Have you ever heard of the currency Manat? Me either until I did an incredible trip to the city of Baku and realized that Manat is the name of the Azerbaidjani currency. Baku is right on the boarder of the Caspian Sea and with 3 million inhabitants the biggest city in the country. With its Mediterranean climate and around 150km of sandy beaches, Azerbaidjan has been a health and spa destination already in Soviet times. Today Baku has a lot to offer and some of the highlights can be found within the walls of the Unesco World heritage protected old town.

Narrow cobbled streets and ancient buildings take travelers back in time to the medieval times when the Maiden Tower (12^th century) and the Palace of Shirvanshahs (14^th century) were built. The sandstone building of the palace used to be the government’s seat of the ruling dynasty in the Middle Ages and was reconstructed in 2003. Today you may even find the picture of it on one of the Manat bills. Very particular to me are the caravanseries . With its convenient location on the trade routes of the Silk Road, these old hostels were used by the pervading dealers as accommodation for themselves and their animals – today they house restaurants and little tea places. Here in old town you may buy fine carpets, silk or other craft souvenirs – if you look for modern shopping, you are better off on Nizami Street. With its impressive Baroque buildings it is one of the largest shopping streets in the center of Baku.

Tasty, typical Azerbaijani dishes such as Tandir (flatbread), Piti (lamb stew with chickpeas), dolma (stuffed with mince and vegetable vine leaves) or plov (rice dish with many ingredients) are offered in the typical Azeri restaurants in town. A must try are the kebabs or fish dishes, including the famous Lavangi, a fish stuffed with chopped walnuts and onions. Although it is somehow touristy, my favourite place in old town is the restaurant Sehrli Tandir in Kicik Qala. At the entrance of the big wooden hut elderly ladies prepare fresh bread in the clay oven – solely worth the visit. Quite tasty are the Qutab, the filled Azeri pancakes or their delicious tea. For breakfast you may want to take Kükü, extremely tasty omelettes.

I would also recommend a visit to the Baku Carpet Museum, which funny enough is housed in a building with the shape of a rolled carpet. It shows the largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets in the world and you may watch some ladies working on a loom and showcasing weaving techniques.  They also display ceramics, historique metal works and jewellery, national garments and embroidery.

Another highlight for me was the Heydar Aliyev Centre, an absolute must for architecture and design lovers. The postmodern waved building can already be seen during the ride from the airport to the city center. Designed by famous architect Zaha Hadid, the curved shape totally differs from the monumentalistic architecture of the Soviet era in the city. The 100.000m² cultural building includes the new national museum, a library and a concert hall. The ticket which allows admission to all exhibitions is 12 manat, which is about 7.5 US dollars.

While walking through Baku you will realize that wherever you are (even from the plane when flying towards the Airport) you may see three buildings in the shape of flames overlooking the city. Due to the high reservoir of oil, Azerbaidjan is called the “land of fire” and these towers symbolize the flames on the oil fields. If you look for a stunning hotel no need to search further, just check-in into the Fairmont Flame Towers, housed in one of these flame buildings. I stayed in a suite overlooking the Caspian Sea and the views are just breathtaking. The hotel itself is very modern, full of wonderful art pieces, great service and an Espa Spa for your relaxing time after a long day exploring the city.

On one day I thought it would make sense to explore the landscape outside the city in order to get a clearer idea of how the country looks outside of Baku, so I decided to take a tour to Gobustan National Park. Around 65km away, this hill and mountain site is preserving ancient carvings and relics which date back to 40’000 years ago and became Unesco World Heritage Site in 2007. I loved the desert around the area and the impressive rock formations.

Looking for a souvenir you might bring home from Azerbaijan? Something you hardly can get in other parts of the world? Go for the Tarragon Lemonade, which is a carbonated soft drink flavored with tarragon leaves. The drink is typically known for its distinctive bright green color and is especially popular in Russia, Georgia and the Caucasus. Or even better get the Tarragon liqueur and make some friends with it when coming home!