The Azerbaijani nation, one of the most ancient peoples of the world, is rightly proud of its historical monuments of material culture, its rich literature, art and musical culture.
The beautiful nature, favorable climatic conditions and natural riches of this region have also had a significant influence on the artistic thinking and creativity of the Azerbaijani people. Though each kind of art of our country has passed a long and complicated way of development, nevertheless, they constitute a single whole and allow to make a complete picture of the art and culture of Azerbaijan. The art of Azerbaijan, like its nature, is diverse, integral and rich.
One of the most important places in the spring of creativity of the Azerbaijani people is their life and everyday life, folk crafts related to their daily life. This art, starting from ancient times and up to nowadays, covers a very wide sphere, starting with clothes and ending with various jewelry and household implements.
Naturally, the peculiarities of the Azerbaijani people's everyday life, their aesthetic morality, in a word, their national face and self-consciousness are especially reflected in this kind of art. It is not accidental that numerous beautiful samples of Azerbaijani folk crafts can be found in the richest museums of the world. In the richest expositions of museum collections of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Paris Louvre, Washington Metropolitan, museums of Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Istanbul, Tehran, Cairo, one can meet samples of works of folk applied art created by skillful hands of masters from Tabriz, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Gazakh, Guba, Baku, Sheki, Shamakhi and Garabagh.

Every city, every corner of Azerbaijan has something special in itself. The center of the ancient Guba Khanate, the city of Guba, is known for its medieval fortresses and mosques. One of the oldest cities, Sheki, is famous for its luxurious palaces, some of which have been converted into modern hotels.
You will be surprised not only by the sights of Azerbaijan, but also by its natural conditions: the territory of the country is cozy with sea coast and rivers, high mountain ranges and plains, semi-deserts and forests. Beautiful landscapes, waterfalls and mountain rivers, springs with clear water, deep gorges, green meadows, thermal and mineral springs, purest mountain air are waiting for you. Natural beauties such as Tengi Canyon, Afurdzhi Waterfall and Gobustan Reserve, included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, deserve special attention. Tourists have a rest at the Caspian Sea resorts, enjoy diving, water skiing, motorcycles and boats. Those wishing to improve and strengthen their health go to numerous famous resorts of Azerbaijan. Due to their unique microclimate, Lankaran and Talysh are considered to be among the best balneological resorts.
The sights of Azerbaijan will satisfy the requirements of the most demanding traveler. You will see rock paintings and mud volcanoes of Gobustan reserve, Maiden Tower and Seaside Boulevard in Baku, visit the coast of Absheron and the temple of fire worshippers Ateshgah, admire the wealth of the palace of Sheki khans and asceticism of Khinalig village. You will remember your trip to this unique country with famous Guba carpets, original Azerbaijani wine, high-quality silk, gold jewelry and many other souvenirs.

Azerbaijani national food is characterized by great diversity, counting dozens of kinds of different dishes: dairy, meat, flour, vegetables, etc. The very ways of cooking and consumption of food are different and diverse. In the past, food also differed according to geographical conditions and social status.
Shashliks and tandoor dishes are widespread in Azerbaijani cuisine. There are various drinks, sweets. A distinctive feature of Azerbaijani cuisine is the use of mutton for cooking various dishes. To a much lesser extent Azerbaijanis consume beef, poultry, fish. The formation of Azerbaijani cuisine was influenced by the requirements of Islam - as a result, pork dishes and dishes containing alcohol are traditionally not represented in it. Another peculiarity of Azerbaijani cooking is sharp taste and unique flavor, which give the dishes all kinds of spices and herbs: bitter and sweet pepper, basil, cinnamon, cloves, dill, parsley, coriander, mint, cumin and many others. Saffron and sumac are particularly worth mentioning.
One of the most famous dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine is pilaf. There are several varieties of Azerbaijani plov: kaurma plov (with mutton), turschi kaurma plov (with mutton and sour fruits), chiy-doshamya kaurma plov (with mutton, pumpkin and chestnuts), touh plov (with chicken fried in pieces), tjarchilo plov (with chicken or stuffed chicken), chigyrtma plov (with chicken filled with beaten egg), fisinjan plov (with game, nuts, sour fruits and cinnamon), sheshryanch plov (egg plov), sudlu plov (milk plov) and shirin plov (sweet fruit plov). Unlike other cuisines, here rice is cooked separately and the base of plov (tara) - meat, fruit, etc. - is cooked separately, combining it all in one dish only when serving. Serving and eating Azerbaijani pilafs have their own traditions.
Azerbaijan's culinary industry has a lot of peculiar-tasting sweets, which are divided into three subgroups - flour, caramel and confectionery. They contain a considerable amount of additives and spices: poppy, nuts, almonds, sesame, ginger, cardamom, vanillin and others. Flour products include shekerbura, baklava, sheker-churek, Baku kurabieh, Karabakh, Baku, Nakhchivan and Ganja kyata, Shemakhi mutaki, Nakhchivan baklava.
There are more than 30 national flour products, and each district has its own special products. Sheki sweets occupy a special place. These are Sheki baklava, peshvenk, tel (terkhalva), girmabadam, which are made with rice flour, sugar, nut kernels, butter, egg whites and spices.

