Why is Iran so hostile towards Azerbaijan?
Azerbaijan is a majority Muslim country with 92 % Shia and 06% Sunni (see Wikipedia). However, religion does not ocupy the same central role that it does in many other Muslim countries. When one walks the rteets of the capital BAKU, it is striking to see so few Hijabs, Niqabs or Chadors. One sees more women wearing headscarfs in any major European city like London, Paris, Brussels; et cetera.Though Azerbaijan and Iran have diplomatic relations, it is fair to say that the foreign policy of Azerbijan is more orientated to the West than to the rest of the Muslim world.Azerbaijan is an active member of international coalitions fighting international terrorism. The country is contributed to peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Azerbaijan is an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. It also maintains good relations with the European Union and could potentially one day apply for membership.[Azerbaijan is also one of the few Muslim countries, and to my knowledge the only country with a Shia majority, to have full diplomatic relations with Israel. Even though this relationship is relatively discreet, military cooperation between both countries has grown steadily over the years.Former Azerbaijan's president Heydar Aliyev stated that he supports the U.S. sanctions against Iran. In a meeting with U.S. officials in Baku in February 2010 Aliyev expressed his support and also criticized European oil and gas companies for sabotaging the international sanctions regime. This information came out in one of the released diplomatic cables of the United States diplomatic cables leak in November 2010 (Helgesen, Jan-Petter (November 29, 2010). "Wikileakes: Statoil får kjeft for Iran-støtte" [Wikileakes: Statoil is scolded for supporting Iran]. Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.)All of the abovementioned facts have done little to endear Azerbaijan to the current regime in Iran.
What Middle Eastern countried border the Caspian Sea, the Black sea and the Mediterranean Sea?
Turkey has borders on the black sea and the Mediterranean not with the Caspian, now if you consider Turkmenistan with Turkey .... OK Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and Cyprus are middle eastern countries that bordering the Mediterranean sea. Turkey, Bulgaria, Roumania,Ukraine, Russia and Georgia are bordering Black sea. Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and Kazakhstan are bordering Caspian sea. no such a real country named Israel, Israel is a group of tribes that invaded Palestine,
What continent is the caspian sea located?
asia
Tourists: Which one of these cities (Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi) do you find the most interesting?
I have been in all three cities - 5 days in Baku, 4 days in Tbilisi, 7 days in Yerevan.For me, the order in terms of interest is Yerevan, Baku, Tbilisi.Let me elaborate on my point of view.Before I set my step on Caucasus, I thought Tbilisi should be the city with the most fun. Among all three Caucasian countries, Georgia is the biggest tourist destination for oversea tourists, especially from Europe. I also assumed Baku was a boring city because Azerbaijan had not established its Visa on Arrival policies until several years earlier and Yerevan was just a poor capital of a financially disadvantageous country.It turned out I was utterly wrong. Never judge a country or city before you actually visit it.Baku is amazing, not only because of a bunch of nice views, like old city, Maiden Tower, Caspian Sea, Heydar Aliyev Center as well as its fierce wind, but also nice Azerbaijani citizens with great hospitality. Infrastructure in Baku is well maintained. You can also reach out to mud volcano in suburb regions. It is a modern city full of pubs and bars with amazing nightlife.Tbilisi is not bad, but I personally think people in that city are a bit cold. Maybe they are just too busy and I found people in Batumi, Chiatura and Mestia were more patient when I asked them for directions. Its infrastructure is poorly maintained with not so neat and clean streets. It is a narrow and long city stretching from north to south in a valley along Kula River. It has many churches, including the biggest one, Holy Trinity Cathedral, which I believe is outperformed by other brilliant churches located in Kutaisi and Kazbegi.Yerevan is a huge surprise for me. It is so artistic with so many wonderful architectures. A delicate and clean city with warm-hearted people. Walking through its blocks is a full enjoyment. It is a kind like a minisized Melbourne. Layout of this city is much better designed than that of Tbilisi with wider roads and slower drivers.Talking about drivers, Tbilisi is the only city where drivers never give way to pedestrians. Citizens in Baku and Yerevan drive much less aggressively.So to sum up, Yerevan is my favourite and Baku is also my love. Tibilisi is a must-stay city but I would spend more time on other places of Goergia since it is a country filled with so many natural resources.
What is the bigest lake in all the world?
in terms of area, at 31,820 square miles, the largest freshwater lake in the world is Lake Superior, between the US and Canada. however, in terms of volume, Lake Baikal, in Russia, takes the cake with 5521 cubic miles of water. of course, if you count the Caspian Sea (between Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran) as a lake, it is much larger than either of them (143,250 sq. mi., 18,761 cub. mi.).
Have Turks of Turkey been islamized by Iranians or Arabs, and why aren’t they Shia Islam like Iranians?
Turks of Turkey? They were Islamized by Seljuk TurksThe majority of Anatolia wasn’t seized by Rashiduns, Umayyads or AbbasidsIn fact the first entrance of Turks and Islam to the central parts of Anatolia was by Battle of Manzikert which is located in North West of lake Van.The defeat of Byzantines in this war led to the establishment of Sultanate of Rum.Islamic conquest and later conquests by Turkic tribes created a chaos in Iran. Many Turkic tribes from Steppes started to migrate to Middle East and they eventually settled in Transcaucasia, Anatolia, Azerbaijan and Northern Mesopotamia due to existence of pasture lands and the climate[1] .Why aren’t they Shiite like Iranians?Majority of Iranians were not Shiite, too up until the beginning of 16th century. There was a minority Shiite of Zaidiyyahs in Northern parts of Iran mainly Gilan and Mazandaran. They were concentrated in this parts because Mazandaran and Gilan were not defeated as easy as other parts of Iran and those who wanted to flee thr caliphs took refuge there.Majority of Iranians were Hanafi sunnis and and in some Western and North western parts (Azerbaijan, Kurdistan) Shafi‘is were the majority.Since the believes of Turkomans’ (living in current day Eastern Anatolia, Northern Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan and Transcaucasia) was mixed with ghulat, they were influenced by Shaykh Haydar (Ismail’s father) and Shaykh Junayd easily and believed in Safavid order. They saw these two as divine incarnation and were ready to dedicate themselves.These Turkomans were the ones who helped Safavids establish their government.But The current form of Shiism in Iran is mainly due to the teachings of Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī (originally from Baalbek, Lebanon). His father fled to Iran because Shitte Muslims were annoyed by Ottomans and Tahmasp I who also wanted to decrease the power of Sufis invited him to Qazvin.Footnotes[1] Why did the majority of Turkic tribes who migrated to West Asia settle in Azerbaijan and Anatolia? Why not elsewhere?