Azernews.Az

Nakhchivan is a shockingly well-to-do, progressive corner of the nation, Mark Hay says in his article 'Welcome to Nakhchivan, the San Francisco of the Caucasus Mountains' published in the U.S. edition Vice.

According to Hay, upon stepping in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, he felt himself traveling through San Francisco or other similar place.

Following the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Nakhchivan fell under a blockade. Their gas, rail lines, electricity, and radio were cut off, and Soviet policies of economic interdependence left them with weak agriculture and little to no self-sufficient industry, the article says.

Every year, tens of thousands fled the region. Almost every tree was chopped down for fuel in the harsh winters, and the only things that kept the nation alive were two small bridges, built by Heydar Aliev, a Nakhchivani and former Soviet strongman who led the region until he became the leader of all Azerbaijan in 1993, linking Nakhchivan to Turkey and Iran, Hay writes.

Since then, Nakhchivan has undergone massive redevelopment-between 1995 and 2012 the region's GDP rose by a multiple of 48, the author says.

According to Hay, the Nakhchivanis are promoting these sites as a potential source of ecological tourism.

The Nakhchivanis stringently refuse to use GMOs, despite the boost they'd give to agricultural production. They use automated and large-scale farming, but refuse to step over the edge to factory farms and insist on making all animal feed out of locally produced organic foodstuffs.

According to the author, another thing about Nakhchivan reminding him of San Francisco is the massive tech focus.

"They are currently developing local cell phone and internet companies, and aiming to modernize and repair all the region's roads by 2015. Internet access covers 72 percent of the population. They've brought Wi-Fi to eight districts and 200 villages-it even runs along the Armenian border," Hay says.