Baku is the capital and largest city in Azerbaijan. It's also the largest city on the Caspian Sea. Oddly enough, Baku is at 92 feet below sea level. This makes Baku the lowest lying national capital in the world and the largest city in the world below sea level. Clearly, sea level is not set by the Caspian Sea. According to our guide, sea level is set by the Baltic Sea. Baku's nickname is the "City of Winds," as the wind rolls right in off the Caspian Sea.

Baku has a population of around 2.5 million people which means that about 25 percent of Azerbaijan's population lives in the Baku metropolitan area. Baku is the cultural, scientific, and industrial center of Azerbaijan. It's also the headquarters for many Azerbaijani institutions and the venue for major international events. The Baku Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargo every year.

At some point, I told our guide, Togrul, how impressed I was with Baku. I noted the buildings, the traffic, the energy, and that I could not find one single piece of litter or garbage anywhere. Togrul just smiled and said, "Oil and gas."

Azerbaijan has huge deposits of oil and natural gas and it plays a major role in their economy. In fact, Azerbaijan is ranked as one of the world's top areas for oil exploration and development. Oil exportation accounts for approximately 76 percent of the country's total exports.

Let's have a look at some of what I found so impressive about Baku and it's architecture.

The first photo below is simply the Hilton Hotel, which is where we stayed in Baku. It was a very nice hotel.

I'm not sure what the next building was but it was right across the street from our hotel. It appeared to be old and stately, perhaps from the Russian era.

The next photo is one I took from Old Town Baku. I like it because you can see some of the very old and some of the very new in Baku. The photo below was taken from the Palace of The Shirvanshahs.

The next building is the Heydar Aliyev Center. It's a famous building designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The center is a performance venue and exhibition space. It seemed to me to be very much like an art museum but what a building!

The next photo was taken from very near where Vicky is standing above. It's just another photo of Baku showing the wide variety of buildings and architecture.

The next building is not so famous or important, but it is certainly eye-catching. It's Deniz Mall. It's a shopping and entertainment mall that sits right on the Caspian Sea. It's got seven floors of shops, cafes, restaurants, a cinema, a children's entertainment center, an amusement park, a bowling alley and much more. It visually resembles a lotus flower and our guide said it gets people confused with the Sydney Opera House, for looks.

Lastly is a photo I took from the waterfront walk, along the Caspian Sea. This is another photo to show the variety of buildings in Baku. The buildings in the forefront are, of course, very old. But you can see the Flame Towers in the background, which are meant to symbolize the elements of fire. They hold residential apartments, a Fairmont Hotel, and lots of office space. They also light up at night and change colors and patterns.