Azerbaijan – East (Baku, Quba, Lankaran, Yevlakh) November 24-27, 2019
CASPIAN SHORE DEFENSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS (24/10/2001)
The Caucasus Mountains on the northern border of Azerbaijan was a natural defensive obstacle for foreign campaigns. They gave access to the narrow Caspian Plain, the most important trade route connecting Azerbaijan and Middle Asia with Southwest Europe. A united defensive system of 300 constructions, town stronghold palaces and towers was built with military, strategic, trade and economic importance from Derbent city to the Apsheron peninsula. The Apsheron peninsula controlled by the Shirvanshah was invaded by Russians, Cossacks, Turkmens, and even Italian brigands.
Beshbarmag Barrier. Between Behsbarmag Mountain at the southeast end of the Caucasus and the Caspian shore is the narrowest passage of 11.75 km. A raw brick wall ending with two parallel walls 200 meters apart closed the passage. It was built by Shah Sasanid Yezdegird II (438-457). A separate stone stronghold and caravanserai were also built.
Gil-gilchay Barrier. North of the Beshbarmag Barrier, this was built by Shah Gubad of the Sasanid dynasty (488-531). It closed the Caspian Shore passage and the Gilgilchay pond with a raw brick wall and stone “long walls” with towers, guardhouses and town strongholds. The best preserved is Chiraggala stronghold in Chirag Village, Devenchy.
Shabran Barrier. In Shabran town, all international caravan ways joined. Shabran was the biggest province in Azerbaijan, producing raw silk, gas, salt and saffron were important trade items.
Baku City. In the XIV century, Shirvanshahs began to fortify Baku and its area, the biggest and the most acceptable harbour on the Caspian. It became the second-strongest defensive town after Derbend. Maiden Tower (5-12th century) and Bayil (Sabayil) Palace (12th–14th century) protected Baku from the sea. The palace was the gate for the international sea trade and the residence of the Shirvanshahs but the strong 1306 earthquake combined with the rise of the water level in the Caspian Sea destroyed the palace.
There were 30 other strongholds in all the big villages on the north sea coast of the Apsheron peninsula as the main dangers were from the sea. The stronghold towers rapidly transmitted warning signals – fire at night and the smoke in the day – from the northern Caspian Shore to other towers on the peninsula.
Mardakan stronghold. The oldest of them, it was built in 1187-1188 by Akhista II Shirvanshah Shah. The Small Mardakan stronghold was built nearby by Gershasb in 1204 on the shore of Shagan village with ruins still visible.
Nardaran stronghold was built in 1301.
Romana Palace (XIV) was one of the other Absheron monumental constructions.
ABSHERON PENINSULA
The Absheron Peninsula (consists of Sumqayit, Baku and the Absheron Rayon) was considered by scientists to be the most ecologically devastated part of Azerbaijan. As a result of the Soviet planning in the industrial boom era, the city became heavily polluted. Soon after Azerbaijan’s independence, the industrial sectors declined.
Sumqayit. (pop 343,000)
The second-largest city in Azerbaijan, it lies on the Caspian Sea, about 31 km north of Baku. The city was founded in 1949.
In 1935, the Soviet government developed heavy industry in the Absheron Peninsula, and the future location of Sumgayit was chosen based on its proximity to Baku and its key position on existing railroad lines. Between 1938-41, a thermal power station was constructed to power Baku’s growing petroleum industry. This was soon followed by more heavy industries including metallurgical and chemical plants after the war. In the 1950s: the Synthetic Rubber Production Plant produced ethylene obtained from oil, Sumgayit Steel Processing Plant, Sumgayit Aluminium, and Petroleum Chemical Factory, the largest in Europe at the time. From 1961 through 1968: a brick-producing factory, a polymer construction materials industrial complex and a phosphor production plant. In 1970–’80s, light industry and mechanical engineering facilities were added to the industrial base of the city. By the end of the 1980s, Sumgayit was already the center of the chemical industry of the USSR.
Sumgayit was subsequently named the most polluted place on Earth by U.S.-based environmental groups due to the former Soviet industrial base polluting the local environment with industrial chemicals like chlorine and heavy metals. Cancer rates in Sumgayit were as much as 51% higher than the national average and genetic mutations and birth defects were commonplace. The city was known for its children’s cemetery, known as the “Baby Cemetery” which contains many graves of infants born with deformities and mental retardation that were further complicated by the lack of adequate medical care for the poor. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Sumgayit has remained Azerbaijan’s second-biggest industrial center after Baku.
