"You, from Pakistan?" asked a vendor from across the pizza counter in broken English. I was a little bewildered, a little amused and a bit too quick to retort, "Noo!! I am from India."

　　Soon after landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport, we picked up a self-driven rental car and drove to our hotel by seven in the evening. However, instead of having an early dinner and retiring to our room, we decided to check out the neighbourhood and eat pizza at the mall across the street..."to get the lay of the land," as my partner puts it.

　　We were in Baku, Azerbaijan, to celebrate our milestone wedding anniversary.

　　Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, has grown around the ancient town. The inner city, or Icheri Sheher, was once an important port on the ancient Silk Route in the 12th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The old fort city that occupies the heart of modern Baku is as quaint as it gets, with cobbled pathways, wrought iron railings, lampposts, and stone buildings. Some old stone houses are now shops selling local crafts, carpets and little metal teapots. Some other houses function as cafes and restaurants. The royal palace of Shirvanshah rulers has a museum displaying royal coins, weapons, pottery and clothes. There are fountains hammams, the public bathhouses. A royal mosque and royal tombs sit opposite the palace. A huge stone tower, "Maiden Tower," with an ornate iron door that still puzzles historians of its purpose and vintage, rises above all other stone buildings of the walled city.

　　Old Baku: Walk Through Time

　　We explored Icheri Sheher, or old Baku, the next morning, stumbling upon beautiful lion murals and stone lions, symbols of erstwhile rulers, placed outside many houses. Tired from walking on stone pathways, we entered an old house converted to an eatery serving the local food and saw unusually large baskets of pomegranates at the entrance. With the ongoing "Nar Bayrami" or pomegranate "nar" festival in Azerbaijan, it was not surprising that the menu, too, featured a variety of food featuring pomegranates. I chose a mutton and chestnut dish in pomegranate gravy, "Nargovurma," with pilaf or rice and Lavash bread.

　　The pomegranate, called "Nar" in Azerbaijani, is a culturally significant fruit and a national symbol representing abundance, love and eternity. The pomegranate festival is on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage. Pomegranate is also a common motif in the traditionally woven carpets.

　　The dried and seasoned mutton, however, did not sit well with me, and for the rest of our days in Azerbaijan, we stuck to shwarma and pizza. Outside the restaurant, a vendor called out to us to try the traditional dessert baklava at his cafe. "Salam, you from Pakistan?" he asked. I was flummoxed. Why would they think I was from Pakistan?

　　Far at the horizon from the streets of the old city, I could see the famed Flame Towers of Baku dominating the skyline. Symbolic of fire, they represent "land of fire" Azerbaijan. Baku boasts of some iconic architectural gems besides the towers.

　　A short tour of the city later took us to the museum of carpet that itself looked like a giant half-rolled carpet sitting on the boulevard along the Caspian sea, but the white wave-like Heydar Alieyev Centre rising from the stepped manicured lawns stole the show. A stroll along the Caspian culminated with an anniversary dinner at a seaside fine dining Ruby 360° restaurant and glittering city views from Baku Eye.

　　Volcanoes, Flames, And Legends

　　An hour's drive from Baku is the UNESCO World Heritage site Gobustan National Park, with elaborate petroglyphs, prehistoric caves and a museum displaying early settlements, tools, jewellery, fauna and flora of the region and more. The park also has the maximum number of mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan. Of the 700 mud volcanoes in the world, Azerbaijan has about 350.

　　The boggy road to the volcanoes was deceptively treacherous. Our taxi driver, Viktor, a resourceful Russian, provided us with plastic bags to cover our shoes near the volcanoes. "Zis for you," he insisted. Halfway to the volcanoes, the car got stuck in the mud. What was to be an hour ride slowly turned into a two-hour ordeal.

　　However, our patience paid off when the volcanoes bubbled and spit out gooey clay and gas that burst into tiny flames. Azerbaijan, rich in oil and natural gas deposits, is the land of fire because of "Yanardag", or the mountains of fire, where the leaking gas from fissures burns continuously.

　　With our itinerary disrupted due to extra time spent stuck in the mud, we restricted ourselves to Nizami Street in Baku for the evening. A popular shopping and dining street, it was a perfect place to unwind and stroll. It had something for everyone, from branded stores to local crafts, from fine dining to "Mr Mrs ka dhaba." While we were still contemplating what and where to eat, Ali, a staff member of a Pakistani restaurant, approached us. "Salam alaikum, janaab. Aap Pakistan se hain?" asked Ali in perfect Urdu. By then, I had resigned to the question.

　　Ali told us later, "Yahan Pakistani tourist bahut aata hai ('many tourists from Pakistan come here.') Pakistan and India are the same people," finally resolving the mystery for me.

　　Snow-Capped Surprises

　　An unexpected torrent of rain forced us to rush back to the hotel. Overnight, the temperatures plummeted. We were not expecting snow as we drove to Shahdag the next morning. But, lo and behold, the winter came calling early. The Caucasus Mountains shimmered in fresh white snow. It was windy and numbingly cold, but people lined up for the roller coaster ride along the mountain and gondola rides up the skiing slopes, as we did. The resort was pulsating with the laughter of families enjoying themselves despite the cold. Bollywood song "Kala chashma" blared from the coffee and soup kiosks. It felt like a carnival with vibrant, festive vibes.

　　A slight drizzle made us take shelter under the canopy of a tea coffee kiosk. A middle-aged woman dressed in a salwar kurta sat behind the counter. We ordered Masala Tea. The woman smiled and asked, "Aap India se aaye hain? ('are you from India?')"