About this experience
To truly understand the colorful Azerbaijan, one must get acquainted with its people and customs. I will gladly assist you with this. The program includes the Old City of Baku, two eastern markets, a festival center, and a countryside home of an Azerbaijani. Everywhere you will hear stories about traditions - ancient and architectural, gastronomic and tea-related, bathing and countryside. We will definitely enjoy delicious food!
What to expect
Breakfast and a walk in the Old City
How will we start the day? With a fragrant omelette with mountain herbs and greens, with unique motley cheese, with feseli flatbread, with buffalo cream and walnut lule kebab. While enjoying the traditional breakfast, you will learn why friends and family are invited for a morning meal. Then we will wander through the winding streets of Icheri-Sheher (Inner City). You will see religious architectural monuments and bath complexes, discover the peculiarities of bathhouse etiquette, and take photos in national costumes.
Choose an authentic souvenir at the market
Eastern markets are famous for their abundance, and Baku's are no exception. Fresh and aromatic herbs, cheese, meat, fish, spices - the Eastern and Green markets have everything you could wish for! Here you can also buy Azerbaijani carpets, silver and natural stone products, ceramics, and silk. I will tell you about our traditions of applied arts and teach you how to distinguish hand-made items from stamped ones.
How Azerbaijan celebrates holidays
A separate topic will be festive rituals, including weddings. You will visit a center where all kinds of Azerbaijani sweets are prepared for celebrations. You will see how weddings are organized, how the newlyweds and guests dress, and what is customary to give. You will learn how a bachelorette party takes place, and what giving a piece of sugar means for the groom. We will also talk about the most important holiday of Novruz and its main dish - samani halva.
Tea and qutabs conversations at an Azerbaijani home
We will be welcomed as guests in the home of an Azerbaijani family near Baku. You will meet the hosts, hear about urban planning and countryside traditions, and understand why hospitality has become a national trait of Azerbaijanis. You will try qutabs with a filling of camel or lamb meat, and have rose tea with sugar and additives like walnuts, cinnamon, and two types of jam (white cherry and olive or nut).
If you want to learn even more about Azerbaijani traditions, at the end of the tour we will visit a cemetery where I will talk about funeral customs.
Organizational details
The tour is conducted in a comfortable car: for 1-3 people it is included in the price; for 4-10 people, an additional minivan rental fee (€100) applies.
Additional expenses
- Breakfast in the Old City - on average €15 per person
- Tea ceremony at the countryside - on average €15 per person
