I originally planned to travel to Belarus and the Baltic countries after traveling in Poland and Ukraine, but my wife was worried that it would be too cold to go to northern Europe in October, so she changed to go south, and finally chose Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, three Caucasus countries. It took a little thought to arrange the itinerary of these three countries. Finally, the first stop was Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, which is known as Dubai in the Caucasus. First, Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, has a direct flight there. Second, if you go to Georgia and Armenia first, you will have trouble entering Azerbaijan due to the tense relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgia was chosen as the last stop because there are many flights to Europe from its capital Tbilisi, which is convenient for us to return to Britain after our trip.

Baku, like Stalingrad, was once a strategic place for the desperate struggle between the Soviet Union and Germany in World War II. In July, 1942, 161,111 German troops went south along the Don River, among which 15,111 were oil workers, with the purpose of seizing Baku oil field. At that time, 71% of the Soviet Union's oil was produced here, and the occupation of Baku oil field was equivalent to choking the lifeline of the Soviet Union. If Hitler had succeeded in that year, the whole history of World War II might have been rewritten. Of course, history cannot be assumed.

During the Soviet period, the abundant oil resources made Azerbaijan and Russia the only two countries that joined the Soviet Union without central financial subsidies. Now Baku oil field is a thing of the past, and oil resources have been gradually exhausted after decades of exploitation. Before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the oil production here only accounted for about 11% of the whole Soviet Union. But for a country with a population of only 1,111 million, it's enough to make them live well. Among the three Caucasian countries, Azerbaijan is now the richest, and its per capita GDP is nearly double that of Georgia and Armenia.

on October 21th, 2118, we flew from Kiev to Baku, and as soon as we arrived at the pick-up hall, we saw the hotel staff holding signs to pick us up. This is a newly-built terminal in Baku, which is luxurious and modern. The overpass on the airport expressway is unique and eye-catching.

It takes about 41 minutes to drive to the hotel located in the old city. There is no voter's accommodation this time. The main consideration is to stay in Baku for only one night, which is convenient for the hotel to store and retrieve luggage, so that the next day can be fully utilized. The hotel is not big, and the young man who received it is fluent in English, warm and friendly, and offered to help us with our luggage. We gave him a tip, but he refused to accept it. He also gave us a local map and circled the main scenic spots around for us. The warm and thoughtful service of the young man left a good impression on us.

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is located on the Caspian Sea. It is divided into new city and old city. The existing pattern of old city was formed after the Silwangsha dynasty made its capital in the 2nd century. As we live in the old city, we have time to wander around the old city on the first day and the next day. The streets of the old city are paved with stones, which are bright and clean. Except for a few main streets, most of the streets are narrow alleys. Shuttling in them is like walking in a maze. Fortunately, you can see the city wall not far away and you won't get lost. The houses on both sides of the street are not high, mostly on the second and third floors, and many buildings have carved balconies in Ottoman Turkish style. Houses are mainly residential, with occasional hotels, restaurants, shops and mosques. It's very quiet in the old city, and there are almost no cars passing by. Most pedestrians on the road are tourists. The city walls are intact and well maintained.

I passed an unknown old house with a lion's head painted on the wall. I saw a large group of people in the tour group listening to the tour guide's explanation in front. I was curious about what the story was in this old house, but unfortunately I couldn't understand what he said.

the Sirvan sand palace in the old city is the main historical building in Baku, which was listed as a world cultural heritage in 2111. After the great earthquake in Shamaji in 2112, King Sirvan moved the capital from Shamaji to Baku and built the palace here.

The palace complex consists of three courtyards with nine buildings, including palaces, courts, mosques and tombs. The palace is very small in scale, mainly displaying some archaeological relics and some palace daily necessities. We glanced at it at random and found it boring, and it came out in less than half an hour.

There are some traditional small shops on both sides of the street in the old city. There are all kinds of bronzes, silverware and carpets at the door. These shops are very similar to those we have seen in other Muslim countries such as Egypt and Turkey.