An environmental protection plan introduced in 2003 has been steadily decreasing the levels of pollution to a minimum. The amount of wastewater from industrial production decreased from 600,000 m3 during the 1990s to 76,300 m3 in 2005. Solid waste went down from 300,000 to 3,868 tons a year. A burial range for mercury waste was constructed.
After the Nagorno-Karabakh War, the city became home to some Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, mainly from Qubadli nad Zengilan regions.
BAKU (pop 2 million 2009)
Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres (92 ft) below sea level, which makes it the lowest-lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. Baku lies on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku. Officially, about 25% of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku’s metropolitan area. Baku is the sole metropolis in Azerbaijan.
Baku is divided into twelve administrative regions and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 kilometres (37 miles) away from Baku. The Inner City of Baku, the Shirvanshah’s Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
The city is the scientific, cultural, and industrial center of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there. The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargo per year. In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the 2015 European Games, the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games, the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2016, hosted the final of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League and, will be one of the host cities for UEFA Euro 2020.
The city is renowned for its harsh winds, which is reflected in its nickname, the “City of Winds”.
The northern suburbs of Baku are particularly unattractive – barren oil fields with many derricks and pumps, natural gas lines above ground forming networks of metal piping, few or no street lights, poor housing, and mud lanes. There are several large lakes.
Day 1 in Baku
“Binagadi” 4th Period Fauna and Flora Deposit (30/09/1998). This is located in northern Baku in Binagadi District under a lake at 40° 15′ 50~ north and 49° 45′ 55″ east. This ancient flora and fauna deposit of the Pliocene era has rich vegetation, animals and insect remains covered by a thick layer of petroleum at the bottom of an ancient shrivelled lake. 40 mammals, 120 birds, 2 reptiles and one amphibian, as well as 107 species of insects and 22 species of vegetation relics, have been discovered. It is richer than the 4th Period fauna deposit in Californian Rancho-Lle-Brlant Pitch.
“Lok-Batan” Mud Cone (30/09/1998). This is a mud volcano located in Binagadi. The mud volcano erupted in 1977 and again, on October 10, 2001, when it produced large flames many tens of meters high. It is now a cone of dirt.
Yanar Dag. An NM “sight”, is a natural gas fire that blazes continuously on a hillside NE of Baku (Azerbaijan is known as “the Land of Fire”). Flames jet into the air 3 metres (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer. Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanar Dag flame burns fairly steadily, as it involves a steady seep of gas from the subsurface. It is claimed that the Yanar Dag flame was only noted when accidentally lit by a shepherd in the 1950s. There is no seepage of mud or liquid, which distinguishes it from the nearby mud volcanoes of Lökbatan or Gobustan.
On the territory of Yanar Dag, the State Historical-Cultural and Natural Reserve was established with the Yanardag Museum and Yanardag Cromlech Stone Exhibition.
Ramana Tower (Ramana Qalasi). Ramana tower is one of more than 30 strongholds on the north seashore in the Absheron peninsula as the main danger came from the sea, and the stronghold towers received the warning signals (fire at night and smoke in the afternoon) from the northern Caspian Shore defensive barriers to pass them along to other towers on the peninsula.
Located on the tallest rock in Ramana village of Baku, it is seen from all surrounding villages. The exact date of construction is not known but is probably from the 12th to the 14th century. It was used as a castle during the reign of Shirvanshahs’.
It is a small square castle with 10m high crenellated walls and a large central square keep or donjon that is 15m high. There are towers in the middle of the walls.
SOCAR Tower. Headquarters of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic), it was built between 2010-2016. Located on the highway from the main airport to downtown Baku, it is visible on the way to the city center and is one of the landmarks of the city.
The building was designed by Heerim Architects from South Korea based on the concept of “wind and fire” with two towers that curve around each other as they rise. It is 209 m (686 ft) tall with 42 floors mainly office space, but also conference and sports facilities, a guest house, retail spaces and food outlets.
The building’s design is based on a composite system of steel construction with reinforced concrete walls. The building is designed to be resistant to wind speeds of 190 km/h and a magnitude nine earthquake.
