In Baku, Azerbaijan - 22 June 2024

The flight from Sharjah arrived Baku at 11.15, half an hour late. The flight wasn't full not had any other flights landed at the time in Terminal 1 of the Hayder Aliyev International Airport. A well maintained, neat and not very ornate airport had efficient staff, with smiles on their faces, dealing quickly with passengers. I didn't have to wait long to be at the immigration counter. I showed the lady officer my passport and visa and the stamping was done in quick time.

Ajay had come to pick me up. The free Wi-Fi of the airport helped connect with him on WhatsApp immediately. The bag did take some time to arrive on the belt. Soon thereafter I met with Ajay and took the Airport Express bus to the city. Ajay had already secured a Bakikart which could be used on the metro trains and buses. He had also obtained a Sim Card, Azercell, which helped us stay connected.

On the way I admired the brilliant architecture, cleanliness and superb infrastructure of the city and its neighborhood. Having read up on the city and the places to visit I could pick out many sights along the way. Once in the city we changed to a city bus for the rest of the trip. Our accommodation was in the Sweet Garden Hotel in the Old Town, just behind the massive Four Seasons Hotel. There are toll gates that restrict access of cars to the Old Town. Either one has to be a resident or pay 2 AZN per hour (Rs. 100) for parking, which is almost impossible to come by.

The Sweet Garden Hotel, being within the Old Town, was accessible through small gullies, neatly maintained though. The owner of the facility was at the reception when we made our way there. After the formalities of checking in, we were shown into our fairly comfortable room. The tariff for the room had already been debited from my account. 

After laying down our luggage and arranging a few things in the room, the two hungry guys walked to an authentic Azerbaijani restaurant, done up in traditional style. A few people were already dining there. From the menu Ajay chose to have a Beef Kavurma and I picked on a kofte bozbash. The order did take a while to be served - could make out that everything was freshly prepared. The two dishes were served with bread. The lamb boshbaz is a soup with a large lamb meatball, chickpeas and half a boiled potato. It had a tangy taste enhanced by cherry plum.

Once sated, we came back to the room, picked up a few things and started the afternoon's agenda of sightseeing. Icherisheher, or the Old Town or the Inner City, is where ancient Baku was founded and is the oldest inhabited part of Baku. Built out of limestone, the buildings on the shores of the Caspian Sea are all almost the same colour. The defining structure of a wealthy household was its wooden balcony.

With narrow and winding roads, the walk through the Old Town make Icherisheher feel like a maze. The ancient Icherisheher was enclosed within two thick walls, with the rulers living alongside his subjects. Most of the touristy places in the Old Town are within close proximity of each other. Tourists were everywhere and there were City guides placed by tour companies to guide them where necessary and also to solicit business.

Many attractions have an entrance fee; the difference in fee for the locals and foreigners is stark. Ajay bought us entrance tickets for four attractions that came in a combo for the equivalent of about Rs. 1800. The Maiden Tower, from the 12 century, is one of Azerbaijan's distinctive national symbols. The museum housed inside the Maiden Tower tells the story of Baku's historical evolution.

The views from top of the tower showcases the alleys and minarets of the Old Town and offers a panoramic view of the Baku Bay. Unfortunately, the plexiglass protection provided all around the terrace of the tower robbed the joy of photography. Apparently, the protection has been provided to stop people from even contemplating suicide.! Many legends and myths have added to the aura of the Maiden Tower; the siege of the fortress, the fiery-haired virgin, a love connect between the victor and the vanquished, et al. We met a couple of elderly guys who were visiting from UK, but of Indian and Pakistani origin. 

The 15 century Palace of the Shirvanshah is within the central part of Baku and is considered to be one of the gems of Azerbaijani architecture. The Shirvanshahs ruled Shirvan, as Azerbaijan was known then, between the 9th and 16th centuries. The complex contains the main palace building, the burial vaults, the shah's mosque with a minaret, the Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's mausoleum (the so-called "mausoleum of the dervish"), a portal in the east, Murad's gate, a reservoir and the remnants of a bath house. There are no traces today of the walls that served as a stronghold of the Palace and Towers during the heydays of the Shirvanshahs.