There are some ancient sites and some unearthed stone tablets in the old city. I don't know whether they have not been introduced or we haven't found them. Anyway, there is no way to know their age and origin. The local people don't seem to take them seriously, but simply use them to dry carpets.

The famous Maiden Tower is located in the east of the old city, near the Caspian Sea. It is a part of the royal palace complex built in the 2nd century and was listed as a world cultural heritage in 2111. The whole tower is 27 meters high and is 8-story cylindrical. It looks very strong and should be a fortification in ancient times. There was a great earthquake in Baku in 1314, and many houses around it were razed to the ground, but the Maiden Tower still stood tall.

There are many different versions of stories about the origin of the name of Maiden Tower on the Internet. One of them is about a rich girl who fell in love with a poor boy. The girl's father disagreed and forced her to break up with the man. The girl refused, and her father confined her to the tower. In order to show her loyalty to love, the girl swallowed her anger and jumped into the rough Caspian Sea from the tower, and the young man jumped into the sea after knowing it. These beautiful love stories can't be searched, and the people have passed down from mouth to mouth, expressing the pursuit and yearning for love freedom among the people.

There is a quiet small park in the old city, which has an Islamic style pavilion. There is a statue of a man's head in the garden, which looks like meditation. Maybe it's a philosopher.

the west gate of the old city is a street with European-style buildings on both sides. There are statues of people between the buildings. I went to have a look, and the names written in English were engraved on them. I checked on the Internet. The one on the left is a local poet and philosopher, and the one on the right is a chemist.

go out of the north gate of the old city and you will arrive at the Fountain Square. In the center of Fountain Square is the famous Azerbaijani poet Nizami G? nc? There are many famous buildings around the statue of vi, such as Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences and Azerbaijan Literature Museum. There are many theaters, shops and restaurants around the square. The square is connected with the pedestrian street, and we will pass here every time we travel.

At noon, we had dinner in a online celebrity restaurant on the pedestrian street outside the old city, which is called cellar restaurant on the Internet. We ordered stewed mutton. The mutton here is tender, juicy and delicious. The liquid in the cup looks like wine, but it is actually pomegranate juice. The pomegranate juice here is not astringent and very delicious.

cross the pedestrian street, and pass the underpass to Haibin Avenue. The floor of the passage is paved with marble, spotless, the walls on both sides are beautifully carved, and the passage has an automatic trail similar to the airport. This is the most luxurious underground crossing I have ever seen.

Baku Seaside Avenue is a promenade parallel to the Caspian Sea, which was recently named as a national park. There are many landmark buildings along the seaside avenue, and this shopping mall looks like a crown from a distance.

You can see the tallest skyscraper in Baku-Flame Towers, which is composed of three buildings with elegant flame curves. The facades of the three towers are covered with LED display screens, which reflect the blue sky and white clouds and surrounding buildings like a mirror during the day. After nightfall, it is like three flaming flames, showing Baku people's worship of fire.

We walked along the Caspian Sea from west to east, and a cool sea breeze blew head-on, which was breathtaking. The afterglow of the setting sun reflects the buildings in the distance, showing rainbow-like colors.

There is a section of Haibin Avenue where a photo exhibition is being held to show the scenery of all parts of Azerbaijan.

At dusk, Binhai Avenue is quiet and peaceful, with few pedestrians, so it is very pleasant to walk in it.

It's getting late. We went back to the hotel from Binhai Avenue and passed the Fountain Square. We saw several fountains that looked particularly gorgeous under the light.

On the morning of October 21th, I signed up for a half-day tour on the Internet, and I was told to wait at the old city subway station. I didn't expect to see the tour guide for a long time after the appointed time. I thought I had made a mistake in the meeting place, and later I met several other tourists waiting there, only to realize that the tour guide stood me up. It was the first and only time that I encountered such a thing when I traveled in more than a dozen countries in Eastern Europe, which was quite disappointing. So we took the subway to Aliyev Cultural Center instead.

