The Most interesting facts about Baku
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1. Ancient names of Baku:
- Ateshi Baquan, meaning “God’s fire”
- Bād-kube, meaning "Wind-pounded city"
- Baghkuy, meaning "God's town".
- 2. In 1823, the world's first paraffin factory was built in Baku.
- 3. In 1846, the world's first oil well was drilled in Bibi-Heybat suburb of Baku.
- 4. In 1850, Baku had a population of 7400 people
- 5. Zoroaster – the world’s first tanker ship was launched in Baku in 1878 by Brothers Nobel.
- 6. The capital of the world-renowned Nobel Prize has its revenues also of Baku oil, by Alfred Nobel.
- 7. In Baku, the oldest offshore oil platform – “Neft Daslari” set Guinness World Records as the first in the world. Neft Daslari is an entire functioning town constructed in the Caspian Sea 55 km from the coast of Azerbaijan. Construction began in 1949 and began oil production in 1951. Construction and development continued until the town included hotels, hostels, a bakery, a power station, and a total of 7 ha of surface area, consisting of separate ‘islands’ connected by more than 200 km of trestle bridges, all supported on metal stilts. Although much of Neft Daslari has been reclaimed by the sea, its rigs still produce oil and the town has a population of around 5,000. Most important sceneries of the James Bond movie – “The World Is Not Enough” was filmed in “Neft Daslari” oil platform.
- 8. At the beginning of the 20th century, Baku produced more than half of the world's oil (11 million tons or 212,000 barrels (33,700 m3) of oil per day). During World War II, Baku provided the Soviet army with oil and covered 85% of its demand.
- 9. On 8 February 1924, the first tram line and two years later the first electric railway in the USSR started to operate in Baku-Surakhany
- 10. The first and only air conditioning factory in the USSR started to operate in Baku in 1970. Cuba was the largest buyer of Baku air conditioners.
- 11. Baku is a "sister city" with 20 cities around the world. These include Houston city of Texas in U.S., Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey, Iran's Tabriz, Italy's Naples, Iraq's Basra, Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, South Africa’s Johannesburg, Moscow, etc.
- 12. Most of the mud volcanoes of the world are located in Baku Absheron peninsula. On September 5, 2004 the greatest mud volcano in the territory of Azerbaijan was added into the Guinness World Records. Geologists of NASA concluded that the mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan are similar to uplands of the Mars planet for their structure.
- 13. The first opera of the Muslim world was staged in Baku: “Leyli and Majnun” in 1908, by Uzeyir Hajibeyov
- 14. The average annual temperature of Baku and the planet Earth is same: 14.2°C (57.56°F).
- 15. Baku State University, the first university in Azerbaijan, was established on November 15, 1919.
- 16. In Formula 1 history, the highest top speed was recorded in Baku in “2016 European Grand Prix” by Valtteri Bottas (Finland): 378 km/h (234.878 mph)
- 17. The “Baku” page on Wikipedia is available in 123 languages.
Entry rules to Azerbaijan
For the attention of passengers travelling to Azerbaijan.
For the attention of passengers travelling to Azerbaijan.
- ⦁ Citizens of Azerbaijan
- ⦁ Heads and staff of foreign embassies and consulates accredited in the Republic of Azerbaijan and their family members;
- ⦁ Diplomatic travel document issued by the United Nations.
- ⦁ Travelling with diplomatic passport;
- ⦁ Travelling based on special permission issued by the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan;
- ⦁ Foreign citizens, one of whose parents, siblings, spouse, children, grandparents or grandchildren are citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, also family members of those passengers (parents, spouse or children);
- ⦁ Foreign citizens who have a work permit in Azerbaijan;
- ⦁ Foreign citizens with a temporary or permanent residence permit in Azerbaijan, also family members of those passengers (parents, spouse or children under the age of 18 years).
- ⦁ Сitizens of the following countries (including stateless persons): Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong-Kong (PRC), Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Vietnam will be also accepted on special flights of the airline in accordance with passport and visa rules of Azerbaijan Republic and the conditions mentioned below:
- ⦁ Passengers over 18 years old - the presence of a COVID-passport (an official certificate confirming the completion of the full course of vaccination (only J&J/Janssen and Sputnik Light a single dose), official certificate of recovery from COVID-19) or certificate of contraindication to COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-passport, immune certificate or certificate of contraindication to C0VID-19 vaccination must have electronic verification attributes and must be issued by the state only and must be valid on the departure date. These documents will be checked during check-in at the airport.
For the attention of transit passengers travelling via Azerbaijan
For transit passenger(s), travelling via Baku (GYD) the rules/conditions governing entry at the final destination of the transit passenger(s) shall be applicable. Passengers must check the IATA Travel Centre before flight to get the latest updates on the requirements at the country they are travelling to. If the destination country requires PCR test, QR code on the certificate is desirable, since it allows to get detailed information about the PCR test result more quickly. Thus, passengers who present a certificate with QR code embedded will pass through border control faster, since this unique code will provide full information about their PCR test results. Under the existing requirements, passengers presenting certificates of negative PCR test results for COVID-19 without QR code embedded are expected to undergo a more thorough check. Passengers should note that such check will require additional time to be carried out.
You need a passport and a visa to enter Azerbaijan
Acquire a visa that covers the dates of your trip before you go. Visit the Embassy of Azerbaijan’s website for the most current visa information.
- ⦁ Electronic visas (⦁ E-Visas) are available through the “ASAN Visa” system. This system can be accessed online at ⦁ https://evisa.gov.az/en/.
- ⦁ An E-Visa is typically issued within 3 (three working days of the online application, is a single-entry visa, and is valid for 30 days. The E-Visa fee is $20 USD, paid electronically. Once approved, the E-Visa is sent to the applicant via email. Travelers must print this information and present it to border security officials on arrival in Azerbaijan.
- ⦁ Law enforcement officials have at times detained individuals from Armenia or with Armenian surnames for questioning or denied them entry into the country. Such individuals may encounter anti-American sentiments while in Azerbaijan
- ⦁ Please be aware that traveling to the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories via Armenia could make you ineligible to travel to Azerbaijan in the future.
Some HIV/AIDS entry restrictions exist for visitors to, and foreign residents of, Azerbaijan. Medical tests are required for those applying for temporary or permanent residence permits and must be performed at designated clinics in Azerbaijan.