Narrow alleys, dozens of small, forgotten little mosques some barely distinguishable from the houses that surround them, a handful of old caravanserais and plenty of quirky, overhanging balconies. This delightful and evocative pastiche nestles in the long, powerful curve of the restored Old City wall, bristling with towers and battlements, but you’d better hurry to see it while any of its antique character remains. During the mid-1990s the mini oil boom seemed in danger of turning every building into an oil company HQ. This trend reversed noticeably for a while after the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, and as bigger companies moved out. Sadly in the last couple of years the builders have returned once more. While most new structures have been very carefully designed and stone-clad to fit tastefully within the city’s stylistic cocktail, some of the most recent constructions are unforgivable travesties – such as the two new houses behind Baylar Mosque (O6-7). The destruction of a beautiful old house at F4 during spring 2003 was a similar tragedy. Still, there remain homely ‘lived-in’ corners to discover and it’s worth simply launching yourself into the alleys and wandering aimlessly. The map on p83 shows every path and thoroughfare but occasionally some routes are blocked by building work. Some businesses are included as landmarks.
Maiden’s Tower (Qiz Qalasi)
Unique in world architecture, this ancient, almost windowless, eight-storey fortress was reconstructed in the 12th century but may have started life as a fire beacon and lookout post as long ago as 500bc. The name Qiz Qalasi translates literally as ‘Virgin tower’, leading to a host of Rapunzel-style, distressed-princess tales.
The most imaginative is of a warped city ruler who fell in love with his own beautiful daughter and asked to marry her. The poor girl was trapped between the obvious revulsion and illegality of her father’s incestuous proposal and her duty of paternal loyalty. As a stalling manoeuvre she demanded that he build her a tower that would allow her to view her father/husband’s entire domain. Each time the builders announced it was finished she would demand yet another storey be added. Finally when it reached its full height, she climbed to the top to examine the view and threw herself off.
An alternative version accuses Khunsar, the legendary founder of Baku, of locking his guiltless sister in the tower. She threw herself to her death and as retribution God drowned Khunsar’s great pastures and created the Caspian Sea.
In fact the term Qiz Qalasi has nothing whatever to do with young, abused female relations. It is a name quite commonly applied to fortress towers – virginity coming from the fact that it was never penetrated by the various attackers who besieged it throughout history. True or not, the name gave defenders of such towers a certain feeling of invincibility. See also box below.
Shirvanshah’s Palace
(46 Böyük Qala St; open 10.00-19.00 daily; entry 5000M, English-speaking guide 25,000M extra, recommended). The palace site was chosen for its five valuable wells in what was then a forbidding desert. The oldest surviving remnants are 15th century but considerable renovations have been made throughout history. Defensive slits were added to the outer walls during the Russian period.
In 1905, JD Henry reported that plans to turn the palace into a museum had been shelved. Initially it was declared that the space was needed as a hospital for wounded Russian soldiers returning from the war in Manchuria.
Ironically, following the appalling massacre within Baku itself, the hospital idea was dropped and the palace became an ammunition store. The complex was finally reconstructed in 1920 and opened to the public.
At the back of the courtyard area is the turbe of court astronomer Seyd Yahya and the Bailov Stones, dozens of carved fragments recovered in 1951 from Sabail Castle. Azerbaijan’s Alcatraz, Sabail prison island in Baku Bay was originally built in 1235 as Bandar Gala (‘port castle’). The whole structure disappeared under the rising Caspian, perhaps with the help of an earthquake, and was only rediscovered when the water level started dropping rapidly in the 1930s and ‘40s. It is now hidden again.
The Bailov stones of greatest interest to the experts are the sections showing bison and somewhat Mongoloid human faces. These elements show the carvers had either a wide international understanding or a pretty poor standard of representation. Whichever is the case, they were certainly not inhibited by the mores of strict Islam which discourages representation of living creatures.
There are photogenic sunset views of the Shirvanshah complex from the summer bar on the roof of Icheri Shähär hotel, but access may be limited to guests only.
Old City mosques
The Old City is polka-dotted with mosques which add a lot of character to the area, though few are actually open to visitors or worth a special visit. Indeed, some are interesting for their very invisibility – often indistinguishable from neighbouring houses except for the little ‘historic monument’ plaque rusting quietly on a wall. The most visible mosques have old stone minarets topped with rounded, fluted mini-domes. If you’re lost in the maze it is not necessarily wise to use these minarets as triangulation points as there are three that are virtually identical. The oldest in Baku is Mohammad Mosque (L6) whose 1079 Sinik-kala minaret has a typical stalactite-vaulted parapet support and is encircled by kufic Koranic quotations. The minaret’s staircase was built so small that an apocryphally rotund muezzin once got stuck on the way up and couldn’t call the faithful to pray. The most ornately-carved mosque is the Juma Mechid (K9). Also 11th century in origin, it was for a long time the most important place of worship in the city and has been rebuilt several times. A total re-work in the early 20th century was paid for by an oil baron. For the best view of its finely-carved façade you’ll need to walk around the back and into the surrounding courtyard.
