Nakhchivan: One of the world's most sustainable places

Imagine visiting somewhere and the minute you start talking in English, the locals burst out in fits of laughter.

Such is the reach of the English language there cannot be many places on the planet where that is likely to happen anymore.

But it does in a place called Nakhchivan.. and quite a lot at that.

Nakhchivan – where’s that?

Yes, you might be forgiven for being in the dark about the name. But many of the locals there appear equally flummoxed when greeted with the sight of foreign tourists, certainly English speaking ones.

Such is the novelty of international tourists (and spoken English) in this faraway enclave of Azerbaijan that the only way the locals seem to respond when they meeting a foreigner is to burst out in a slightly embarrassed, child-like giggle.

While public awareness of oil-rich Baku, the Azer capital, has rocketed in recent years - the city is now on the F1 grand prix circuit, hosted the Eurovision song contest and puts on major sporting events - mention the word “Nakhchivan” and you will be met with blank stares.

You’re unlikely to find any mention of it in tour guides and it’s certainly not on the conventional tourist trail. But that is not surprising as it is a little known enclave, quite isolated with few European visitors. You’ll not find any mass tourism here and no need for a tourist tax to curb visitor numbers.

But the same might be said of other places that are now on the tourist map – think Vietnam 40 years ago, maybe - so who’s to say the same won’t happen, albeit in the future, with Nakhchivan?

On the face of it, that will be no easy task though.

According to the “Statistics Committee of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic”, the princely sum total of 32,782 foreign visitors ventured there in the whole of 2024.

Given there is, in fact, no real access to the place for people travelling from Europe other than  flying to Baku then taking another 1 hour flight to Nakhchivan, that modest visitor figure should not really come as much of a shock.

But what may come as a pleasant surprise for those intrepid travellers who do venture here is the sheer warmth and generosity the locals greet you with (something that cannot be said about many traditional tourist destinations these days).

Plenty to see and do

So, what exactly is there to see and do if you do visit?

Well, a logical starting point is Nakhchivan City whose population, about 100,000, makes up nearly a quarter of the entire number of inhabitants in the republic.

After possibly a protracted and tiring journey here you will be delighted to know that the small airport is extremely close to the city centre and you are likely to find yourself at the entrance of your hotel in less than ten minutes of leaving the airport terminal.

With its wide, multi-laned roads, the City where most travellers will be based.

You can easily discover the City on foot and there are plenty of museums (free to enter), including one, of course, devoted to probably the republic’s best known “son”, the former leader and doyen  of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. He died, aged 80, in December 2003 but is still revered in these parts (you’ll see his features beaming out from huge roadside hoardings everywhere).

The museum has more than 5,000 exhibits which reflect the life and activities of Aliyev. You can learn all about his family, childhood and younger years and see documents related to the period when he worked in leadership positions, his signed letters and orders and even the service phone he used in his office, his pen plus other fascinating objects.

He was so popular they asked him to return to power after he retired in 1986 (which he did).

But Aliyev isn’t the City’s only famous son. So, too, is the world-famous architect, Ajami Nakhchivani. 

The 800-year-old Momine Khatin Mausoleum is one of the oldest monuments built in honour of a woman in the East and is more than 800 years old. It was erected for Momine Khatin, the wife of Atabeg Shamseddin Eldeniz, the head of the state of the Eldiguzids. Her tomb, a magnificent example of Azerbaijan's national architecture that has survived to this day, is one of the most beautiful works by Ajami Nakhchivani who was also responsible for another historically important local monument, the tomb of Yusif Kuseyir Oghlu, an architectural pearl and known among locals as the "ancestral tomb".

Nakhchivan City, which is at an altitude of 1,000m above sea level, was designated the Islamic Culture Capital for 2018 and you should not leave without also admiring Haydar Mosque (three mosques, in fact, and huge, able to house no less than 6,500 people in total).

So what else is there?

Time permitting you really should try to venture out of the City and your travels may then take you to Ordubad, an ancient settlement on the border with Iran. Here you will find some fascinating museums, dedicated to some of the regions’ favourite and most successful sons.

There is one, for instance, in honour of Taghi Sidqui who pioneered local language schools and is seen as a role model for the education sector (at a time also when few girls were educated).

History buffs might also want to check out yet another museum, this time honouring Yusif Mammadaliyev, a prominent locally-born scientist who is credited with pioneering the use of high-octane aviation fuel.

UNESCO recognition

As you wind your way along semi-deserted roads, often lined with folk selling fruit and veg plucked from nearby fields, you may come to Lake Goygol, one of the most beautiful places in the country, which has just been proposed for inclusion on UNESCO’s “Tentative List.”

