Data Collection Survey on Tourism Development in Azerbaijan Final

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Data Collection Survey on Tourism Development in Azerbaijan Final Data Collection Survey on Tourism Development in Azerbaijan Final Report February 2017 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Joint Venture JTB Corporate Sales INGÉROSEC Corporation KRI International Corp. 3R JR 17-011 Data Collection Survey on Tourism Development In Azerbaijan Final Report Table of Contents Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... i Map ..................................................................................................................... ii Figures and Tables ............................................................................................. iii 1. Outline of the Survey ................................................................................ 1 (1) Background of the Survey .................................................................. 1 1) Current State of Tourism Development in Azerbaijan ......................... 1 2) Objective of the Survey ....................................................................... 1 3) Targeted Regions ............................................................................... 2 4) Counterparts ....................................................................................... 2 (2) Survey Schedule .................................................................................. 2 1) Work Plan ........................................................................................... 2 2) Mission Schedule ................................................................................ 3 3) Visited Organizations/ Institutions during the mission ......................... 4 4) Outline of the results of Workshops .................................................... 6 2. Azerbaijan .................................................................................................. 7 (1) Economic Situation in Azerbaijan ...................................................... 7 (2) Current Status of the Tourism Resources in Azerbaijan .................. 8 1) Tourism Resources ............................................................................. 8 2) Infrastructure..................................................................................... 19 (3) Tourism Development Policies and Strategies in Azerbaijan ........ 24 (4) Relevant Organizations in Tourism Sector in Azerbaijan .............. 27 1) Governmental Organizations ............................................................ 27 2) Private Sector Organizations ............................................................ 29 (5) Legal and Institutional System in Tourism Sector in Azerbaijan... 31 1) VISA ................................................................................................. 31 2) Law related to National Parks ........................................................... 32 3) Law related to Protection of Cultural Properties ............................... 32 4) Law related to Tourism ..................................................................... 32 (6) Human Resource Development in Tourism Sector in Azerbaijan . 33 1) Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) ........................................... 33 2) Educational Institutions in the Tourism Sector (Universities, Vocational Schools, etc.) ............................................................................................ 33 3) Private Tourism Sector ..................................................................... 35 (7) Current Status of Donor Assistance on Tourism Sector in Azerbaijan .................................................................................................... 35 (1) World Bank ....................................................................................... 36 (2) EU ..................................................................................................... 37 (3) UNDP ............................................................................................... 37 (8) Trends in Tourism Industry in Azerbaijan ....................................... 38 1) Foreign Direct Investment ................................................................. 38 2) Current status of tourists ................................................................... 39 3) Tourism Related Industries ............................................................... 47 4) Current Status of the Tourism Marketing and Promotion .................. 60 (8) Issues and Bottlenecks in Tourism Development in Azerbaijan ... 63 1) SWOT Analysis ................................................................................. 63 2) Institutional Issues ............................................................................ 64 3) Legal Issues ..................................................................................... 64 4) Issues on Infrastructure Development .............................................. 65 5) Issues on Tourism Marketing and Promotion ................................... 66 6) Other Issues ..................................................................................... 67 3. Recommendation on Tourism Promotion ............................................. 68 (1) Issues and Bottlenecks on Tourism Promotion toward the Japanese market ......................................................................................... 