Other Old City mosques include: Sheikh Ibrahim (1415, I6), Haci Heybat (1791, now a house R5), Gajibani (16th century, also a house, Q5), Kileli (1309, K2), Lezghi (1169, L11) (Lezghians are mostly Sunni rather than Shi’ite Muslims), Madrassa Mosque (M11), and Baylar (19th century but with an old-style minaret, N7).
Caravanserais
Half a dozen historic caravanserai buildings are crammed within Icheri Shähär. The 14th-century ‘Hindu Caravanserai’ is now the atmospheric Karavansaray Restaurant (O13, see p121) whose cavernous 15th-century ‘Bukhara’ annex just across the passage is well worth peeping into. Others hold the Silk & Spices and Mugam Club restaurants (better food, K11/L11), Old City museum offices (I9), and subterranean glimpses of a sixth help to pass the time if you are delayed in the waiting room of the Georgian Embassy visa section.
Oil-boom mansions (see box p84)
Both within and beyond the Old City walls are some superb turn of the 20th-century mansions.
Perhaps the most eye-catching exterior is the ornate 1912 Gothic Hajinski Mansion (M14) decorated with a selection of stone-vines, gargoyles and animal heads, as well as distinctive overhanging corner windows. It was here that Charles de Gaulle (then an outspokenly independent-minded resistance leader) stayed on 26 November 1944. He was en route to see Stalin to discuss the anticipated post-war carve-up of Europe. The Baku stop off was necessary as he flew via Tehran avoiding the dangerous direct flight to Moscow across enemy airspace. For reasons unexplained, however, he stayed on an extra night in Baku for a performance of Hacibayov’s classic Azeri opera Koroglu.
Before merging with Exxon, Mobil spent millions recreating the Pre-Raphaelite/art nouveau interior of the Gani Mammadov residence (now private, not open to visitors, K8). It was built on the site of a 1646 madrassa of which only one stone portal remains – now preserved as a diminutive Keyla Dukani souvenir shop.
The attractive oil-boom building at R12 topped off with a statuette (once part of a trio) was once the Ethnographic Museum but has been closed for years.
Yasil Aptek (F5)
Housed in Qasimbey’s Hamam, an elegant multi-domed 17th-century bath-house, renovated in the 19th century, this place is supposedly a ‘pharmacy museum’ but that’s only really a name.
The main exhibition space is now used as offices but visitors are so rare that workers seem happy for you to look at the flaking ceiling-domes which are colourfully painted with Azeri literary themes. One small counter does display and sell a selection of herbal remedies.
Mir Mövsüm’s House
Sit for a few minutes beside the tiny fountain in the little stone patio area opposite 3 Firdowsi St and watch the people passing the house (T8). At least one in three will touch the stone doorway as they pass. Coincidence? Not really. Though there is absolutely no sign this was the Baku residence of Mir Mövsüm, the ‘Meat Lord’ (see p153), and in the deeply superstitious Azeri form of Islam, his spirit remains a powerful source of good luck. Though a private house, you will be quite welcome to go into the tiny room where the ‘boneless one’ used to sit. Make a prayer (and a token donation) at the makeshift shrine and feel free to kiss the door on the way out!
Other Old City attractions
For ‘local flavour’ there’s no beating a good rub down at the Old City hamam (see box p81 for my experience). There are several fine art galleries, a curious private museum of miniature books (P3, tel 929464) and for jazz fans, the appealing house museum of Vagif Mustafazade.
Icheri Shähär has some interesting carpet, ‘antique’ and souvenir shops, often tucked away in stone nooks and corners. Browsing can be fun but before you buy read p60 (Carpets) or p59 (Art), and leave plenty of time (preferably two weeks) to certify your purchases for export. Dealers on Zeinalli St claim they can sort out the paperwork and mail on carpets to you (albeit for a hefty fee). In one case that I followed up the carpet did indeed arrive safely.
The most interesting dining options are the caravanserais (see p82) but there’s also an intimate yet stylish international restaurant atop Meridian Hotel (pricey but worth it) and a decent Azeri cavern called Köhnä Shähär (G8).
The only cheap place is El Kafesi, with rough tables in a garden near the double gates (T13, NZS beer 2000M, kebabs 6000M).
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