Baku, the city where East meets West In Roman times, Baku was on the principal trading route of the Roman Empire between the Central Asian steppe and Europe. The Bay of Baku affords shelter from adverse weather conditions for the best harbour on the Caspian Sea. Baku is a vital part of the Caspian maritime economy between the Volga, Trans-Caucasus, North Caucasus, Central Asia and Iran, which has an annual economic output of $2.5 trillion. It is a Muslim nation but, unlike its southern neighbour Iran, it is also a secular polity which emphasises religious moderation. It is Israel’s closest Muslim partner and supplies energy to Israel in exchange for high-tech weapons systems. As an oil and gas producer, it supplies energy to southern Italy via its Southern Gas Corridor through Georgia, Turkey and Greece, thus contributing to price competition in Europe and reducing dependence on Russian energy. For these reasons, Baku is valued by Brussels and Washington. In partnership with China, the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat, a Belt and Road Initiative project, is seeking to diversify away from its concentration on oil and gas through the development of cargo and transportation services.  As the capital of an energy-rich nation, Baku has demonstrated willingness for the country to be a good global citizen by supporting international institutions such as Unesco through the Silk Roads Programme, by hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, and by becoming the first country to host the European Games.  Throughout its history, Baku has been a hub for trade and cultural exchange between East and West, and this will continue to be its destiny in the centuries ahead. Hot spots in the Land of Fire  Azerbaijan has six international airports, but most travellers from the UK will enter the country by way of Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport, which opened in 2004 and is named after the former president who was head of state for 35 years. In 2020 the airport was named for the fourth time as a five-star regional airport by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. The 24-hour Airport Express bus service runs every half an hour, makes three stops in the city, and the last stop is 30 minutes from the airport. Otherwise, there are plenty of taxis available as well as car rentals from Hertz, Aznur and Sixt. Hotel accommodation in all categories is plentiful. Azerbaijan is appropriately known as the Land of Fire; it is the place where Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock for stealing the fire of the Gods. Under the surface (coincidentally) there happen to be vast reserves of natural oil and gas, which have not only transformed its economic fortunes but have also given the country a unique landscape twinned with a temperate climate Ask any Azerbaijani living in the 20th century to write their country’s name down and, depending on their birth date, they may have done so in Arabic, Perso-Arabic, Turkic-Arabic (all three used until 1929), modified Cyrillic (used under the ensuing Soviet period) or Latin script (reintroduced from 1991 after a brief period from 1918 to 1920).  This is just one example of the melting pot of cultures that is modern-day Azerbaijan. Take a look around the capital, Baku, and you’ll see this linguistic history reflected back at you. Russian Imperialist institutions are stamped along the streets, there’s Masud Ibn Davud’s 12th-century Maiden Tower, while futurist glass-shell structures such as the Flame Towers, the SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) Tower, and the Azersu Tower decorate the skyline. There is also the Old City of Baku, or Walled City. The Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, laps peacefully on its eastern edge and the city enjoys a temperate climate, with average highs around 30 degrees at the hottest time of the year, in July and August. The population is just over 2 million and 90 per cent are ethnic Azerbaijanis. Baku is a city built on the profits of oil and gas extraction and it boasts a rich cultural heritage. There is a concert hall, an opera and ballet theatre, 15 other theatres, nine museums (including one dedicated to petroleum) and three major libraries. The city is host to an international film festival, an international jazz festival, a flower festival, and a theatre festival. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix took place for the first time in 2016 and is held on the Baku City Circuit, one of only five Formula 1 races held on a street circuit. It follows a twisty route through the Icheri Sheher old town, beneath Baku’s medieval city walls, and along the shoreline of the Caspian Sea.  One of the most impressive modern buildings in the city is the Heydar Aliyev Centre, which was designed by the world-renowned Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and which won the London Design Museum’s Design of the Year Award in 2014. She used only fluid shapes, with no straight lines, and the building resembles a slice through a cresting wave. Inside, ther...