68 1) Strengthen competitiveness in the international tourism market ....... 68 2) Implement strategic tourism marketing/promotion ............................ 68 3) Build a sustainable tourism development structure through industry-government-academia collaboration ............................................ 70 4) Improve added value through national/regional collaboration ........... 71 (2) Suggestion for promotional activities toward Japanese market ... 71 (3) Suggestion for promotional activities toward the European market 79 4. Recommendation on the Tourism Sector Development in Azerbaijan 86 (1) Justification ........................................................................................ 86 1) Maximizing the Synergy effect of existing/implemented project by other donors .............................................................................................. 86 2) Proposition to introduce the concept of Destination Management Organization (DMO) .................................................................................. 86 3) Strengthening the promotion capacity intended for the Japanese market ....................................................................................................... 87 4) Enhancing B to B promotion activities .............................................. 87 (2) Proposition of Assistance for the Tourism Sector Development by JICA 88 ANNEX ............................................................................................................. 95 (1) Survey Sheet ....................................................................................... 95 (2) Results of Workshop (SWOT Analysis) ............................................. 110 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 111 Abbreviations Abbreviations Official names ADB Asian Development Bank AZPROMO Azerbaijan Export & Investment Promotion Foundation AzCB Azerbaijan Convention Bureau AZTA Azerbaijan Tourism Association BTVS Baku Tourism Vocational School CBT Community Based Tourism CIS Commonwealth of Independent States GDP Gross Domestic Product DMO Destination Management Organization EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment FIT Foreign Independent Tour GIZ Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit ICC International Chamber of Commerce IMF International Monetary Fund IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources JATA Japan Association of Travel Agents JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency LCC Law-Cost Carrier MICE Meeting, Incentive, Convention/Conference and Exhibition OJT On-the-Job Training SIT Special Interest Tour SME Small and Medium Sized Enterprises SWOT Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threaten TIC Tourism Information Centers TSA Tourism Satellite Account UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization USAID U.S. Agency International Development WEF World Economic Forum WFTGA World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations WTO World Trade Organization WTTC World Travel & Tourism Council WWF World Wide Fund for Nature i Map Survey Area Caucasus region Azerbaijan Basic Political system Republic Surface 86,600 km2 information of Azerbaijan Capital Baku Population 9.6 Million Main Religion Islam GDP (M USD) 53,050 【Map】 Source: United Nations ii Figures and Tables Figure 1-1: Work Plan ............................................................................................ 2 Figure 2-1: Trends of GDP (2005 – 2015) in Azerbaijan ............................................ 7 Figure 2-2: Tourism Resources in Azerbaijan............................................................ 8 Figure 2-3: Foreign hotels in Azerbaijan by operation .............................................. 39 Figure 2-4: Economic contribution of travel and tourism to Azerbaijan’s GDP ........... 39 Figure 2-5: Foreign tourist flows to Azerbaijan ....................................................... 40 Figure 2-6: Number of incoming tourists from Russia, Georgia, and Turkey .............
Recommended publications
  • Health Care Systems in Transition
    Health Care Systems in Transition Written by John Holley Oktay Akhundov Ellen Nolte Edited by Ellen Nolte Laura MacLehose Martin McKee Azerbaijan 2004 The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies is a partnership between the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, the governments of Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, Spain and Sweden, the European Investment Bank, the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Keywords: DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE EVALUATION STUDIES FINANCING, HEALTH HEALTH CARE REFORM HEALTH SYSTEM PLANS – organization and administration AZERBAIJAN © WHO Regional Office for Europe on behalf of European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 2004 This document may be freely reviewed or abstracted, but not for commercial purposes. For rights of reproduction, in part or in whole, application should b e made to the Secretariat of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies welcomes such applications. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies or its participating organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The names of countries or areas used in this document are those which were obtained at the time the original language edition of the document was prepared.
