- Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, is often likened to Dubai for its outlandish architecture and appetite for gold
- Azerbaijanis take their tea sweetened with jam
- The settlement of Neft Daşları started life as an oil rig and a couple of elevated walkways in the Caspian Sea; today, it’s an entire stilted city
- Azerbaijan has more than 400 mud volcanoes which shoot flames up to a kilometre in the air, and when dormant bubble and pop with noxious gases
- Baku is home to Little Venice, a man-made waterway that flows between shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, where the best way to get around is by gondola
- In Azerbaijan if you drop bread on the floor, it’s the custom to kiss it, as an apology
- It’s thought that washing newborns in salt water will make them strong, truthful, and bold, and children’s fingernails and hair are only cut after their first birthday in Azerbaijan
