ESCORTED SMALL GROUP TOURS TO AZERBAIJAN

Azerbaijan gained its independence in 1991 after a long history of conflict and tribulation. Due to its strategic location and wealth of natural resources, Azerbaijan has for centuries been of interest to foreign powers and as such, has been invaded, plundered and fought over since the very first peoples inhabited the area.

The good fortune of being in so favourable a position—the landlocked Azerbaijan territory being in the Caucasus and key to trade and between the nations of the East and West—can perhaps retrospectively be deemed a curse, as it was this feature that spurred much of the nation’s torrid and tragic history. Add the fact that the territory of the modern-day Azerbaijan housed the precious commodity of oil in abundance, a commodity of which many knew the importance, even as early as the fourth century BC, and it becomes more understandable why so small a nation has borne the brunt of so much turmoil over the ages.

For varied reasons and at various times in history, Azerbaijan today is an area that has seen, among others, Roman, Arab, Hellenic, Russian, Persian, Turkish and Khazar occupation or conflict. And yet, in spite of the millennia of turmoil that constitutes the history of Azerbaijan, the nation now stands independent and, accepting its close cultural similarities with Iran, completely unique with a strong sense of identity. A tour to Azerbaijan is a tour to a culturally diverse nation, a melting pot with as many as 70 racial groups, and an historically fascinating country whose documented past stretches back to as early as has ever been recorded, convincing many that Azerbaijan is in fact one of the very cradles of civilisation.

The dry and warm climate of Azerbaijan makes touring the marvellous sights that much more appealing. Khan’s Palace in Sheki, with its intricately beautiful and stained-glass windows, is a must-see attraction when it comes to tours in Azerbaijan, and the medieval Palace of Shirvanshahs and the Diri Baba Mausoleum are highly recommended sights, also. Our trips are the best way to see the abundant Azerbaijan in all its glory.