Spain — Terra incognita for Azerbaijanis Reportage on Caliber.Az

Continuation. The beginning is here.

As I mentioned earlier, the place we chose for our temporary stay in Spain was a small settlement — L'Alfàs del Pi. This town and municipality is part of the Alicante province in Valencia. The municipality is located in the Marina Baixa comarca and covers an area of 19.26 km². Its population is 21,332 (as of 2010). This Spanish town has ten times fewer residents than the Yasamal or Sabunchu districts of Baku. However, life here, as they say, is full of energy: all conditions for development, quality education, recreation, and sports are in place.

For example, just a ten-minute walk from our apartment in the rented house is a cozy municipal stadium. It's small but comfortable: it features an excellent football field, a running track, a basketball court, and a place for playing cricket.

As for education, Spain has a preschool system called Educación Infantil for children aged three to six. This stage is optional. Then come two mandatory stages: Educación Primaria (Primary school) for children aged 6 to 12, and Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (Secondary school) from ages 12 to 16. After that, there is Bachillerato (High school) from ages 16 to 18, but this stage is not compulsory.

Schools in Spain can be either private or public. The cost of tuition at private schools varies, as in any country. My children enrolled in a local public school, where classes are taught in Spanish. This choice was made consciously — it’s quicker and easier to adapt and learn the language of the country of residence. Many foreigners moving to Spain make the same decision. In the same class as my children, there are students from Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Albania, Algeria, and Morocco — all of them learn in Spanish and simultaneously study valenciano — a dialect of the Catalan language spoken by residents of the Valencian Community.

According to the Cervantes Institute data for 2024, the number of Spanish speakers has surpassed 600 million, making up about 7.5% of the world's population. Of these, 498 million are native speakers for whom Spanish is their mother tongue. This data confirms Spanish's status as the second most widely spoken native language in the world after Chinese.

The increase in the number of Spanish speakers is driven not only by natural population growth in Latin American countries and Spain but also by the rising number of people learning Spanish worldwide. As of January 1, 2022, Spain had 7,506,870 immigrants, or 17.83% of the country’s population. This number has since grown significantly. For example, according to data from last June, the number of Ukrainian citizens with temporary residence rights in Spain exceeded 300,000.

Do you know how many Azerbaijanis officially live in Spain? Just 700 people. Yes, it's surprising, but such a European country, with a climate and temperament similar to Azerbaijan's, remains almost uncharted by our fellow countrymen.

For comparison: the number of Armenians living in Spain is estimated to be between 40,000 and 60,000. The main communities are concentrated in the following cities: Valencia — around 14,000, Barcelona — around 12,000, and Madrid — around 8,000 people.

The Muslim population in Spain exceeds 2.4 million people, which is about 5% of the total population of the country. Over a million of them are Spanish citizens, some of whom are immigrants, while others were born in the country. The largest number of Muslims live in the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Andalusia, and Madrid. Over the last three decades, the Muslim population in Spain has increased tenfold. The country has around 53 Muslim organizations and approximately 2,000 mosques. Moreover, many road signs feature inscriptions in Arabic. Spain’s multiculturalism deserves respect and careful study.

One can only hope that, over time, the number of Azerbaijani citizens who are willing to consider Spain as a destination for quality education, full relaxation, and possibly even permanent residence will continue to grow.

Now, about recreation. Spain is washed by three seas and one ocean: the Mediterranean Sea to the east and south of the country — Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Sea is part of the Mediterranean, located between the eastern coast of Spain and the Balearic Islands. The Alboran Sea is also part of the Mediterranean, situated between the southern coast of Andalusia and the coast of Morocco. The Bay of Biscay, located to the north of Spain, washes the shores of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia, and is part of the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, Spain has direct access to the Atlantic Ocean itself. Every curious Azerbaijani should visit this country at least once in their lifetime. Especially since air travel to Spain is already well-established: passenger flights from Barcelona to Baku are operated twice a week by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), and cargo flights from Madrid are conducted three times a week by Silk Way.

According to available information, the Spanish Embassy will open in Baku in the near future (although the Kingdom's ambassador is currently based in Azerbaijan) — this will be another step toward expanding and deepening bilateral relations between our countries. Especially since, at the very least, we are united by our love for football. While our achievements in this sport may not yet be comparable, our emotional involvement is equally strong. Just recently, with the assistance of well-known businessman Adnan Ahmadzada, a meeting took place in Baku between the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. During the meeting, an agreement was reached to open a Barcelona Academy in Azerbaijan. This is another important link in the chain of future, strong relations between our countries.