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. This is an architectural masterpiece noted for its flowing, curved style and lack of sharp angles. The center is named after Heydar Aliyev, the first secretary of Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969-82, and president of the Azerbaijan Republic from 1993-2003.
All functions of the Center, together with entrances, are represented by folds in a single continuous surface. This fluid form connects the various cultural spaces and provides each element with its own identity and privacy. As it folds inside, the skin gives way to become an element of the interior landscape of the Center. Extending on eight-floor levels, the center accommodates a 1000-seat auditorium, temporary exhibition spaces, a conference center, workshops, and a museum. It holds major exhibitions such as The Historic Masterpieces Exhibition, which included ancient artifacts from Georgia and Azerbaijan from the Gajar epoch with ceramic and metal works, canvases, miniatures and belongings of Fatali Khan.
The Mini Azerbaijan exhibition on the second floor features the history and architecture of buildings in Azerbaijan.
Baku Karting. This an event center, the large, covered entertainment-karting center to be able to drive a racing car while being in complete safety. Experienced riders will open the secrets of racing and help to achieve outstanding results.
Heydar Mosque. This is a magnificent modern yellow stone mosque with a high wall, a street on one side, and a large plaza of white stone with two pools and an open book of the details on the other side. Opened in 2012, the 4 minarets are 95m high, the dome is 55 m high and 30m in circumference. The façade is carved with Islamic figures. Inside it is plain white and all carved with no paintings. The mihrab has some maqarnas and is yellow. Today is the spiritual center for the Muslims of the region and one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan.
It was closed but I went down to the courtyard and a fellow opened it for me. He spoke just enough English to be misunderstood – I think he wanted money to open the mosque.
Russian Flea Market (Bileceri Bazari). An atypical flea market with mostly art and some pottery.
Baku Railway Station. The original lovely stone station is now the Railway Museum. A new sharp-angled station carrying the Metro is alongside.
Taza Bazaar. This is a large modern supermarket and pharmacy.
Memar Ajami is a Baku Metro station. It was opened in December 1985. It was formerly called Mikrorayon and is named after Ajami Nakhchivani. It became a transfer station to the Purple Line on 19 April 2016 and has multiple futuristic entrances.
Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s House Museum. Halibeyov (1885-1948) was a Soviet composer, conductor, publicist, playwright, teacher, translator, and social figure of Azerbaijani origin. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani-composed classical music and opera. Uzeyir Hajibeyov composed the music of the national anthem of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (which was re-adopted after Azerbaijan regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991). He also composed the anthem used by Azerbaijan during the Soviet period. He was the first composer of an opera in the Islamic world.
Located in a relatively ramshackle district, it is a new yellow stone construction that looks incongruously out of place. AZN2
House Museum of Abdulla Shaig (Abdulla Şauqub ev-Muzeyi). 1881 Tbilisi – 1959, Baku), born Abdulla Mustafa oglu Talibzadeh, was an Azerbaijani writer.
In 1883, Shaig’s mother moved with her two sons and a daughter to Khorasan (Iran), where as a teenager, he wrote ghazals and translated pieces from Russian literature into Persian. In 1901, at the age of 20, he permanently settled in Baku and worked as a teacher in public education for the next 33 years.
Shaig was a romanticist and a children’s author. His plays folklore-oriented tales and short stories that illustrated the bitter consequences of poverty and economic ordeals faced by the working class in pre-Soviet Russia made him particularly popular in the Soviet Union. His celebration of internationalism and pacifism earned him great success as a writer. Despite his academic work aimed at promoting Azerbaijani culture and somewhat open anti-Stalinist views, he was not persecuted by the state.
Shaig managed writing with his teaching career. He was the author of many language and literature textbooks. He also translated numerous works by Shakespeare, Defoe, Lermontov, Krilov, Gorky, Nekrosov, Defoe, Lermontov, Nizami, and Firdowsi into Azerbaijani and Russian languages.
Some of Shaig’s famous works include: Undelivered Letter, Lady Tigtig, We’re all Rays from the Same Sun and Heroes of Our Century.
Museum. In 1916, he moved into this five-bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of House No. 21 on Upper Mountain (now on A.Shaiq Street) where he lived until 1957. AZN2
House-Museum of Jafar Jabbarly. This memorial museum is dedicated to the Azerbaijani playwright, poet, director and screenwriter, Jafar Jabbarly (1899-1934).
