Azerbaijan - situated in southwestern Asia with the Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, it was a former Soviet republic, is an independent state since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

Today, Azerbaijan is a tangle of contradictions and contrasts, selling itself as the “Land of Fire”, neither Europe nor Asia, it's a nexus of ancient historical empires, but also a “new” nation rapidly transforming itself from the UNESCO-listed ancient core with semi-desert, mud volcanoes and curious fire phenomena to a cosmopolitan capital - Baku, with dazzling 21st century architecture to welcome international travelers and investors.