The following holidays and memorable dates are officially celebrated in Azerbaijan:
- New Year's Eve party (January 1 and 2);
- International Women's Day (March 8);
- Victory over Fascism Day (May 9);
- Independence Day (May 28);
- Day of national salvation of Azerbaijani people (June 15);
- Day of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan (June 26);
- Day of Restoration of State Independence (October 18);
- Victory Day (Nov. 8);
- Day of the State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan (November 9);
- Constitution Day (November 12);
- National Renaissance Day (November 17);
- Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis (December 31);
- Novruz holiday-five days;
- Gurban holiday-two days;
- The Ramadan holiday is two days long.

Residents of the capital are big fashionistas: anyone who follows its trends will find a lot of interesting things here, regardless of their budget. Connoisseurs of luxury brands can safely head to Neftyanikov Avenue in the city center: the stretch of street opposite Primorsky Park is literally packed with boutiques of the world's leading high fashion brands. A large number of luxury brand stores are also concentrated in Port Baku Mall.
Those who prefer less expensive brands will spend more than one hour in the largest shopping centers of the capital, offering a wide range of clothes, accessories and perfumes from famous international manufacturers. In such popular malls as Park Bulvar, 28 Mall, Metropark or Ganjlik Mall, you can not only buy new clothes, but also have a snack on the food court floor, watch the latest blockbuster in the movie theater or have fun in the amusement hall.

Azerbaijan is one of the safest countries in the world. There is almost no street crime and the streets of the cities are clean and orderly.
Azerbaijanis are very law-abiding and friendly people, respectful of other people's traditions and customs. This is probably the reason why tourists feel at home in our country and come back here again.

The national currency of the Republic of Azerbaijan was put into circulation on August 15, 1992, and since January 1, 1994, by order of the country's leader Heydar Aliyev, the manat has been recognized as the only legal tender throughout the country.
Сегодня в Азербайджане имеют хождение банкноты достоинством в 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 и 200 манатов.
Манат равен 100 гапикам. В обращении находятся металлические монеты достоинством в 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 и 50 гапиков.

Speaking about the weather in Azerbaijan, we can confidently say that this region represents a unique climatic phenomenon. There are 5 to 7 different climatic zones in this small mountainous country. Here you can see how diverse they are in the transition from temperate to subtropical.
Because of the great climatic diversity, it is difficult to talk about average temperatures. Spring is very different here, depending on whether it is in the mountains or the plains. In the mountains, as a rule, it is very cold, and the arrival of warmth and awakening from winter is almost imperceptible here. But in the flat part of the country the temperature can reach 15-20 degrees by April.
The same can be said about summer. In the majestic kingdom of the mountains, even in the hottest month of the year, average temperature readings do not reach +10, and sometimes remain at the five-degree mark. At the same time at the foot of the mountains thermometer columns are confidently kept around +25 or even +30 degrees, and sometimes reach and sultry +40. Here it is necessary to tell at once about winter, as it acts as a kind of antipode of summer. Since in the mountains the temperature can drop to -40, and in the plains it stays around -5 degrees.
Autumn is probably the most beautiful time in Azerbaijan. It can really be called golden. Temperatures in the plains stay within comfortable 15-20 degrees, and everything around (except palm trees, of course) is painted in golden colors. 
In Azerbaijan banks work from 9.00 - 9.30 till 17.30, and some banks continue their work till late evening. According to the exchange rate, 1 US dollar is equal to 1.7 Azerbaijani manat, 1 euro is equal to 1.8 Azerbaijani manat.