The underground bath in the Old Town was presumably built at the beginning of the 17th century. During that period, the construction of baths at the entrances to the city was widespread, so that caravans and travelers could wash themselves before entering into the city. The baths are located below the ground level, which is typical for Baku baths. This helped to maintain a constant temperature regime. There were 2 domes with holes allowing the light to access inside. The bath consists of several rooms and two octagonal halls. It is assumed that in the first hall, placed at the entrance, the visitors changed their clothes, and that the second hall was a bath space itself.

The fourth attraction in the combo ticket was the Tahir Shalov house gallery of art. A very distinctive depiction of painting, photos, carpets and the like the art is located within the Old Town. The museum exposition is dedicated to the life and activity of the Azerbaijani artist Tahir Salahov. The artist gifted 735 exhibits to the house-museum. The exhibition presents portraits of Tahir Salakhov's contemporaries, such as Gara Garayev, Fikret Amirov and many others. Among them there are his paintings, personal belongings, carpet collection and photo archive. The exposition covers 3 floors of the museum building. Tahir Salahov's workshop is located on the 3rd floor of the museum.

The Baku Museum of Miniature Books was an absolute eye-opener. Entrance to the fairytale world of books is free. It is the only museum of miniature books in the world. The museum started its operation in 2002. In 2015 the Museum was presented the Certificate of the Guinness Book of Records as the largest private museum of miniature books.

Exhibits in the museum were collected by Zarifa Salahova (the sister of Tahir Salahov) over a period of 40 years. She lives in one of the upper floors of the Museum that is almost opposite the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. Her collection consists of more than 9000 miniature books from 96 different countries. The museum was opened to public viewing with the hope of promoting childhood literacy. The world's three smallest books with size of 2mm x 2mm each that can only be read with the use of a magnifying glass which were published by "Toppan Publishing House" are also exhibited in the Museum: The language of flowers, Birthstone, and The signs of the Zodiac. These books were published in 1978 in Tokyo. Visitors can also see rare ancient religious books in the museum, aged over 100 years. The most ancient book is the Qur'an which was published in Saudi Arabia in 1672.

Azneft Square is where the Swans fountain is. That is almost diagonally opposite the Four Seasons Hotel, besides the Baku promenade. A short walk from there is the Mini Venice and the Carpet Museum  

Highland Park is a great place to check out during both day and night, where one can get to either on a cheap funicular ride or a set of stairs. We had to wait for long to get a funicular ride up to the Park; I thought that there was too much slack in operating the two cars between the city and the Park. The ride itself is just five minutes for 1 AZN.

There is a martyrs' alley, martyr mosque, war memorial and eternal flame within the Park. Highland Park is an elevated terrace that offers an unparalleled panoramic view of Baku city and the Sea from its elevated vantage point, which is the highest in Baku. The view of the Caspian, the marina, landmarks of the Old City, the Xtravaganza Denniz Mall and the Baku Eye are absolutely stunning. 

The Flame Towers was constructed between 2007 and 2012 and cost 350 million USD. The three towers provide residential apartments, a Fairmont Hotel tower and office blocks. The shape of the buildings, that of a flame, symbolises the nickname of the country, Land of Fire, possibly a reference to the natural gas flares and the divine fire of Zoroastrian worshippers, witness the Yanardag and the Atashgah of Baku. The height of the tallest tower is 597 feet. The Flame Towers, covered with LED screens that display the movement of a fire, are visible from the farthest points of the city. The light show, powered by over 10,000 high power LED fixtures, transitions from giant flames, the colors of the Azerbaijani flag, a figure waving a flag, and giant tanks of water being filled.

Dinner at the Merci Baku, close to the entrance gate of the Old Town, was a feast. I had zeroed in on the foods to try out during the trip. Out of that Ajay and picked out the Dolma and Lyulya Kebab for dinner. Again, it took some time to arrive, but when it did, it just blew out minds. The Dolma is minced meat draped in grape leaves and 'stewed' in olive oil and served with yogurt. Mouthwatering and wholesome. The Lyulya kebab just melted in the mouth. Served with chopped raddish, it was a feast. The entire portions were had with two baskets of bread. The waiter was impressed with our English and said that he aspired to improve his, but was a struggle as he had fewer opportunities to practice the language.