<p>There are approximately 50 million Azerbaijanis worldwide <p>Azerbaijan celebrates Independence Day on October 18th <p>Azerbaijan celebrates Azerbaijan Army Day on June 26th <p>Azerbaijan celebrates Day of Solidarity of Azerbaijanis Worldwide on December 31st <p>Saffron-rice plov is the flagship food in Azerbaijan and black tea is the national beverage <p>All of Baku’s metro stations are decorated with national Azerbaijani designs and motifs <p>Azerbaijan had the first democratic republic and first opera in the Islamic world <p>The Maiden Tower is a Baku landmark, a much loved symbol of the city and of Azerbaijan <p>Azerbaijani men are traditionally addressed as muallim, which means teacher <p>Azerbaijani women are traditionally addressed as khanim, which means madam <p>Azerbaijan has the largest number of mud volcanoes in the world. There are some 300 mud volcanoes including Galmas, Toragai and Boyuk Kanizdagh <p>Women in Azerbaijan won the right to vote in 1918 while in Italy it was 1946, Switzerland in 1971 and France 1944 <p>23 athletes from the Azerbaijani Republic competed at Atlanta 1996 independently for the first time <p>The majority of the population in Azerbaijan is Muslim. Approximately 85 per cent are Shia Muslims and 15 per cent Sunni Muslims <p>The President of Azerbaijan is elected for a five-year term by general, direct and equal elections, with a free, personal and secret ballot <p>The independent Azerbaijani state collapsed in April 1920 as a result of the invasion of the Soviet Russia. It was restored 70 years later in 1991 <p>The Absheron peninsula is home to the Burning Mountain, a rare geological site where natural gas escaping from the ground burns constantly here <p>Azerbaijan has nine of the world’s 13 climate zones. Temperatures range from +46C in the plains to -33 C in the mountains <p>The Azerbaijan NOC has been a member of the European Olympic Committee since 1992 and was officially recognised by the IOC in 1993 <p>One of the unique riches of Azerbaijan is a rare type of oil – Naftalan. It does not burn and is used internally and externally for medicinal purposes <p>Fragrant Azerbaijani tea is a symbol of heart-felt hospitality and guests are usually greeted on arrival with a cup of fine-flavoured tea <p>Mugham is a unique form of Azerbaijani classical music passed down orally to the present day, considered to be an invaluable part of their heritage <p>The Shirvanshah’s Palace is one of Azerbaijan best preserved and most attractive historic monuments, situated on the highest point on a hill in the walled Old City <p>Novruz is the oldest holiday in Azerbaijan. A symbol of spring and the revival of nature, marked on the equinox (21-22 March) in the northern hemisphere <p>Azerbaijanis live in 67 countries in all, with the highest population outside of Azerbaijan living in Iran (30 million), Turkey (3 million) and Russia (2 million)