I stumbled upon my story on Europe+ about a trip to Azerbaijan from 15 years ago hosted by Anton Kamolov and Olya Shelest. The funniest thing is that I don’t even remember it was aired; I’m listening to it now as if for the first time. I uploaded it to a transcriber, the text is below. It’s fantastic, almost nothing needed editing. Interesting to recall the trip, the prices, the places. And to look at the photos, how different we all were back then 🙂
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Anton Komolov: So, the segment is “In a fairy tale kingdom.” Today, we are traveling to Azerbaijan. Our guest is Rauf Aliyev. Rauf, hello. We are acquainted with each other, so we will be on a first-name basis. Rauf, please tell us, when were you in Azerbaijan? And maybe, being there, did you talk to someone or perhaps knew beforehand, what’s the best time to go there? Just to give people an idea right away.
Rauf: Well, I didn’t go at the best time to visit. We have a tradition of traveling somewhere every May holiday. That’s how our public holidays are structured, with two working days sandwiched between them, and everyone ends up on holiday. And this year, we decided to spend the May holidays in Azerbaijan. Usually, these would be tourist countries, but this time it was off the beaten track. Actually, the best time for vacationing in Azerbaijan is summer. That’s June, July, that’s when there’s the sea.
Anton Komolov: Isn’t it hot? I thought, you know, they say southern countries, when everything just starts blooming, but there’s no sweltering heat yet, that’s the perfect time.
Rauf: Yes, but it’s quite windy there, especially on the Absheron Peninsula, it’s a windy place.
Olya Shelest: What does “wild rest” mean? Does it mean without booking hotels and such?
Rauf: Well, of course, we tried to prepare everything. We tried to find all the hotels, plan the entire route a month in advance, but it didn’t work out too well, because it’s not always possible to get through by phone and make arrangements. Frankly speaking, concerning the city of Baku, everything is straightforward there, but it’s also expensive. I’ll talk about it separately.
Anton Komolov: Expensive compared to Moscow even? Or compared to expectations?
Rauf: Basically, Moscow has a bigger tourist flow, and here you can always find a place to relax for the money you have. In Azerbaijan, you absolutely can too, but only once you’re there, not when you’re arranging it in advance. You always end up facing hotels that cost from 150 to 200 euros per night, and it’s not really clear how one could afford a decent 11-day vacation with that kind of money.
Anton Komolov: No, you can, but it would be worrying.
Rauf: Yes, you’d be quite uneasy because there are always some alternatives that you regret not choosing. And, of course, we tried to plan the route. I’ll tell you right away, the route included Baku, Shamakhi, Gabala, and Sheki. These are four cities in Azerbaijan that are worth visiting. Basically, there were a couple more places, but they were quite far in a different direction. So, we decided to follow this route, and of course, with Baku, reserving hotels or apartments worked out quite quickly, but with the other cities, it had to be done on the spot.
Anton Komolov: Reserving apartments?
Rauf: So, in the end, you stayed not in a hotel, but rented an apartment? Yes, I found an apartment, although staying in a hotel didn’t appeal much, because it’s quite a standard vacation, you don’t get to see how people live. And, I think, it was the right decision. We lived right in the center of Baku, in a very quaint apartment. Generally speaking, all the apartments in the center, in these Eastern courtyards, look very unusual. On the websites that rented apartments daily in Baku, all these apartments looked quite strange to our eyes, it wasn’t European. It was lots of carpets, those bulky sofas, accordingly, very lavishly decorated with drapery. Perhaps many imagine a Baku apartment like that. Yes, but we tried to find something more akin to European taste. And eventually, we found this apartment, not this one, another apartment, that we liked, looked it over on the spot and moved into this one. This apartment was also very colorful.
Anton Komolov: And in terms of money, how does it compare to a hotel?
Rauf: In terms of money, again, Baku is a pretty expensive place. We rented an apartment for 50-60 manats, equivalent to euros, so 50-60 euros per day. That was a two-bedroom apartment, but these were practically cubic rooms with three-meter ceilings, with chandeliers above, but the apartment itself was quite small and compact. And this, let’s say, was the lowest price for a decent apartment in the center, but generally, you might find something for about 30 euros maybe 10-15 minutes’ walk from the center.
Anton Komolov: Yes, Rauf, by the way, we talked a bit off the air too. You said that the city even looks different, that there are unique customs there. For example, in Moscow, you can’t even hang air conditioner blocks on building façades, to not alter the façades and so on, officially. In Baku, it’s much simpler, I understand, right?
Rauf: Yes, absolutely. The first thing that struck me when we were driving from the airport to the center, we passed by houses literally draped with laundry outside, and it made a very strange impression. In the very center, there are historic houses, and generally, they probably keep an eye on that, but if you move a bit away, it’s evident that no one stops people from adding on and building various additional blocks to their own apartments, whether inside the entrances or on the outside. And sometimes you encounter quite interesting and unconventional solutions, such as an extension on the level of a fourth-floor residential building, and long-long piles hanging down from it. It’s clear that someone expanded their apartment space, and apparently, no one minds.
Later, we lived in the center of Baku in a small courtyard, which had shrunk in size even further because it had grown such additions literally. So, each apartment somewhere added something. And it looks, of course, a bit odd, but quite typical for Azerbaijan. And colorful, probably. But here it’s also worth noting that after the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, quite a significant number of refugees, about a million, moved to Baku. And apparently, from the authorities’ side, some preferences were given to these refugees. At least, apparently, no one bothered them regarding their housing, meaning, wherever they managed to settle, they stayed. Strangely, in Azerbaijan itself, they are treated not just neutrally, but more than neutrally. Despite these people settling the city very distinctly, very unconventionally. Well, for instance, I saw a 14-story building that wasn’t finished, the top three floors. And this entire 14-story building was occupied by someone, and these top unfinished three floors were covered with some rags, and someone lived there too. This also looked quite unconventional. And such things are noticeable throughout all the residential areas and very evident in the regions.
Anton Komolov: And tell me, about transport in Baku itself. Meaning, if you’re staying in Baku for some time, living there, how is it best to get around? Take a taxi or does the public transport work well?
Rauf: Public transport works very well there. Generally, we traveled both by bus and taxi. A taxi there costs, I think, to any point you can convert it to euros, 5 euros. Basically, not much money. When going out of town, you can always find a car very quickly. Mainly by car. Moving around out of town is possible only by car. There only by buses or minibuses. Minibuses run in all directions from the bus station.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 