Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

Baku, Azerbaijan Baku is the capital city of Azerbaijan that's situated at 28 m below sea level, making it the largest city in the world below sea level. It's also the largest city in the Caucasus region, covering an area of approximately 2,140 square kilometres. About 25% of the country's population live in the metropolis.

Zamkovskaya Side-Street, Icherisheher, Baku, Azerbaijan Daily: 10.00am - 6.00pm Maiden Tower is a 12th century tower that houses a museum showcasing the story of the historic evolution of Baku. Along with  Palace of the Shirvanshahs , the tower has been in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 2001. Till date, nobody has come to a foolproof conclusion of the design and purpose of the tower.

Zamkovskaya Side-Street, Icherisheher, Baku, Azerbaijan Daily: 10.00am - 6.00pm Erected in the 15th century within  Icherisheher , Palace of the Shirvanshahs is described by UNESCO as "one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture". Shirvan is a historical region in eastern Caucasus, covering a sizeable area from the western shores of the Caspian Sea in the east to the Kura River in the west. The rulers of Shirvan were given the title Shirvanshahs.

Along Neftchilar Avenue, Baku, Azerbaijan Icherisheher (lit. Inner City) is the historical core of the capital city of Azerbaijan that's surrounded by fortress walls. Along with Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower that can be found within the complex, Icherisheher became the first location in the country to be classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Southern end of Mehdi Huseyn Street, Baku, Azerbaijan Located on the highest point in the capital city, Highland Park is a terrace that offers the most fabulous panorama of Baku and the world's largest inland body of water, the Caspian Sea. It's also home to Martyrs' Lane, a memorial and cemetery dedicated to national heroes and civilians who perished during turbulent times in Azerbaijan.

93 Stamford Road, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Daily: 10.00am - 7.00pm Let's continue with Part 2 of "The Doraemon Exhibition Singapore 2022", which is the first global showcase outside of Japan since its first inception in 2002. As a quick recap,  Part 1  showcases one of the three galleries that I went to, together with the gift shop and pop-up café. In today's post, we shall marvel at what the second and third galleries have got to offer.

93 Stamford Road, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Daily: 10.00am - 7.00pm Let's take a time out from Azerbaijan to take a nostalgia trip at one of the exhibitions hosted by the National Museum of Singapore that's going to be over soon. "The Doraemon Exhibition Singapore 2022" has been running since 5 November 2022, its first overseas debut since its premiere in Tokyo, Japan back in 2002.

Seaside National Park, Baku, Azerbaijan Happy New Year, folks! Let's continue with the sightseeing in Baku, Azerbaijan. Opening its doors, or should I say cabins, to the public since March 2014, Baku Eye is a Ferris wheel in Baku that offers panoramas of the capital city and the Caspian Sea. For some reason, it's also colloquially known as Devil's Wheel. The Ferris wheel features 30 cabins, two of which are VIP cabins.

Neftchilar Avenue, Baku, Azerbaijan Baku Boulevard is a promenade that stretches along a south-facing bay on the Caspian Sea, which is the world's largest inland body of water. Established in 1909, the promenade was originally built to connect the oil fields in Bibi Heybet, a municipality in the capital city, as part of one of the urban development projects.

32 Eziz Eliyev Road, Baku, Azerbaijan For the short stay in Baku, Azerbaijan, I managed to get an affordable room at the relatively quiet Center City Hotel Baku (3*) despite its location near one of the entrances to Icherisheher, the historic city centre surrounded by walls. A comfy enough bed, hot shower and adequate buffet breakfast were all I needed. 

IST-GYD (2h 50m) Airbus 320 ETD: 12.20pm (GMT + 3) ETA: 4.10pm (GMT + 4) Trying out a new airline is something that I always look forward to, so much so that I keep a  record  here in my travel blog. Even though I knew I'd be flying in a rather old aircraft, I was excited to hop aboard the flag carrier of Azerbaijan to its capital city, Baku. As a recap, Georgia is the first Caucasus country that I visited back in 2018, where I touched down at Tbilisi .