AZERBAIJAN

Azerbaijan Republic Azarbaichan Respublikasy CAPITAL: Baku FLAG: Three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in the red band. ANTHEM: Azerbaijan National Anthem, composed by Uzeyir Hajibeyov. MONETARY UNIT: The manat, consisting of 100 gopik, was introduced in 1992 and remains tied to the Russian ruble with widely fluctuating exchange rates. As of May 2003, 1 manat = $0.000204 (or $1 = 4,909 manat). WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is in force. HOLIDAYS: New Year’s Day, 1 January; International Women’s Day, 8 March; Novruz Bayrom (Holiday of Spring), 22 March; Day of the Republic, 28 May; Day of Armed Forces, 9 October; Day of State Sovereignty, 18 October; Day of National Revival, 17 November; Universal Azeri Solidarity Day, 31 December. TIME: 4 PM = noon GMT.