    [Show full text]
  • KHAZAR UNIVERSITY Faculty
    KHAZAR UNIVERSITY Faculty: Education Major: General and Applied Linguistics Topic: “May your young people cast off the stone of singleness:” Azerbaijani “alqış phrases” (blessing formulas) and their American English equivalents, or what is revealed by the lack thereof Master student: Martha Lawry Scientific Advisor: Professor Hamlet Isaxanli Submitted January 2012 1 Summary This thesis by Martha Lawry is entitled “„may your young people cast off the stone of singleness:‟ Azerbaijani „alqış phrases‟ (blessing formulas) and their American English equivalents, or what is revealed by the lack thereof.” The objective of the research is to define the alqış phrases which are frequently used in modern spoken Azerbaijani, determine how best to define them in English, determine their linguistic functions in Azerbaijani, and compare them to the phrases that most closely fulfill the same functions in American English. Ethnographic and comparative research methods were used, including reviewing secondary sources (literature reviews) and qualitative research in the form of both semi- structured interviews conducted with native Azerbaijani speakers of varying ages and social strata living in the Azerbaijan Republic and open-ended structured interviews conducted via an online questionnaire with native English speakers living in the United States. The research led to the conclusion that alqış phrases should be defined as ―blessing formulas‖ in English. Most alqış phrases were determined to be grammatically distinguished by second or third person verbs in optative or imperative mood. They can have the expressive functions of being bono-recognitive, bono-petitive, malo-recognitive or malo-fugitive, although the most common are bono-petitive and malo-fugitive. Alqış phrases were also shown to be politeness strategies according to Levinson and Brown‘s politeness theory (used to protect the speaker‘s positive face or to protect the listener‘s negative face).
    [Show full text]
  • Universita' Degli Studi Di Milano Bicocca
    Dipartimento di Scienze Ambiente e Territorio e Scienze della Terra Università degli studi di Milano-Bicocca Dottorato di Ricerca in Scienze della Terra XXVI ciclo Earthquake-induced static stress change in promoting eruptions Tutore: Prof. Alessandro TIBALDI Co-tutore: Dott.ssa Claudia CORAZZATO Fabio Luca BONALI Matr. Nr. 040546 This work is dedicated to my uncle Eugenio Marcora who led my interest in Earth Sciences and Astronomy during my childhood Abstract The aim of this PhD work is to study how earthquakes could favour new eruptions, focusing the attention on earthquake-induced static effects in three different case sites. As a first case site, I studied how earthquake-induced crustal dilatation could trigger new eruptions at mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan. Particular attention was then devoted to contribute to the understanding of how earthquake-induced magma pathway unclamping could favour new volcanic activity along the Alaska-Aleutian and Chilean volcanic arcs, where 9 seismic events with Mw ≥ 8 occurred in the last century. Regarding mud volcanoes, I studied the effects of two earthquakes of Mw 6.18 and 6.08 occurred in the Caspian Sea on November 25, 2000 close to Baku city, Azerbaijan. A total of 33 eruptions occurred at 24 mud volcanoes within a maximum distance of 108 km from the epicentres in the five years following the earthquakes. Results show that crustal dilatation might have triggered only 7 eruptions at a maximum distance of about 60 km from the epicentres and within 3 years. Dynamic rather than static strain is thus likely to have been the dominating “promoting” factor because it affected all the studied unrested volcanoes and its magnitude was much larger.
    [Show full text]
  • Azerbaijan Azerbaijan
    COUNTRY REPORT ON THE STATE OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE AZERBAIJAN AZERBAIJAN National Report on the State of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in Azerbaijan Baku – December 2006 2 Note by FAO This Country Report has been prepared by the national authorities in the context of the preparatory process for the Second Report on the State of World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Report is being made available by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as requested by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. However, the report is solely the responsibility of the national authorities. The information in this report has not been verified by FAO, and the opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views or policy of FAO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 7 INTRODUCTION 8 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Proposed Multitranche Financing Facility Republic of Azerbaijan: Road Network Development Investment Program Tranche I: Southern Road Corridor Improvement
    Environmental Assessment Report Summary Environmental Impact Assessment Project Number: 39176 January 2007 Proposed Multitranche Financing Facility Republic of Azerbaijan: Road Network Development Investment Program Tranche I: Southern Road Corridor Improvement Prepared by the Road Transport Service Department for the Asian Development Bank. The summary environmental impact assessment is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB’s Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. The views expressed herein are those of the consultant and do not necessarily represent those of ADB’s members, Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. 2 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 2 January 2007) Currency Unit – Azerbaijan New Manat/s (AZM) AZM1.00 = $1.14 $1.00 = AZM0.87 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank DRMU – District Road Maintenance Unit EA – executing agency EIA – environmental impact assessment EMP – environmental management plan ESS – Ecology and Safety Sector IEE – initial environmental examination MENR – Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources MFF – multitranche financing facility NOx – nitrogen oxides PPTA – project preparatory technical assistance ROW – right-of-way RRI – Rhein Ruhr International RTSD – Road Transport Service Department SEIA – summary environmental impact assessment SOx – sulphur oxides TERA – TERA International Group, Inc. UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WHO – World Health Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES C – centigrade m2 – square meter mm – millimeter vpd – vehicles per day CONTENTS MAP I. Introduction 1 II. Description of the Project 3 IIII. Description of the Environment 11 A. Physical Resources 11 B. Ecological and Biological Environment 13 C.
