Azerbaijan
Capital:
Baku
Continent:
Asia
Maps:
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| Asian continent. Azerbaijan outlined in dark, shaded, and with an arrow pointing to it. |
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| A close up of Azerbaijan & its neighbors. |
Neighbors:
Russia, Iran, Armenia, Georgia
Water Borders:
Caspian Sea
Total Area: (added March 2015)
33,436 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Baku, Ganja, Sumqayit, Mingachevir, Khirdalan
Famous Geographical Point:
Caucasus Mountains
Famous Person:
Elchin Khalilov, geophysicist
Book Set In/About:
Azerbaijan Diary by Thomas Goltz
One reporter's account of his time spent in Azerbaijan shortly after it gained its independence from the Soviet Union.
Movie Set In/About:
"The Scoundrel (Merzavets)" (1988), directed by Vagif Mustafayev
The tale of a man who falls in love with a lady of the streets in Baku. According to the one IMDB user who reviewed it, it's both very sad & funny.
Headline of the Day:
"Armenian President Criticizes Azerbaijan at UN Over Karabakh Dispute" in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
If you're like me, this headline will make no sense to you. I took the liberty of doing some research. From what I gather, there is a region of Azerbaijan called Nagorno-Karabakh trying to break away and join Armenia. It is, surprisingly, not the part of Azerbaijan that is already separated from the rest by Armenia, but is contained within the larger body of the country.
"Armenian President Criticizes Azerbaijan at UN Over Karabakh Dispute" in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
If you're like me, this headline will make no sense to you. I took the liberty of doing some research. From what I gather, there is a region of Azerbaijan called Nagorno-Karabakh trying to break away and join Armenia. It is, surprisingly, not the part of Azerbaijan that is already separated from the rest by Armenia, but is contained within the larger body of the country.
2 comments:
Those five largest cities are a proofreader's nightmare. I never knew there was a city named Ganja though. I suppose I could find out if there is a marijuana/Ganja connection, but I won't.
I too raised my eyebrows at the fact that there's a town named "Ganja." A cursory look through Wikipedia suggests that the weed nickname "ganja" derives from Sanskrit whereas it's believed that "Ganja" the city gets its name from the New Persian word "ganj," which means "treasure."
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