The journey to it from Nakhchivan City, via rust-red mountains and a particularly bumpy and dusty 4x4 road journey, is a sometimes white-knuckle experience in itself but all part of the adventure.

Once you arrive you cannot help but be struck by the majestic and serene setting of the place, reminding yourself that Armenia, a country Azerbaijan has found itself in bitter conflict with over the years and is called one of Europe’s last “frozen conflicts”, is just over the horizon. On a good day try to bring something for a BBQ or picnic as the locals do (not forgetting to clear up fully afterwards, of course).

More than 30% of the territory in the region is located at a height of 600-1,000m above sea level and the fact that the whole area around the lake was under snow as recently as June is indicative of sometimes dramatic seasonal shifts in weather locally.

Museums, mausoleums and mosques

Archaeologists have found here many items of the material culture of the II and I millennia BC and the region boasts endless ruins of mausoleums, towers and ancient cities. Another “top” visitor attraction in this off-the-radar destination has to be the medieval Alinja Fortress, known as the Machu Picchu of Nakhchivan. This is a citadel on top of a crag (it takes about 45 minutes to climb the 1,000 steps so don’t forget the sun cream) in the Julfa mountains. It is well worth the physical effort as the views from the top are wondrous.

The region abounds with such natural wonders and yet another one is Lake Batabat, a mountain lake at 1,700 metres above sea level, surrounded by lush green pastures, with floating peat islands. It is located 62km to the northeast of Nakhchivan City.

The area is noted for its healthy climate and rich medicinal plants (Nakhchivan is home to 250 springs as well as the famous water brands Sirab and Badamli) and a visit to Duzdag, or salt mountain, and its physiotherapy centre (used for salt therapy), should also be on the bucket list of a “must do” things here. It is well-paved and well-lit and is really just one deep tunnel that you walk down and back again. You may immediately feel the therapeutic effects of the air in the cave even if you don’t have any respiratory issues.

Research and archeological findings have proven that salt was mined in the Nakhchivan area as early as the Eneolithic period and, today, this natural local “gift” is also used for treatment. Diseases such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis are treated in the salt centre’s caves, which extend to a depth of 110 metres. Patients, be they young or old, who spend the night in the old underground salt mines are treated and, very often, cured of their respiratory problems. The air temperature in the centre varies between 18-20℃ and relative humidity is between 24-50% in all seasons of the year.

As you travel around this province you cannot help but be struck by its arid, moon-type landscape, one which is punctuated here and there by swathes of greenery, which is where some of the produce/ingredients for the region’s wonderful cuisine is sourced (more on that later).

You cannot help but notice, also, the endless yellow pipes that traverse the entire mountainous region, including towns and villages. These carry gas and were, it seems, built above, not underground, in order to make it easier for them to seen and accessed in the event of repair.

Azerbaijan itself is relatively prosperous compared with, say, neighbouring Georgia and Armenia, and that’s due, of course in no small part to its rich reserves of natural gas. One notable reason why the Azerbaijani GDP skyrocketed more than 300% in the last 15 years.

This particular region has, however, no such gas (or oil) reserves to draw on so its energy supplies are imported, via Iran, from Azerbaijan, along with other imports like medicines and pharmaceutical products. This may change soon, though, as the state university in Nakhchivan City specialises in medicine and these days attracts lots of foreign students, especially from Iran and Turkey but other places too such as Bangladesh and Nigeria.

Rich history

For those (and there will be many) who are unfamiliar with it Nakhchivan, the administrative centre of the region and said to be the most ancient city of Azerbaijanis in the world, is located between Armenia, Iran and Turkey on the Transcaucasian plateau and is an autonomous republic of Azerbaijan. It is one of the most isolated outposts of the former Soviet Union and a place few travellers ever visit.

It was, for many years, largely closed off even to most Soviet citizens back in the days when Azerbaijan was part of the USSR.

But, even today, it remains relatively unknown to many, not just in the Russian-speaking world but beyond.

However, anyone with an Azerbaijani visa can enter the region and it is also worth noting that direct flights are possible from Istanbul (and Moscow), albeit far less frequent than from Baku, 560km away and serviced by Azerbaijan Airlines.

Currently, about 90per cent of visitors to the region, which is wedged between the Black and Caspian seas, come from just a couple of countries: Turkey and Iran. Spain and Italy make up the remainder, along with Korea and the U.S.

There are relatively few hotels, English is rarely spoken and public transport is extremely limited (to a few local buses). But what it may lack, at present, in Western-standard tourist infrastructure it makes up for with an array of natural wonders, endless historical monuments, glorious mosques … and that aforementioned genuine warmth of its inhabitants.

