Thanks, delta spartan. The people seemed quite happy in Baku, with a nice city centre, good restaurants, wearing western clothes and quite a few luxury shops. I think the Aliyevs keep a good reign on dissidence and the media etc though. I was reading how a reporter told the laid off workers of a closed gold mine that it was owned by the Presidents family, but they refused to believe her! Baku is also probably alot different from the rest of the country too, given that the average national wage is ~$300 a month.
Thank you, helvetic. Yes, Baku looks to have had quite a bit of recent new construction and several more projects still underway, quite new and modern, especially in the city centre. Very Dubai-esque.
Many thanks, isaifan. Yes, quite an interesting part of the world, not quite Europe, not quite Asia. You can definitely see the influences of both though.
Thanks, jah718. I saw some of the garages and other stuff being set up for the F1 when I was there. Apparently it will have the longest straight of all the tracks on the calendar at ~2 kilometers long. Will hopefully see some crazy speeds!
Thank you, theflyingstudent. Yes, Baku was the perfect place to have a quick weekend getaway. I have just come back from Georgia and really loved it too. From the beautiful mountain scenery to the tasty khinkhali.