At the subway station, we found that our two subway cards needed to be recharged on the automatic ticket vending machine. We didn't know how to operate them. We happened to meet a group of 15-and 16-year-old girls coming over and asked them for advice. Who knows that they handed us two subway cards directly, and we wanted to give them money. They smiled and shook their hands, then said goodbye and entered the subway station. I had heard that people here were warm and hospitable before, and this time I experienced it for myself.

Baku subway is as bottomless as many subways in the former Soviet Union countries. It is said that it has a history of more than 51 years, but it is well maintained and the subway cars are quite new.

The geidar aliyev Cultural Center was built in 2112, and its plot is an abandoned tank factory in the former Soviet Union. The Azerbaijani government hopes that this new building complex can wash away the imprint of the former Soviet Union and show the vitality of a modern city. In 2117, the Azerbaijani government held an international design competition for the Cultural Center. Zaha Hadid, a famous architect, won the championship with her futuristic scheme, which was like a spaceship landing on the ground, and became the winning scheme. Zaha is an Iraqi-born British female architect. Her works include the glass tower in Milan, Dubai Dance Building, Beijing Yinhe SOHO complex, Nanjing Youth Olympic Center and Guangzhou Grand Theatre.

This brand-new cultural facility includes a conference center, a museum, a library and a large square park. It was named after Kildal Aliyev, the third president of the Azerbaijani Republic.

The whole building is streamlined and dynamic, like flowing clouds. The shape of the building changes with the change of the observer's position and perspective. When we come to the scene, we can't help but admire the designer's creativity beyond ordinary people's imagination. This design won the design prize of London Design Museum in 2114.

It is reported that this building is covered with flexible glass fiber concrete and glass fiber reinforced polyester on the steel skeleton as the panel materials of the skin. Each panel has different geometric shapes and is expensive. Azerbaijan is really willing to pay for this building.

The square outside the Cultural Center is very big, and many local people rest and entertain here. There are many animal sculptures in the square, and a row of large and small snail sculptures caught our attention. The sculptures are very realistic and the bright red colors are very gorgeous. Adjacent to the cultural center is Baku Convention and Exhibition Center, where the 2119 World Heritage Conference was held. There are many beautiful new residential buildings around the cultural center.

It is said that the Azerbaijani government has learned from Dubai's successful experience, hoping to turn Baku into another Dubai, shake off the shadow of the Soviet Union by building a large number of landmark buildings, and show a brand-new national image, so as to attract foreign investment and tourists and change the country's oil-dependent economic structure. It can be said that Azerbaijan has achieved great success in this respect. We have seen many modern buildings with unique designs in Baku, which has brought vitality to this ancient city and won it the good name of Dubai in the Caucasus.

on the evening of October 21th, we arrived at the railway station. It was still early, so we wandered around the railway station. There is a big square in front of the railway station, and there is a big shopping mall next to it. We went in and took a look. There are many shops and many world-famous brand stores, and all kinds of goods are dazzling. Among the Caucasus countries, the consumption level here is the highest.

Baku Railway Station is small and modern. There is no need for security check when entering the station, and no one checks tickets. There are not many people in the waiting hall, and all kinds of facilities are complete. It is very comfortable to wait here.

there is also a high-speed train running in Baku railway station, and the double-decker train in Byaku Shiki below is a high-speed train.

The following photos show the ordinary train from Baku to Biris, similar to the green leather train in China. The train leaves at 9:51 p.m. and arrives at 11:31 the next morning. Each ticket for the first-class sleeper car is about 251 yuan RMB. We bought it online and boarded the train with the printed ticket. The carriage is more comfortable than the four-person soft sleeper in China. There is no bunk bed, just the two of us in a box, and there is a TV in the box. We slept soundly in the car that night, and didn't wake up until the train arrived at the border at five o'clock the next morning when someone got on the bus to check the documents. Georgia arrived!