Azerbaijan has had to endure the economic difficulty of moving from a centralized economy to a free market one, and the problems accompanying this transition have only been exacerbated by the Nagorno-Karabakh War with Armenia, the two combining factors that make personal safety of some concern to incoming visitors.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia has been going on for years, as that particular geographical region has been under dispute for over a decade.  In 2002, Nagorno-Karabakh established itself as a Republic, but this hasn’t ended the exchange of gun fire, nor fully remedied the internal displacement of about a million native Azerbaijanis.

So, although Baku is not a notoriously unsafe place, when visiting this capital city be sure to take into account the greater political instability that has been characteristic of Azerbaijan since its relatively recent independence .

Following the safety suggestions of a United Nations report on Baku, travelers are advised to carry around copies of their passports, always, keeping the originals at home with valuables.  Strangers, even in military garb, should never be let into a hotel room, and checkpoints, roadblocks, crowds, and demonstrations are places at which to be on high alert, if not to avoid altogether.

For more information on safety in Baku, check here .