He started writing poems in his early teenage years and in the following years, wrote more than 20 plays, as well as poems, essays, short stories, and articles. His works were very much influenced by the 1920s propaganda of Communist glory and celebrated appropriate themes such as equality, labour, education, cosmopolitanism, the emancipation of women, cultural shifts, etc. Jabbarli’s major accomplishment in introducing European plays to average Azerbaijanis was translating William Shakespeare’s Hamlet into Azeri in 1925 and directing it at the Azerbaijan Drama Theatre a year later.
Jafar Jabbarli is considered the founder of screenwriting in Azerbaijan. Two of his plays, Sevil and Almaz, both written in 1928, were made into films in 1929 and 1936 respectively. Both focused on the theme of the role of women, their oppression, struggle, and ultimately, victory over dated patriarchal traditions.
He designed and lived here and consists of 7 rooms with documents, photographs, rare manuscripts, personal belongings and gifts from prominent personalities. AZN3
House-Museum of Leopold and Mstislav Rostropovich. Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007) was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered to be one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since. He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces, forming long-standing friendships and artistic partnerships with many composers.
Rostropovich was internationally recognized as a staunch advocate of human rights and was awarded the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya and had two daughters, Olga and Elena Rostropovich.
Museum. He lived in this apartment for 3 years. It is almost entirely photos and a few personal effects. AZN2
Museum of Azerbaijani Literature (Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan). Named after the 12th-century poet Nizami, this museum is seen by a guided tour provided in the ticket – and one gets information overload. Besides the busts of the many figures of Azerbaijan literature and their books in Azerbaijan, this museum had more art and archaeology than literature. AZN10
Sculpture Girl on Bench. In Fountain Square, this is a bronze of a teenage girl in shorts and a tank top sitting on a bench. She is applying lipstick. The bronze is rubbed shiny.
House-Museum of Bulbul (Bülbülün Memorial Muzeyi). Bulbul (1897-1961) was a famous Azerbaijani and Soviet opera tenor, folk music performer, and one of the founders of vocal arts and national musical theatre in Azerbaijan.
Bulbul was born in 1897 in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. His mother was the daughter of a nomad Kurd. He was known for his musical talent since his childhood, which is why people nicknamed him Bulbul (“nightingale” in Azerbaijani). He chose it as a stage name when he became involved in professional music. He moved to Baku in 1920 where he became acquainted with European-style opera and decided to excel in this genre. He later studied music and vocal arts at Azerbaijan State Conservatoire and the La Scala Theatre in Milan, Italy.
In his songs, Bulbul was able to blend national manners of performance with traditions of Italian vocal school. He was the co-author of several songs and romances and was known for his music-related publications and teaching vocal arts at his alma mater, the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire between 1932 and 1961. His monographs nowadays serve as an important source for those studying Azerbaijani music. Bulbul was the first musician to publish study guides and manuals used to teach students how to play the tar, kamancheh and Balaban, traditional musical instruments of Azerbaijan.
Bulbul was awarded the highest order of the Soviet Union – the USSR State Prize, as well as the “Stella di Garibaldi” order in Italy. He died in Baku and was buried at the Alley of Honor in Baku.
The bronze busts of Bulbul are preserved in the courtyard of the Azerbaijani Museum of Arts in Baku. In 2012 Bulbul’s statue was unveiled in Baku.
This museum is not where Google Maps takes you but 2 blocks east on the 2nd floor with unmarked stairs. He lived here from 1937-61 and the apartment is furnished in original décor. Get a guided tour in English. Free
Park Bulvar is a multi-story shopping mall located on Baku Boulevard in the downtown area. The building has all the architectural attributes of the East and the modern art of the West. It consists of six floors, including two underground floors. The mall contains about 99 stores, a supermarket, a 6-hall movie theatre, a planetarium and 3D cinema, a children’s playground, a photo studio, VIP restaurants overlooking the Baku Bay of the Caspian Sea, bowling halls, food courts, etc. The first and second floors feature luxury shops and cafes.
