When thinking about a country that starts with A but doesn’t end with A, only two nations come to mind: Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. But are there any more countries like that?

According to the list of UN, there are 196 countries in the world. Only 11 countries out of the 196 start with the letter A. So, the search for “country that starts with ‘A’ but doesn’t end with ‘A'” should remain in these 11 countries. Let’s have a look.

Country that Starts With A But Doesn’t End With A

Among all the countries in the world, there are only 2 countries that starts with the letter “A”, but doesn’t end with the letter “A”. The countries are:

• Afghanistan (starts with “A”, but ends with “N”)
• Azerbaijan (starts with “A”, but ends with “N”)

Do you want to know more about these countries; like their history, culture, foods, people, geography, and interesting facts?

Brief History of Afghanistan

Afghanistan, also known as “Land of the Afghans,” has a long and uncertain history, with the first human activity here documented in the Darra-i-Kur cave of the Paleolithic age. Alexander the Great invaded and conquered this region around 330 BC. It has been ruled by the Kushan Empire, Sassanid Empire, Mongol Empire, Ilkhanate, Timurid Empire, Safavid, Mughal, Afghan, Pashtun, Hotak, Nader Shah, Afsharid, Durrani Empire, and Afghan Empire.

Buddhists had a presence in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan interacted with India. Resources: Afghanistan has large deposits of lithium, iron ore, zinc, and copper, is the second largest producer of cannabis resin; produces 70% of the world’s saffron; and produces 70% of cashmere (wool). The Emirate of Afghanistan, British influence, and Russian influence. Closing video.

Brief History of Azerbaijan

The location of Azerbaijan on the cusp of Europe and Asia has endowed its history with a diversity that is hardly surprising. Several ethnic communities existed there, including Kurds, Caucasian Albanians, semi-nomantic Turkic tribes and Iranian language speakers. The territory was later incorporated into the domains of Russian, Persian or Ottoman Empires. In the 11th century, it was the turn of the Seljuq Empire, which made the Oghuz Turkic languages predominant in the region.

The Muslim population of Azerbaijan became Shii in the early 16th century and continued to develop under the influence of Persian social and cultural patterns. The treaties of Golestān (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828) marked the end of a series of wars between the Russian Empire and Iran and drew a new border between the two empires. Russia gained control of Baku, Shirvan, Ganja, Nakhichevan, and Yerevan, and thus split the Azerbaijani Turks of Caucasia from the bulk of their fellow countrymen of the same language and religion in Iran.

An Azerbaijani national identity took root in the Russian-occupied, post-Iranian East Caucasus during the final years of the 19th century. In 1991, Azerbaijan declared independence from the Soviet Union. Modern Azerbaijan has a rich culture, beautiful nature, art and a diverse climate.

Afghanistan vs. Azerbaijan

Interesting Facts About Afghanistan

1. Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Southern Asia with borders including China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
2. Evidence of human habitation in Afghanistan goes back as far as 100,000 years—the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age).
3. The earliest uncontested proof of human presence was found in the Darra-i-Kur cave, in the Afghan province of Badakhshan.
4. Afghanistan literally means “Land of the Afghans”. “Afghan” originally referred to the Pashtun people and the suffix “-stan” is “place of” or “country”.
5. Around 330 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the majority of Afghanistan.
6. Britain tried unsuccessfully to conquer Afghanistan in a series of wars called the Anglo-Afghan Wars: 1839–42; 1878–80; 1919.
7. The Afghan flag has vertical stripes of black, red and green and a coat of arms in the centre.
8. Afghanistan has had more national flags than any other country during the 20th century.
9. The USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and there was a decade of war between the Soviet army and various mujahideen factions.
10. Afghanistan is rich in natural resources, including lithium, iron, zinc, and copper. It is the second-largest producer of cannabis resin and third-largest of both saffron and cashmere.

Interesting Facts About Azerbaijan

1. Azerbaijan is a landlocked country in Southwestern Asia bordered by Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey.
2. Despite being landlocked, Azerbaijan has a 713 km (443mi) coastline on the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world.
3. Azerbaijan also boasts the largest landlocked exclave in the world, the autonomous republic of Nakhchivan.
4. Azerbaijan can also be thought of as a transcontinental country, as some of the northern districts are considered to be geographically part of Europe.
5. Azerbaijan has been the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 and Baku European Games in 2015.
6. The flag of Azerbaijan has light blue, red and green horizontal stripes with a crescent and a star in the middle.
7. Azerbaijan was under Russian rule from 1828 to 1991. During the Russian Revolution, it enjoyed independence for a short period between 1918 and 1920 but was later invaded and made part of the USSR.
8. In 1848–49, the world’s first oil well was drilled in Azerbaijan, to the south of Baku.
9. The Land of Fire” is the other name of Azerbaijan because of Yanar Dag (that is “burning mountainside” in Azeri), where natural gas seeps out sometimes and several spontaneous fires erupt.
10. In Azokh Cave in western Azerbaijan, archaeologists discovered prehistoric tools and the remains of early men (aged 1.5 million years).
11. Azerbaijan lies on the historic Silk Road, the ancient network of trade routes formed by the cultures of China with the lands of Europe and the Middle East more than 2000 years ago.
12. The oldest offshore oil platform in the world is in Azerbaijan. The city of Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks) was constructed on stilts in the middle of the Caspian Sea.

Takeaways

Afghanistan and Azerbaijan are two beautiful countries that start with the letter “A” but does not end with the letter “A”. These countries are very interesting in their own ways, from historical empires to modern-day struggles and successes.

We can all learn more about our diverse and beautiful world by exploring and taking notice of these countries and their people.