I’m not sure what we really expected of Baku. 

We hadn’t seen most of the country as we driving in the dark. The only part we really saw was on the final road into Baku. A big long windy road through baron mountains. What we saw as we came down was this big metropolis. Huge shopping centres being built with Versace, Burberry, Mulberry & Chanel to name a few making their mark. Ferrari & Aston Martins showrooms & big Mercs being driven everywhere. There is obviously some major investment happening. The whole promonade has been redeveloped & is still being built. Big high rises of offices that look like they are trying to shout to the more developed countries of the world that they are here. It certainly wasn’t what we expected. 

We had heard from some people we met in Georgia that Baku had become a bit of a facade. The old town apparently still existed but is now hidden away behind all the new buildings.  Shame really that they feel they need to hide what is their history. Hopefully in the future they will learn to embrace it. 

Generally, I quite liked Baku. It wasn’t full of corrupt officials as we had expected. The people were nice & it was one of the cleanest cities I have seen on this trip. Plus, the weather helped. Bright blue skies with temperatures ranging between 40-45 degrees.