"Republic of Azerbaijan - my Motherland! " a Azerbaijan Travel Page by Minashka

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Map of Azerbaijan

Fact Sheet

Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority - Muslim population - regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict.

Geography
Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range.

Geographic coordinates: 40 30 N, 47 30 E

Area: Total land area is 86,100 sq km including the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Total water area is 500 sq km.

Land boundaries: Total length is 2,013 km. Azerbaijan borders Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-proper) 432, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km.

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina

Population
Population: 7,830, 764 (July 2003 est.)

Religion: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.)

Languages: Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)

Government
Government type: Republic

Capital: Baku

Independence: August 30, 1991 (from USSR).

Constitution: adapted on November 12, 1995

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal.

Executive branch: President Ilham Aliyev (since October 31, 2003)

Legislative branch: Unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis

Judicial branch: Supreme Court.

Well, Azerbaijan is not well known to the world mainly due to the fact that it was under Soviet regime for about 74 years. Even now, we're mostly known for our vast resources of oil and gas. But our country is not just about oil and gas, although it is the Land of Fire (literal translation of the word "Azerbaijan"). The country has a rich and ancient history - one proof of it is that in 1961 they found a human jaw in Azikh Cave in the territory of Azerbaijan which made the country the third most ancient inhabited land in the world. It is also located in the South Caucasus and it is believed that the first people went from here to Europe. Hence the term "Caucasian" for white race. Because of its strategic location, Azerbaijan has been invaded countless times starting from Mongols, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Russians... and even England made an attempt to control the area when the oil was found here.
Alexander the Great was not the only Alexander visiting this beautiful country - centuries later Alexander Dumas also came here and has written about his unforgettable visit in his memoirs.
Always a progressive country, Azerbaijan had the first opera, ballet, newspaper, and many other big achievements in the East. It was also the first democratic republic, whose life lasted only from 1918 to 1920. Now the country is enjoying the freedom once again and is going through a transition period to market economy.

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Lake Goy-Gol in Ganja

Azerbaijan has a great potential for tourism. Actually, during the Soviet times, this was a popular destination for health tourism. The country has 9 climatic zones out of 11 and offers anything from eco to cultural tourism. But with the current situation of the tourism industry in the country, this place would be most preferred by the adventure tourists.