    [Show full text]
  • Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus
    STATUS AND PROTECTION OF GLOBALLY THREATENED SPECIES IN THE CAUCASUS CEPF Biodiversity Investments in the Caucasus Hotspot 2004-2009 Edited by Nugzar Zazanashvili and David Mallon Tbilisi 2009 The contents of this book do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CEPF, WWF, or their sponsoring organizations. Neither the CEPF, WWF nor any other entities thereof, assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product or process disclosed in this book. Citation: Zazanashvili, N. and Mallon, D. (Editors) 2009. Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus. Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. Contour Ltd., 232 pp. ISBN 978-9941-0-2203-6 Design and printing Contour Ltd. 8, Kargareteli st., 0164 Tbilisi, Georgia December 2009 The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. This book shows the effort of the Caucasus NGOs, experts, scientific institutions and governmental agencies for conserving globally threatened species in the Caucasus: CEPF investments in the region made it possible for the first time to carry out simultaneous assessments of species’ populations at national and regional scales, setting up strategies and developing action plans for their survival, as well as implementation of some urgent conservation measures. Contents Foreword 7 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction CEPF Investment in the Caucasus Hotspot A. W. Tordoff, N. Zazanashvili, M. Bitsadze, K. Manvelyan, E. Askerov, V. Krever, S. Kalem, B. Avcioglu, S. Galstyan and R. Mnatsekanov 9 The Caucasus Hotspot N.
    [Show full text]
  • How Do Non-Democratic Regimes Claim Legitimacy? Comparative Insights from Post-Soviet Countries
    Inclusion of a paper in the Working Papers series does not constitute publication and should limit in any other venue. Copyright remains with the authors. Inclusion of a paper in the Working Papers serve to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior publicaton encourage exchange ideas and academic debate. Working GIGA GIGA Research Programme: Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems ___________________________ How Do Non-Democratic Regimes Claim Legitimacy? Comparative Insights from Post-Soviet Countries Christian von Soest and Julia Grauvogel No 277 August 2015 www.giga-hamburg.de/workingpapers GIGA Working Papers 277/2015 Edited by the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies Leibniz‐Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien The GIGA Working Papers series serves to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior to publication in order to encourage the exchange of ideas and academic debate. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presenta‐ tions are less than fully polished. Inclusion of a paper in the GIGA Working Papers series does not constitute publication and should not limit publication in any other venue. Copy‐ right remains with the authors. GIGA Research Programme “Legitimacy and Efficiency of Political Systems” Copyright for this issue: © Christian von Soest, Julia Grauvogel WP Coordination and English‐language Copyediting: Melissa Nelson Editorial Assistance and Production: Kerstin Labusga All GIGA Working Papers are available online and free of charge on the website <www.giga‐hamburg.de/workingpapers>. For any requests please contact: <workingpapers@giga‐hamburg.de> The GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies cannot be held responsible for errors or any consequences arising from the use of information contained in this Working Paper; the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author or authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute.
