzhuma Mosque (now a museum for carpets and art). The walled inner city of Icheri Sheker, with the Shirvanshah palace and the 12th-century Virgin's Tower, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as is the Gobustan National Park, due to its cultural landscape and petroglyphs. Other important cities are Barda, Agdam, Sabirabad and Pushkino. Other places of interest are the Temple of the Fire-worshipers, the Natural Park at Apsjeron, the mausoleum of the Seven Domes in Semaha and the forts in Nardaran, Mardkyany and Ramana.