Baku - a new emerging 'rich' destination

Baku? Are you familiar with this? No, it is not an eatable nor a cosmetic or animal; it’s the capital of Azerbaijan. It you thought this was a small, struggling country a visit to its filthy rich capital, Baku, will change all that. Its three-flame shaped skyscrapers, facing the waterfront, transform into giant video screens depicting blazing fires once the sun sets. And it has some more stunning new creations coming up  - a radically undulating arts center designed by Iraqi celebrity architect Zaha Hadid; a $640 million soccer stadium which will see the European Games inauguration next year and also being planned is an archipelago of 50 fake islands with deluxe apartments for at least 400,000 people – something similar to the ‘World’ project of Dubai.

And there is a lot of money in the country. Money started pouring in since 2006 when the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline came up, which led to a surge in crude oild exports. The country exports around one million barrels per day, travelling through this pipeline, from Georgia, proceeding to Turkey and then Europe.

Something like a new Dubai coming up, the only fear in such countries, were oil money, that so much of it, should not spawn corrupt monarchies and dictators, as has been the history of the past.

Remember, if you are travelling to Baku, this is not yet a established, developed tourist destination; its draconian visa policy requires you to have an official invitation, mainly from a hotel or registered Azerbaijani travel agent. Also, if you pick up a room at Fairmont on the northern side, it is directly across from the massive headquarters of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of National Security, or better recognized as the KGB. These building’s windows are heavily tinted – you cannot see the staff working there but they will be able to see you.