    [Show full text]
  • Advances in Carpet Manufacture
    SOFTbank E-Book Center Tehran, Phone: 66403879,66493070 For Educational Use. www.ebookcenter.ir Woodhead Publishing in Textiles: Number 87 Advances in carpet manufacture Edited by K. K. Goswami © SOFTbank2009 Woodhead E-Book Publishing Center Limited Tehran, Phone: 66403879,66493070 For Educational Use. www.ebookcenter.ir Published by Woodhead Publishing Limited in association with The Textile Institute Woodhead Publishing Limited, Abington Hall, Granta Park, Geat Abington Cambridge CB21 6AH, UK www.woodheadpublishing.com Woodhead Publishing India Private Limited, G-2, Vardaan House, 7/28 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi ± 110002, India Published in North America by CRC Press LLC, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487, USA First published 2009, Woodhead Publishing Limited and CRC Press LLC ß Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2009 The authors have asserted their moral rights. This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the authors and the publishers cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials. Neither the authors nor the publishers, nor anyone else associated with this publication, shall be liable for any loss, damage or liability directly or indirectly caused or alleged to be caused by this book. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from Woodhead Publishing Limited. The consent of Woodhead Publishing Limited does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for resale.
    [Show full text]
  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for Suggestions and Comments
    Unofficial translation* SUMMARY REPORT UNDER THE PROTOCOL ON WATER AND HEALTH THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN Part One General aspects 1. Were targets and target dates established in your country in accordance with article 6 of the Protocol? Please provide detailed information on the target areas in Part Three. YES ☐ NO ☐ IN PROGRESS If targets have been revised, please provide details here. 2. Were they published and, if so, how? Please explain whether the targets and target dates were published, made available to the public (e.g. online, official publication, media) and communicated to the secretariat. The draft document on target setting was presented in December 2015 to the WHO Regional Office for Europe and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for suggestions and comments. After the draft document review, its discussion with the public is planned. To get suggestions and comments it will be made available on the website of Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Republic and Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijan Republic ratified the Protocol on Water and Health in 2012 and as a Protocol Party participated in two cycles of the previous reporting. At present the targets project is prepared and sent to the WHO Regional Office for Europe and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It should be noted that the seminar to support the progress of setting targets under the Protocol on Water and Health was held in Baku on 29 September 2015. More than 40 representatives of different ministries and agencies, responsible for water and health issues, participated in it.
    [Show full text]
  • IAUP Baku 2018 Semi-Annual Meeting
    IAUP Baku 2018 Semi-Annual Meeting “Globalization and New Dimensions in Higher Education” 18-20th April, 2018 Venue: Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers Website: https://iaupasoiu.meetinghand.com/en/#home CONFERENCE PROGRAMME WEDNESDAY 18th April 2018 Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers 18:30 Registration 1A, Mehdi Hüseyn Street Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers, 19:00-21:00 Opening Cocktail Party Uzeyir Hajibeyov Ballroom, 19:05 Welcome speech by IAUP President Mr. Kakha Shengelia 19:10 Welcome speech by Ministry of Education representative 19:30 Opening Speech by Rector of ASOIU Mustafa Babanli THURSDAY 19th April 2018 Visit to Alley of Honor, Martyrs' Lane Meeting Point: Foyer in Fairmont 09:00 - 09:45 Hotel 10:00 - 10:15 Mr. Kakha Shengelia Nizami Ganjavi A Grand Ballroom, IAUP President Fairmont Baku 10:15 - 10:30 Mr. Ceyhun Bayramov Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan 10:30-10:45 Mr. Mikheil Chkhenkeli Minister of Education and Science of Georgia 10:45 - 11:00 Prof. Mustafa Babanli Rector of Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University 11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break Keynote 1: Modern approach to knowledge transfer: interdisciplinary 11:30 - 12:00 studies and creative thinking Speaker: Prof. Philippe Turek University of Strasbourg 12:00 - 13:00 Panel discussion 1 13:00 - 14:00 Lunch 14:00 - 15:30 Networking meeting of rectors and presidents 14:00– 16:00 Floor Presentation of Azerbaijani Universities (parallel to the networking meeting) 18:30 - 19:00 Transfer from Farimont Hotel to Buta Palace Small Hall, Buta Palace 19:00 - 22:00 Gala
