Learn Azerbaijan before you go

10 phrases to learn

In Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan dili). Capital letters show the stressed part. Tap the heart to practise a phrase later.

At the table

• Guests are welcomed with tea, usually before anything else. It is polite to accept at least one glass.
• Bread is treated with great respect. Do not throw it away, put it on the floor or step over it; old bread is left in a clean place or given to birds.
• Say 'nuş olsun', may it be good for you, to people who are eating, much like 'enjoy your meal'.
• Take off your shoes when you enter a home unless your hosts tell you otherwise; slippers are often offered.
• The eldest are served first and treated with great respect. At the end of the meal it is polite to thank your hosts warmly and praise the food, especially the plov.
• Alcohol is legal and wine and beer are common, but many Azerbaijanis do not drink, so follow your hosts' lead.

Local tips

Dishes to try

• Qutab: Very thin half-moons of dough filled with fresh herbs, minced lamb or pumpkin, cooked quickly on a dome-shaped griddle called a saj and brushed with butter. They are eaten hot, often with sumac and plain yoghurt, as a snack, a starter or a light meal.
• Dushbara (Düşbərə): Tiny dumplings of lamb and onion, served in a clear meat broth sprinkled with dried mint, with vinegar on the side. Good cooks pride themselves on making the dumplings so small that many fit on one spoon.
• Dovga (Dovğa): A soup of yoghurt cooked with rice or chickpeas and a large amount of green herbs such as coriander, dill, mint and spinach. It is eaten warm in winter and chilled in summer, and at weddings it is served between the meat courses to help digestion.
• Kufta bozbash (Küftə bozbaş): A rich soup with large lamb meatballs, often with a dried sour plum hidden inside, cooked with chickpeas, potatoes and saffron. The broth is often drunk first, and the meatballs and potatoes are eaten afterwards with bread as a second course.
• Shaki piti (Şəki pitisi): Lamb, chickpeas, potatoes and sour plums slow-cooked for hours in a small individual clay pot, flavoured with saffron and sealed with a piece of tail fat. It is eaten in two stages: first you crumble bread into a bowl and pour the broth over it, then you eat the meat and vegetables with sumac.
• Plov: Long-grain rice steamed until each grain is separate and finished with saffron and butter. In Azerbaijan the rice is usually served with the gara, the topping of lamb or chicken, chestnuts, dried apricots, raisins and onions, on a separate platter, so each person can combine them. Shah plov, a festive version, is baked inside a golden crust of thin lavash bread that is cut open at the table.
• Dolma (Yarpaq dolması): Young vine leaves wrapped around minced lamb, rice and herbs and simmered gently, then served warm with garlic yoghurt. In Azerbaijan dolma is usually folded into small neat parcels. Cabbage leaves, peppers, tomatoes and aubergines are stuffed the same way.
• Lyulya kebab (Lülə kabab): Minced lamb mixed with plenty of onion and a little tail fat, pressed around wide flat skewers and grilled over charcoal. It is wrapped in thin lavash bread with raw onion, sumac and herbs, and often comes with grilled tomatoes and pomegranate seeds.

Cities to see

• Baku (capital): The Old City, Icherisheher, The Maiden Tower, The Flame Towers and the seaside boulevard.
• Sumgait: Soviet-era industry, The Caspian shore, Sumqayit State University.
• Ganja: The Mausoleum of Nizami, The Imamzadeh shrine, Lake Göygöl nearby.
• Mingachevir: The Mingachevir Reservoir, Hydroelectric power, The Kura river running through the city.
• Shaki: The Palace of the Shaki Khans, Caravanserais, Shaki halva.
• Gabala: Ruins of ancient Gabala, Forests and mountain resorts, The Gabala International Music Festival.

Landmarks and the city map are on the Azerbaijan trip