Independence Museum of Azerbaijan. A few storyboards are in English – ancient history, independence in 1918 and the Nagorno-Karabakh War from the late 1980s to 1994 when 30.000 Azerbaijanis were killed. The Khojali genocide is highlighted when 613 people were killed. NG is 20% of the territory of the country. Not very interesting with a lot of documents and photos none in English. AZN5
National Museum of History of Azerbaijan. Relates to the many thousand years of Azerbaijan’s history – not very interesting and little in English. AZN5
House-Museum of Samad Vurgun. Samad Vurgun (1906-1956) was an Azerbaijani and Soviet poet, dramatist, public figure, the first People’s Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR (1943), academician of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (1945), laureate of two USSR State Prizes of second degree (1941, 1942), and member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 1940.
The Azerbaijan State Russian Dramatic Theatre and streets in Baku and Moscow, and formerly the city of Hovk in Armenia, are named after him.
Samad Vurgun is the first poet in the literature history of Azerbaijan who was nominated with the title of “The Poet of Public”.
He taught literature at village schools of Qazakh, Ganja and Quba, studied at Moscow State University for 2 years (1929–1930) and then continued his education at Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute.
The establishment of the spiritual bridge between Azerbaijan and Iran was achieved through the works of the poet. Samad Vurgun died in 1956 and was buried in Baku, in the Alley of Honor.
On the 3rd floor (100m west of where Google Maps directed me), this is the apartment he lived in for the last 2 years of his life. It is furnished with original furniture and has many personal momentos, clothes and photographs, but none of his poetry in English. Free
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography. This is only archaeology with material from almost every archaeological dig in the country. It is well designed with good exhibits and English labels. AZN5
Maiden Tower is a windowless 8-story stone tower in the shape of a round tower and adjoined abutment with no connecting walls. Consequent to the receding of the seashore line of the Caspian Sea, a strip of land emerged. This land was developed between the 9th and 15th centuries when the walls of the old city, the palace and the huge bastion of the Maiden Tower were built. Along with the Shirvanshahs’ Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a group of historic monuments listed in 2000 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
It is one of Azerbaijan’s most distinctive national emblems, a legendary place and world-famous. The Tower has many mysteries and legends rooted in the history and national culture of Azerbaijan. It is featured on Azeri currency notes and official letterheads.
The Maiden Tower houses a museum presenting the history of Baku. The view from the roof takes in the alleys and minarets of the Old City, Baku Boulevard, De Gaulle house and a wide vista of Baku Bay. In recent years, the brazier on the top has been lit during the nights of the Novruz festival.
The Maiden Tower (ballet) is a world-class Azerbaijan ballet created by Afrasiyab Badalbeyli in 1940. AZN15
Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. Includes a good repertoire of Azerbaijan carpets from the various regions of the country with examples of a variety of motifs used in the designs. Most are done on a loom and are not plush carpets but flat and of nice designs. Also horse bags, examples of temporary housing made from carpets, mitts and purses. See the process of procuring the wool, carding, spinning and two craftsmen working on carpets. Also pottery, metal work and some archaeology with pots. AZN7
Baku Funicular. Opened in 1960, it connects a square on Neftchilar Avenue and Martyrs’ Lane. It has been renovated several times. Length 455 meters, has 2-28 person coaches operating on a single-track part and a passing place. AZN 3 each way. I took the funicular up and walked down after seeing Martyr’s Lane.
The Eternal Flame Memorial (Martyrs’ Lane, Alley of Martyrs) is a cemetery and memorial in Baku dedicated to those killed by the Soviet Army during Black January 1990 and in the Nagorno-Karabakh War of 1988–1994.
History. In the closing days of World War I, fighting broke out in Baku as a result of the Russian Empire collapse and the resulting Russian Civil War, with Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Armenians and Azeris fighting for control of the area when the. Many people were killed in the fighting including some from a small British force sent to prevent Baku from falling into the hands of the Russians. The Martyrs’ Lane site first served as a Muslim cemetery for victims of the March Events of 1918.
The cemetery was destroyed and the corpses were removed after the Bolsheviks came to power. They created an amusement park on the site and installed a statue of Sergei Kirov, the prominent Bolshevik leader. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the statue and the amusement park facilities were removed and the location was reinstated as a burial site for national heroes. The first buried at the newly instated memorial were those who had died during the Black January events of 1990 when Soviet forces invaded Baku.
