A Visitor's Guide to Baku, Azerbaijan |
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| City Guide | by Paul Baker |
This site is designed to assist anyone travelling to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It has been produced by Paul Baker, who travelled to Baku in May 1996. It is split into easy-to-read sections and has photos of the city. The site is designed particularly for UK visitors, but most nationalities should find it useful.
This information was originally written in August 1996 and the pages have only had cosmetic changes since then. Some detailed information (flight numbers, costs etc.) may now be out of date. |
IntroductionBaku is the capital city of Azerbaijan which used to be part of the USSR. Azerbaijan is situated on the East coast of the Caspian Sea. It borders Iran on the south and Armenia, Georgia and Russia moving clockwise from the south, respectively. There are some lovely looking buildings, both old and modern. |
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British Airways fly 3 flights a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from London Gatwick (North Terminal). They leave in the morning, turn round in Baku and return to Gatwick the next day at around 2 in the morning......
The flights use 737-400 which are not long haul airliners; hence there is a refuelling stop at Budapest, about 3 hours flying time from Gatwick. Some passengers disembark and in less than an hour you are on your way again for another 3 hours to Baku. Landing at Gatwick on your return you will be sure to know where the emergency exits are - you will have seen the safety demonstration four times!
The flight crew stop over in Baku at the Hyatt Hotel (see below) and take the following flight back. Total flight time about 7 hours. Cost: £1418 (Club class). Flight number BA2896 out, BA2897 return.
A visa is required for
your visit! These can be obtained from:
Embassy of The Azerbaijani Republic 4 Kensington Court London W8 5DL Tel: 0171 938 3412 Fax: 0171 937 1783
Department of Health leaflet T5 (April 1994) recommends immunisation against hepatitis A and polio. It recommends a typhoid immunisation but states this "may be less important for short stays in first class conditions." It recommends malaria immunisation depending on the area visited (whatever that means).
Leaflet T5 is the one with the E111 form in the back (totally useless in Azerbaijan) and is available from Post Offices.
I am no linguist! English is spoken at the hotel below but, as anywhere, a few attempts at the local language go a long way. Russian and a local language (Azerbaijani?) is spoken in Baku. The former is the most popular - here are a few words:
Da - Yes Nee-yet - No Spassibo - Thank you
These are phonetic spellings. My apologies to those who know Russian....
Warmer than the UK - Azerbaijan is around 40 degrees N longitude. It was "t-shirt weather" in May 1996, but overcast most of the time.
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The People/ObservationsIn theory Azerbaijan is a Muslim country but I saw no evidence of this when in Baku. The people wear Western clothes and are fairly dark skinned. At the weekend it is popular for the locals to dress in their best clothes and walk along the promenade along the sea. Although there is a fun-fair (of sorts) this promenade is nothing like any British one. Baku is no holiday resort - it is a working port and the sea looks polluted and uninviting. The coast is rocky - no sand. Most people I met were friendly. Expect some strange looks if you are openly carrying a camera though - camera ownership is unusual. I saw several camera owners offering their photographic services on the streets. The general impression was that most people are quite poor compared to Western standards; some of the housing looked basic. The streets are thought to be relatively safe. |
Electricity: 220V 50Hz (?)
Pretty healthy supply, never spotted brown outs or interruptions.
Water: Not good. Even restaurants do not always
have running water. Bottled water is available.
Telephone: International links seem to work.
Experienced some interruptions on calls to the UK, but I was not
cut off. Country code: 994. International access code (i.e. code
to dial international numbers from Azerbaijan): 810.
Gas: No experience.
Transport: Electric trolley buses seem to be popular.
The Azerbaijani currency is the Manat. In May 1996 there were around 6785 Manats to the GB pound and 4350 Manats to the US dollar. The largest note is 10,000 Manats - so......take US dollars. They are accepted in all but the smallest shops.
Where to StayThe Hyatt Regency Hotel is a large good quality hotel with English speaking staff, a bar, restaurant and casino. It is very expensive - 240 US dollars per night during May 1996. Although very pleasant, do not expect 240 US dollars worth of comfort and service. They can charge that much because it is the only decent hotel in Baku and they know Western business men will pay it! The Hyatt only accepts American Express or Mastercard, which made it rather embarrassing when I handed over my Visa card. Also note they expect payment in advance, requesting 300 US dollars per night up front to cover the room and miscellaneous expenses....... These expenses will include 13 US dollars for breakfast if you venture down to the extremely pleasant restaurant in the morning. Oh yes, if you choose something hot from the buffet they make it 18 US dollars..... |
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Calls to the UK from the Hyatt cost 16 US dollars for the first minute and 11 thereafter. Good job I had an Inmarsat satellite phone with me - calls are cheaper on that!
Just as I said, it's the only decent hotel. And don't they know it!
Be sure to look in at the casino, open until 5 am every night - free entry for residents (show your passport to get an entry card). I was surprised to see it mainly full of locals. The waitresses are very nice - it is worth a look just to prove how wrong your conception of Russian women can be.... It's also interesting to note how your BA flight crew use their time when they are not pointing out your emergency exits!
Hotel details:
The Hyatt Regency Hotel Bakuhanov 1 Baku Azerbaijan Tel: +994 12 98 1234 Fax: +994 12 98 0817
Check out the excellent dmoz.org page on Azerbaijan; a good selection of sites with further information about the country.
| I enjoyed my stay in Baku. It is a city I will long remember. |
This information was originally written in August 1996 and the pages have only had cosmetic changes since then. Some detailed information (flight numbers, costs etc.) may now be out of date. This web page gives general information and is designed to be helpful. The author cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions. |
We hope this site has given
you a flavour of the city of Baku.
The photographs in this site are available for sale.
since 2 July 1999
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© (Copyright) Paul Baker, Maidenhead England, 1996-2001 Last modified 30 January 2002