From Noah to independence

Thousands of years separate them but a couple of events constitute local significant historical points of interest.

One is fact while the other, most likely, is a myth.

The province, which has the Araz river flowing along the border with Iran and Turkey, happened to be the first part of the disintegrating Soviet Union to declare its independence – a couple of months before Lithuania. Geographically severed from its nation (Azerbaijan) by an 80-130km strip of Armenia, this 450,000-strong region is said to be the world’s largest landlocked exclave.

Its second historical “claim to fame” is based largely on local legend: when the great flood receded, Noah’s ark is said to have landed atop nearby Mount Ilandag, carving out the defined cleft still seen on the peak today.

This, as local tourist guides will readily point out, is almost certainly mere myth and it is worth noting there are a handful of other places around the globe making similar claims about Noah.

No matter. It naturally all adds to the allure of the place and some Nakhchivanis insist this really is where Noah came from and that they are his descendants.

Self sufficient

There is an admirable sense of self-sufficiency in Nakhchivan, born from scarcity and necessity in decades gone by. The local economy has an organic and ecologically progressive policy and there is great pride locally that Nakhchivan pretty much “grows its own” when it comes to feeding its small population. Its health-conscious leaders have adopted an effective no-pesticide, all-organic food policy and this pretty much guarantees that the herbs and vegetables are from local foothills, the lamb comes from local farms and the salt from underground caves.

They love their food here and, for instance, spare no effort in ensuring that just about all edible parts of an animal’s carcass is used, including the legs and head (and even the fat it all produces) and the result is an absolutely mouth-watering cuisine that will live with you long after you’ve returned home.

The local cuisine, which can be quite distinct from the rest of Azerbaijan, is an integral part of this region’s unique culture and you should also try some things that are specific to this area such as the “balqayğanaq”, which is a kind of buttery omelette with honey (lots of it) added which is a mainstay of the kitchens (though not restaurants) in this area. Another tasty offering is the “Alana”, which is prepared by filling the dried peach with ground nuts and sugar powder.

They eat a lot of meat (and bread) and lamb (lula) features heavily. It’s as mouth watering as you’ll ever experience. The same can be said of a couple of other national dishes: beef and cherry and a smoky-flavoured aubergine egg plant - both delicious.

This might be consumed in what is called a “kupe” – quaint, small private rooms and ideal for a family/group together over a delicious meal, washed down by a locally-made fruit drink.

Civic responsibility

This admirable “land-to-table” ethos is something some in the West could learn from as is the sense of civic responsibility and duty that proudly exists among most of the region’s 479,000 population. As well as being one of the most ancient centres of the world, Nakhchivan is, it seems, considered the cleanest city in Azerbaijan, if not the whole of the Caucasus and this is manifests itself in clean and tidy streets (no ugly graffiti here). You will also feel completely safe here, including on the, refreshingly, uncrowded roads.

Touting for tourists

OK, so it is well off the tourist trail and you’ll certainly need to hire a car or a driver to get around  the republic’s seven regions but, from lemon plantations to salt caves, mosques to fortresses, there’s much to keep you occupied, busy and entertained in this remarkable region. In case you do visit, it is good to know that June to September is when you are most likely to have good weather (snowfall is from May to October).

There are some reminders of the old Soviet past such as the quaint old Lada cars that are clearly still popular (along with newer Chinese brands). But this is a region that has managed to survive and flourish and is, now, very keen to raise its public visibility in order to attract more tourists from Europe, including Belgium and the UK, and the rest of the world.

Friendly locals

Arguably, the best thing about any visit here is the sheer friendliness of the locals, such as Gulchin Agayeva, who was born locally, studied at university in Baku and returned to the enclave to be with her family and now works there for a government ministry. Her love and passion for her homeland is self-evident.

As the very welcoming Gulchin concedes, some may think it a questionable place to visit due to its geographical location but, Gulchin adds, “this perception is something we are very much trying to change.”

Her parting shot after a recent trip to the region sums it up: “Seeing the smiles on your faces means everything to us.”

You can only wish the enclave of Nakhchivan (which means “Nakshi-Jahan” – decoration of the world) the best of luck in this laudable, though not easy, endeavour.

This corner of Azerbaijan is relatively prosperous but, yes, it is true that the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) does not get many foreign tourists and those who do come here are much more likely to be the adventurous type who  has an interest in discovering off-the-beaten-track places.

But the nature and diversity in landscapes is stunning and, even if it is just the one time, this is a destination that well deserves to be discovered.
Photo credit: Aris Setya

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