The memorial was next used for the burial of the bodies of men who died in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Approximately 15,000 people are buried in the cemetery. It is located on a hill in the south of the city overlooking the Caspian Sea. It is considered a shrine to those who have given their lives for Azerbaijan’s independence and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
Memorials. Martyrs’ Lane is also home to the Baku Turkish Martyrs’ Memorial, a large memorial to the 1,130 Turkish troops who were killed while fighting Bolshevik and Armenian forces during the Battle of Baku in 1918. Next to the memorial, there is a martyrs mosque, also built by Turks. The memorial contains a hexagonal block clad in red granite; each face contains a pure white marble crescent star, based on those in the Turkish national flag. It was unveiled in 1999.
Not far from the Turkish memorial, there is a small wall acknowledging the British soldiers killed during the same conflict.
The Eternal Flame Memorial Complex has a tomb on an 8-pointed star crown with an eight-pointed mirror dome made of gold-framed glass.
Notable burials. The first tomb at the entrance of Martyrs’ Lane belongs to the married couple Fariza and Ilham Allahverdiyev who died during Black January. Ilham was shot dead by Soviet troops and Fariza committed suicide after hearing of her husband’s death. The tomb has become a symbol of fidelity and love. The lane consists of polished granite stones etched with the likeness of each victim (all dated 1990).
Baku TV Tower. In the NM “Modern Architecture Building” series, it was built between 1979 and 1996 as a free-standing concrete telecommunications tower. With a height of 310m, it is the tallest structure in Azerbaijan and the tallest reinforced concrete building in the Caucasus.
The tower has become one of the most prominent landmarks of Baku, often in the establishing shots of films set in the city. A rotating restaurant on the 62nd floor (175m) was opened in 2008.
Occasionally, Baku TV Tower’s lighting is changed to specific, unique arrangements for special events with alternating sections lit in blue, red and green like in traditional Azerbaijani flags to help celebrate the national holidays.
Flame Towers. In the NM “Modern Architecture Building” series, this is a trio of skyscrapers in South Baku. The height of the tallest tower is 182 m. Towers representing flames symbolize fire as a sign of Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism by Azerbaijanies and Azerbaijan as a birthplace for the prophet Zoroaster. The buildings consist of 130 residential apartments over 33 floors, a Fairmont hotel tower that consists of 250 rooms and 61 serviced apartments, and office blocks that provide a net 33,114 square meters of office space. The cost of Flame Towers was an estimated US$350 million. Construction began in 2007, with completion in 2012.
The Flame Towers consist of three buildings: South, East and West. The facades of the three Flame Towers function as large display screens with the use of more than 10,000 high-power LED luminaires. With a curve up to a sharp point, at night they are lit by an amazing variety of LED lights that flow across and up the towers.
Azerbaijan State Museum of Art. Housed in two adjoining 2-story buildings, start on one side with European art and porcelain (Italian, French, Dutch, Russian). The other side is Azerbaijan artists most from the 20th century.
Muhammad Mosque (Siniggala). This tiny stone mosque dated 1078-9 is inside the walls of the Old City. It has a lovely minaret adorned with maqarnas. I asked and it is never open to the public.
Shirvanshah’s Palace is a 15th-century palace in the Inner City of Baku built by the Shirvanshahs and, together with the Maiden Tower, forms an ensemble of historic monuments that were WHS listed in 2000. The complex contains the main building of the palace, Divanhane, the burial vaults, the shah’s mosque with a minaret, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s mausoleum (“mausoleum of the dervish”), Murad’s gate, a reservoir and the remnants of a large bathhouse. Reconstructed in 2013, all the plaster was removed to expose the lovely stonewalls, domes, muqarnas designs and vaulted ceilings. All the exhibits date from the 19th century.
In the past, the palace was surrounded by a wall with towers and, thus, served as the inner stronghold of the Baku fortress. No traces of this wall have survived on the surface and no inscriptions survived on the palace itself. Dates on the minarets and tomb imply construction was 1435/36 on the tomb and (1441/42) on the minaret of the Shah’s mosque. The main buildings of the ensemble were built at different times but the basic architectural forms have a unity of scale and proportionality.
The palace is depicted on the obverse of the 10 new manat banknote issued since 2006.
Miniature Books Museum. This is the only museum of miniature books in the world located near the palace. Opened in 2002, it represents the collection of Zarifa Salahova over 30 years with more than 6500 books from 64 different countries in 15 sections such as “International”, “Baltic countries”, “Smallest”, “Azerbaijani authors”, “Soviet era” “Oldest”, “Children’s”, “Pushkin”, “Central Asia”, etc. Notable miniatures in this collection include a 17th-century copy of the Quran, a 13th-century book published by Peter Schöffer (successor to Johannes Gutenberg).
