Prettier than expected!

#familytravel We visited the city of Baku as part of our family getaway. It was clubbed with one more country cos I wasn't sure if Azerbaijan would have enough. This was a holiday in mid August. Azerbaijan had been trending online and had favourable reviews, but an absolute foreign for me as we had never visited thus part of the world. We flew in from Dubai. The arrival experience was comfortable. The city was prettier than what I expected. I was worried that it would be just mosques and religious theme. But surprisingly that wasn't the case. It's a beautifully planned place with wide and clean roadways, lush green gardens along with elevated buildings that had eye catching architecture. I noticed a lot of people preferred travelling on foot. Baku is rightly referred to as the city of winds. I can't remember any other place that I have been to and was so windy all the time. Day 1 mostly involved taking it easy and exploring the hotel offerings, the spa and the complimentary Hammam. Once relaxed and we'll rested. In the evening we set out to see the The Flame tower which is a combination of three standalone buildings each comprising of a luxury hotel, a residential building and an office. The height of the tallest towers amongst the three is 182 meters. The Flame Towers are completely covered with the LED screens that display the movement of a fire visible from the farthest points of the city. The light show transitions from giant flames and the colours of the Azeri flag. Day 2 we headed to explore the fascinating old town. It had small alleys and open cafes. The old town of Baku was also laden with tree art, graffiti and local handmade handicrafts, carpets and shawls prepared by the local Azeri artists. The locals there are not only adept in making the carpets and handicrafts but also creating human sculptures which you would see in various parts of the city. Day 3 visit Yanar Dag which also means Burning mountain in Azerbaijani language. It is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku. This was followed with Baku astagah in surakhani. The day ended with a nice azerbaijani meal as on most days. #familytravel #100waysoftravel #baku #azerbaijan #flowerlover