Things To Do In Spain

Few countries are as diverse as Spain – which stretches from the Mediterranean coast, through olive groves shiny plaques past charming villages of the tumultuous snow-capped mountains. There is no shortage of things to see and do in Spain – if you are a lover of culture and nature lovers. Compared to other European countries, Spain is considered affordable and economical way to travel – so do not be surprised to find lots of free things to do in Spain. From lush parks to museums and flea markets free festivals, free entertainment list is endless.

To take advantage of free things to do in Spain, it is best to talk with the tourist office or the hostel when you arrive in a city. You can often get valuable information from these counters and find things cheap and important to see and do. Those who have a tight budget, like to make some local friends to find, cheap and authentic places to eat and enjoy.

Qazakh

Qazakh (Azerbaijani: Qazax; also known as Kazakh or Gazakh) is a rayon of Azerbaijan. It has two exclaves inside Armenia, Yukhari Askipara and Barkhudarli, both of which came under Armenian control during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Absheron

The Absheron peninsula, (Azerbaijani: Abşeron yarımadası, Russian: Апшерон полуостров), Persian: آبشوران (Abshouran)) is a region in Azerbaijan. It is host to Baku the biggest and the most populous city of the country and also Baku metropolitan area with its satellite cities Sumgayit and Khyrdalan. There are three districts of which two are urban (Baku and Sumgayit) and one (Absheron (Rayon)) is suburban district in Absheron region. It extends 37 miles (60 km) eastward into the Caspian Sea and reaches a maximum width of 19 miles (30 km). Though technically the easternmost extension of the Caucasus Mountains, the landscape is only mildly hilly, a gently undulating plain that ends in a long spit of sand dunes known as Shah Dili, and now declared the Absheron National Park. In this part the peninsula is dissected by ravines and characterized by frequent salt lakes.

Sumgayit

Sumgayit (Azerbaijani: Sumqayıt; Russian: Сумгаит; also, Sumgait and Sumqayyt) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, about 30 kilometres away from the capital, Baku. The city has a population of 357,900, making it the third-largest city in Azerbaijan. The city has a territory of 83 km². It was founded on November 22, 1949. Two settlements are within the city administration: Corat and a settlement named after Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. It is home to Sumqayit State University.

Communicate

The telephone network is an early stage of Baku has been digitized. 2007 will be the third GSM network (Azerfon) opened. The whole country is well supplied, especially of Azercell.

For travelers offer prepaid cards.

Etymology of the name

The name of Azerbaijan derives from Atropates, a satrap of Persia under the Achaemenid empire, who was later reinstated as the satrap of Media under Alexander of Macedonia. The original etymology of this name is thought to have its roots in the ancient Zoroastrianism, namely, in Avestan Frawardin Yasht (“Hymn to the Guardian Angels”), there is a mentioning of: âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide, which literally translates from Old Persian as “we worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-pata”.

Atropates ruled over the region of present-day Iranian Azerbaijan. The name “Atropates” itself is the Greek translitteration of an Old-Iranian, probably Median, compounded name with the meaning “Protected by the (Holy) Fire”. The Greek name is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo, and is continued as ādurbādagān in the Pahlavi geographical text Shahrestānihā i Erānshahr.

Ateşgah Fire Temple

You are unlikely to see anything else like this majestic temple outside of India. The temple is built on the site of a natural gas vent believed to have been sacred to the Zoroastrians since the 6th century AD. To get a sense of how the worshippers lived you can visit the inside museum and discover the ritual required to have your wishes granted.

The site of the Ateşgah Temple, also known as the Temple of the Fireworshippers, has been a centre of worship for thousands of years. The area was once so saturated with natural gas and oil that flames spontaneously erupted from the ground – hence the country’s other name, Odlar Yourdu, or ‘Land of Fires’, and the name of the temple, which means ‘home of fire’. Much of the existing structure was built after the 17th century by Indian Shivaite pilgrims. Flames still burn from flues at each corner of the roof, though the natural gas is nowadays piped from the mains!

Among the most interesting things to see at the temple are the ancient Sanskrit and Hindi inscriptions and the onion dome toped with the trident of Hindu god Shiva. The temple is surrounded by pilgrim cell-rooms, now used as a rather half-hearted museum.

When to Go

The best time to visit Azerbaijan is between April and October when it’s warm and dry in much of the country. July and August are the best months for reaching mountain villages like Xinaliq, but can be scorching (up to 38°C/100°F) and unbearably humid in Baku. It’s much colder and wetter in the winter and snow, while rare in Baku, is common in the mountains. The biggest national festival (Novruz) climaxes on March 21st with much merriment and even fire-jumping.

Baku

Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı), sometimes known as Baky or Baki, is the capital, the largest city, and the largest port of Azerbaijan. Located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, the city consists of two principal parts: the downtown and the old Inner City (21,5 ha). As of January 1, 2005 the population was 2,036,000 of which 153,400 were internally displaced persons and 93,400 refugees.^[2] Baku is a member of Organization of World Heritage Cities and Sister Cities International.^[3] The city is also bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts, or raions (Azizbayov, Binagadi, Garadagh, Narimanov, Nasimi, Nizami, Sabail, Sabunchu, Khatai, Surakhany and Yasamal) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on islands in the Baku Bay and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 km away from Baku.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (IPA: /ˌæzəbaɪˈʤɑːn/ (UK), /ˌɑzɚbaɪˈʤɑːn/ (US); Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is the largest and most populous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan is bordered by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest. Nagorno-Karabakh, along with 7 other districts in Azerbaijan’s southwest, have been controlled by Armenia since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994.^[1] Four United Nations Security Council Resolutions (822, 853, 874, and 884) called for “the withdrawal of occupying forces from occupied areas of the Azerbaijani Republic”^[2] The country’s territory also encompasses several islands in the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan, a nation with an ethnic Azeri and Shi‘ite Muslim majority population,^[3][4] is a secular and unitary republic. The country has been a co-founder of GUAM and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and has been a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States since September 1993.^[5] The country has a Permanent Mission to the European Union, hosts a Special Envoy of the European Commission and is a member of the United Nations, OSCE, Council of Europe, and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.