Azerbaijan, oil-rich and at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, takes vanity architecture to a new level

Azerbaijan is quirky and capricious. It’s warm-hearted, weird and wonderful, and that’s before you’ve even left the airport. It wants to be loved, or at least respected, but it’s a country that few people know anything about and one that rarely comes up in conversation. Well, not in the conversations I have anyway.

Bordered by Russia and Iran, Armenia and Georgia, Azerbaijan feels more European than Asian, but only just. In 2012, the oil-rich former Soviet republic hosted the Eurovision Song Contest and on May 29, English soccer sides Arsenal and Chelsea will play out the Fifa Europa League Final in the boomtown that is Baku.

The Azeri capital is reminiscent of Russia, with a dash of Dubai, a twist of Turkey and a faint whiff of North Korea. Audacious architectural vanity projects costing squillions of dollars stand toe to toe with bland apartment blocks and there’s a kebab shop on every corner. Skyscrapers soar above street cafes where locals suck tea through sugar cubes wedged between their front teeth. Azerbaijan’s dentists probably drive Ferraris.

At 28 metres below sea level, Baku is the world’s lowest-lying capital city. I stroll along the promenade with the muddy Caspian Sea on one side and the Grand Prix racetrack on the other. It’s a street circuit and although the (April) Formula One event is still a few days away, the grandstands are already in place, with squads of gun-toting soldiers keeping guard. My request to photograph one of the viewing galleries is rejected with­out explanation but I manage to sneak a stealthy snap before melting into the surroundings like a cold war spy. (Finn Valtteri Bottas would go on to win the race but the biggest story of the weekend was a loose manhole cover that damaged one of the multimillion-dollar cars during a practice session. It would be unfair to blame the authorities for not noticing the offending lid; in the build-up to the race, they had their hands full making sure tourists didn’t take any photos of plastic seats.)

A detour away from the waterfront brings me to Little Venice, a man-made canal network that meanders past shops, restaur­ants and entertainment venues to the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, which is housed in a building shaped like a rolled-up rug. Architects must become giddy with possibi­lity when commissioned to create avant-garde additions to the Baku skyline. Judging by the current crop of showpiece structures, nothing is deemed too outlandish.