The lands of Azerbaijan are distinguished by their oil wealth (Getty)

At a time when Azerbaijan is engaged in presidential elections in which President Ilham Aliyev is expected to win again, the country's characteristics range from family-like rule to oil wealth and caviar, according to a report broadcast by Agence France-Presse today.

In a symbolic step, Aliyev and his family members cast their votes at a polling station in Khankendi, the largest city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to what the Azerbaijani presidency announced.

These are the first elections held by Azerbaijan since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as 26 polling stations opened their doors to record a new history, according to what was announced by the head of the Central Electoral Commission, Mazhar Panakhov.

Aliyev has controlled Azerbaijan with an iron fist since 2003, when he took power after the death of his father, and expectations indicate that any surprises are unlikely to occur in these elections.

Ruling family

The Aliyev family ruled the country almost continuously for more than 50 years. In 1969, Heydar Aliyev, the former head of the local KGB intelligence service, took power in Azerbaijan, which was still a Soviet republic, except for a short period of interruption. He remained in power until his death in 2003, and since then, his son Ilham has assumed the presidency.

In 2017, Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyeva as First Vice President, and she also received the most important decoration in Azerbaijan, the Heydar Aliyev Medal.

The Aliyev family accumulated great wealth thanks to hydrocarbons, and the family controlled entire sectors of the country’s economy, according to opponents and major media outlets.

Ilham Aliyev assumed the presidency of Azerbaijan after the death of his father in 2003 (European News Agency)

Oil wealth

The lands of Azerbaijan are characterized by the natural fires that emerge from them, so that the country gained the title “Land of Fire” as a result.

These fires represent the release of underground resources from oil and gas, as these fuels represent two-thirds of the country's gross domestic product.

With the Industrial Revolution, oil production witnessed a remarkable transformation, and in the mid-nineteenth century, extraction became automated, refineries multiplied, and oil ships appeared.

Black caviar

As a country bordering the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan has a long tradition of producing black caviar, the white sturgeon eggs that sell for thousands of dollars per kilo.

Today, this type of fish is on the verge of extinction, and there are currently strict restrictions and rules on its production, due to overfishing and pollution.

In parallel, the emergence of sturgeon breeding farms around the world has transformed the caviar market where Azerbaijan is no longer a dominant player.

Azerbaijan has a long tradition of producing black caviar (Al Jazeera)

The place

Maqam is also a traditional musical genre that reflects the country's long history and its communication with the Persians, Armenians, Georgians and other Turkish peoples.

It is a complex art that falls between classical poetry and musical improvisation, where the singer, accompanied by musicians playing the traditional instruments of the region - the tambourine, the tar, and the violin - performs musical as well as poetic improvisations.

A selection of Azerbaijani maqams were recorded on the Voyager Disc, carried aboard the two Voyager space probes launched in 1977.

Karabakh horses

Azerbaijan is famous for the Karabakh, a small mountain horse known for its resistance and speed, and it is also the first horse breed recognized by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Thanks to its characteristics, Karabakh is the ideal horse for playing the traditional game of Chuvgan, which is similar to polo, but it is threatened with extinction, as the number of these horses today is less than a thousand horses.

Source: French