quba

\”This,\” says the guide, a man in his 20s with a round face, a hint of a mustache, beard and very short hair — \”this below us is the city of Quba.\”

We are standing at the top of a cliff, overlooking an urban development that at first sight looks like any other in this country — bright tin roofs, low-slung buildings, a few cars covered in dust because of the wind, but no commercial signs or logos — and, surprisingly, few mosques for a Muslim Shiite country like Azerbaijan.