Azerbaijan + Oil=Money

This was the view we frequently had from our bus as we toured near Baku. 

90% of the exports from Azerbaijan are oil.

As of 2016, Azerbaijan produced a whopping 842,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

 

All that money coming in means that they have some amazing architecture. 

These three towers are called the "Flame Towers".  The flower is a lotus sculpture built in the Caspian Sea.

This building was my favorite.  Designed by an Iraqi/British woman, the area of the complex is 39 acres!  There are no straight lines in the project.  It is supposed to symbolize the merging of the past with the future. What a change from the squared off styles of the Soviet times!

 Here is a perfect example of one of these Soviet-era buildings, this impressive government building which was about a block from our hotel. 

Nice view mixing the old with the new....and I don't mean George as the old!

Beautiful park with the Flame towers in the background!  

And here's one with the cool reflections in the building behind me.

Another nice mixture of the old architecture with the new. 

And the building continues... 

It's a beautiful city!  There was a fire somewhere in the city the day we visited.  That explains the low clouds. Can you guess what that roundish building in the foreground is?  A carpet museum!  Sorry we didn't get to go there.