on the other. i want to explore the many faces of azerbaijan, both old and new, through its people, culture and food to find out more about this diverse and complex country. baku is a swing! it s a jazz! fish, yeah! my favourite i love fish. nazrin, hi. and, there are horses! yeah. i didn t know we re going to have horses. i m also here to find out why the likes of you and me, potential tourists, are seen as the bright new hope as an alternative to black gold. so, welcome to azerbaijan. when you look at the guidebook, or on travel websites, or in fact almost anything about azerbaijan, they all start by telling you the same thing azerbaijan is the land of fire! huge natural gas and oil deposits are so close to the surface that they cause these natural fires to spring out of the ground. fires which burned continuously for over 4,000 years were once common across azerbaijan, but this is now the last. right up here, it s really, really pretty hot right up to your face you c
when you look at the guidebook, or on travel websites, or in fact almost anything about azerbaijan, they all start by telling you the same thing azerbaijan is the land of fire! huge natural gas and oil deposits are so close to the surface that they cause these natural fires to spring out of the ground. fires which burned continuously for over 4,000 years were once common across azerbaijan, but this is now the last. right up here, it s really, really pretty hot right up to your face you can really sense it. the whole of my body is really, really hot. this is incredible! it s. .. ..beautiful and bewitching at the same time. 2,500 years ago, these fires enticed zoroastrian priests from persia, who considered them a divine miracle. no wonder people for thousands of years have pretty well worshipped at this, certainly felt spiritual about it. i do it s overwhelming. but, halfway through the 19th century, azerbaijan s natural wonders attracted a different but equally fervent
you have not been able to tell that much during the last year because of the war, about the fact that this country has a rich and distinct culture? i was standing in between two great cathedrals. one cathedral is behind you, saint sophia of the 11th century. and this, one st. michael s cathedral, was ruined by the way, by bolsheviks insurgents, and was fully rebuilt. but this is the great square, it shows how rich the ukraine history is, and russia right now, they are robbing artifacts from museums, so they steal also our history, because ancient kyiv started from here the place where we are standing right now. and russians all the time or trying to take this on their behalf, the rich history of ukraine. but going back to the 30s, this has been a struggle for ukrainians. they have always felt that association with russia is meant to diminish the cultural heritage. vladimir putin said it on the night he declared the special military operation, that it is not a place of
from being declared independent. and queen elizabeth ii becomes the world s second longest serving monarch only louis xiv of france has ruled for longer. hello and welcome to bbc news. ukrainian officials in the town of severodonetsk say they re still in control of the azot chemical plant where hundreds of civilians have been sheltering. the governor of the region said fierce fighting was cotinuing. it comes as ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has said his troops are running low on ammunition as they try to repel russian invaders in the east. mr zelensky says his forces are holding on for now as they engage in fierce street fighting but he appealed for more help from western powers. helena wilkinson has the latest. this is the east of ukraine, in the donbas region, it s one of the areas russian forces have focused their firepower. ukraine soldiers are still holding out here, but the intense fighting goes on. ukraine s army says it is running low on artillery she
china says it ll fight to the very end to prevent taiwan from being declared independent. and queen elizabeth ii becomes the world s second longest serving monarch only louis xiv of france has ruled for longer. hello and welcome to bbc news. reports from eastern ukraine say a huge chemical plant in the town of severodonetsk where hundreds of people have been sheltering is on fire. the governor of the region says the azot plant had come under intense bombardment but was still under ukrainian control. the fierce fighting comes as ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky says his troops are running low on ammunition as they try to repel russian invaders in the east. and he s appealed for more help from western powers. helena wilkinson has the latest. this is the east of ukraine, in the donbas region, it s one of the areas russian forces have focused their firepower. ukraine soldiers are still holding out here, but the intense fighting goes on. ukraine s army says it is running l