    [Show full text]
  • Stereotype-Archetype- Prototype Chain and Historical Semiotics of Some Azerbaijani Literary Terms
    Khazar Journal Of Humanities and Social Sciences Special Issue, 2018 ©Khazar University Press, 2018 DOI: 10.5782/.kjhss.2018.100.112 Stereotype-Archetype- Prototype chain and Historical Semiotics of some Azerbaijani literary terms Rahilya Geybullayeva Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan Baku Slavic University, Baku, Azerbaijan Introduction Like people, families, tribes and countries, words also have their own path of development. On this path people become related to different tribes and settle in different regions. In the same way, words acquire new shades of meaning from the new intonation acquired in a new environment or habitat. Thus, depending on the new intonation they have acquired on their path of development their interpretation gradually deviates and changes, and on this way, they become new words. At the first glance, they may appear to be completely different words. Let’s take lexical series as examples: səməni (green shoots – Azerbaijani), səma (sky, heaven – Azerbaijani), Semele (a god in Greek mythology), zemlya-земля (land, earth – Russian), sem’ya-семья (family – Russian), semya-семя (seed – Russian), sem’- семь (seven – Russian), semen (English), seme (the smallest unit of meaning; like an atom in physics or a gene in biology) – each word here bears a different meaning. Nevertheless, at the first glance they are taken as homophones, as it is not possible to see any common semantics in their roots. In fact, if we penetrate their deeper historical layers, we will see that they all have a common cultural matrix- seme (gene, atom, element) at their root or semantic inception. If over a thousand years after adopting Islam, one of the five pillars of Islam is known in Azerbaijani, Turkish, Kazakh, Kirghiz (Central Asia) and Persian languages as namaz, while the Arabic term is salaa, or these languages refer to the Islamic ritual of sacrifice as qurban1 1 Kurbеn (Hurban - Semitic) literally means destruction and was applied to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BCE and then by the Romans in 70 CE.
    [Show full text]
  • Azerbaijan | Freedom House
    Azerbaijan | Freedom House http://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2014/azerbaijan About Us DONATE Blog Mobile App Contact Us Mexico Website (in Spanish) REGIONS ISSUES Reports Programs Initiatives News Experts Events Subscribe Donate NATIONS IN TRANSIT - View another year - ShareShareShareShareShareMore 7 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Nations in Transit 2014 DRAFT REPORT 2014 SCORES PDF version Capital: Baku 6.68 Population: 9.3 million REGIME CLASSIFICATION GNI/capita, PPP: US$9,410 Consolidated Source: The data above are drawn from The World Bank, Authoritarian World Development Indicators 2014. Regime 6.75 7.00 6.50 6.75 6.50 6.50 6.75 NOTE: The ratings reflect the consensus of Freedom House, its academic advisers, and the author(s) of this report. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s). The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. The Democracy Score is an average of ratings for the categories tracked in a given year. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 1 of 23 6/25/2014 11:26 AM Azerbaijan | Freedom House http://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2014/azerbaijan Azerbaijan is ruled by an authoritarian regime characterized by intolerance for dissent and disregard for civil liberties and political rights. When President Heydar Aliyev came to power in 1993, he secured a ceasefire in Azerbaijan’s war with Armenia and established relative domestic stability, but he also instituted a Soviet-style, vertical power system, based on patronage and the suppression of political dissent. Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father in 2003, continuing and intensifying the most repressive aspects of his father’s rule.
    [Show full text]