The museum has several thousands of fairy-sized books: macro-mini, miniature, micro-mini and ultra-mini micro. The world’s three smallest books with sizes of 2mm x 2mm each can only be read with the use of a magnifying glass: “The Language of Flowers”, “Birthstone”, and “The Signs of the Zodiac”. These books were published in 1978 in Tokyo. One is 6mm x 9mm, published in Moscow in 1985 and contains the Máxim Gorki`s and Pushkin`s works.
Day 3 in Baku
Central Botanical Garden. This huge garden has mostly mature trees including surprisingly palm trees and, at this of the year, few flowers. There is a lovely airy greenhouse with agave and many succulents.
Stone Chronicle Museum. Petroglyphs, ancient stone tools, household items, gravestones, architectural decoration, building inscriptions and modern sculpture are exhibited in this huge 2-story space (originally an electrical facility) that appears nearly empty. Free
Bibi-Heybat Mosque. A historical mosque built in the 13th century over the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum, the daughter of the seventh Shiite Imam, Musa al-Kazim, who fled to Baku from the persecution of caliphs.
Famous French writer, Alexandre Dumas, who visited the mosque in the 1840s, in his book “The World” wrote: The mosque – a place of worship for infertile women, they come here on foot, worship, and within a year gain the ability to give birth.
The mosque was rebuilt in 1911 with a reconstruction of the tomb and the old mosque took a cubic form. It was destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1934. After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan in 1920, the Bolsheviks began lashing out against religion. Bibi-Heybat Mosque, along with Baku’s Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception became a target for the new regime. The mosque was blown up in 1934 as a result of the Soviet anti-religious campaign.
In 1994, after Azerbaijan gained its independence, then president Heydar Aliyev ordered the construction of a new building for Bibi-Heybat Mosque at the same place where it was destroyed with the layout and size restored based on photographs taken shortly before the explosion. It was opened in 1997.
The modern restored mosque is a classic example of Shirvan architecture with local limestone and three domes decorated with green and turquoise mirrors, and calligraphic inscriptions.
The tomb is elaborate – a grill of steel balls, and blue, silver and gold bands surround the four tombs. The walls and dome of the tomb are equally spectacular in shiny emerald green tiles with gilt inscriptions.
The small mosque is white marble carved with intricate florals and designs. The dome is also spectacular with emerald green tiles on the curve of the upper walls and on the lower walls of the dome with gilt Arabic inscriptions. Above it is turquoise tiles cut with 24 windows and covered in florals with emerald green at the top of the dome. It is a busy active place of worship. Free
From the large plaza to the east, look down at the industrial Port of Baku, Above is an Islamic cemetery and above that the yellow cliffs of Baku Stage mountain.
“Baku Stage” Mountain (30/09/1998). On the slopes of this mountain at 70 meters depth was found a classic column of lower anthropogenic deposits. Being rich with geological deposits of the “Baku” Period and paleontological remnants, this natural monument is unique. Located at 40° 20′ 50″ north and 49° 45′ 55″ east near Bibi-Heybat Settlement south of Baku on the coast of the Caspian Sea, it has a wide panoramic view of the Caspian.
Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape. This monument of prehistoric rock art was created 20,000 years ago (Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. 6000 images are carved into 3 mountains in the area: Beyukdash, Kuhikdeh and Kjingirdag, on the migration routes of early humans. It became a WHS in 2007.
Different subjects predominated the art at different periods: aurochs and anthropomorphic women in the Upper Paleolithic, hunters and boats in the Mesolithic, collective dancing in the Neolithic, bezoar goats in the Eneolithic, hunting scenes in the Iron Age and Latin inscriptions in the Roman era.
The area is a jumble of large rocks that have fallen off the cliff face above. Most are not that interesting but there are some very good aurochs, boats, human figures and goats.
Buy the ticket at the kiosk on the road by the museum and then drive the 1.8kms up the mountain to the petroglyphs. The most interesting thing in the museum was a list of other rock art sites around the world. AZN10 (includes museum and terrace)
I then left the East Coast area for the long drive to return to Western Azerbaijan on my way to Georgia and Armenia. The road went through a completely flat semi-desert.
GO TO Azerbaijan – West – Ganja-Qazakh, Shaki-Zaqatala
