Handpicked experience · Baku
Baku, AzerbaijanInstant Confirmation
The lowest capital on earth, a landmark tower nobody can explain, and a viewpoint that is also a burial ground.
A capital city that sits below the level of the world's oceans
A monument whose purpose scholarship has never settled
A medieval walled quarter still lived in
The bay, the towers and the boulevard from one hillside
Three hours that fit either side of a flight
Three hours through Baku with a private vehicle and guide: the walled old city, the boulevard along the Caspian, and the hill above the bay with the modern skyline behind it.
Baku sits roughly twenty-eight metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest-lying national capital on earth.
That is not a quirk of measurement. The Caspian is not connected to any ocean, so its surface sits well below global sea level and the city built along its shore sits lower still than the water you are looking at would suggest. It also means the Caspian's level is set by rivers and evaporation rather than by tides, and it has moved metres within living memory — which is why the boulevard has been extended, rebuilt and extended again as the shoreline shifted.
The Maiden Tower is the emblem of the city, and almost everything about it is unresolved.
Its date is disputed: the structure standing today is usually placed in the twelfth century, but it appears to sit on much older foundations. Its purpose is genuinely unknown. It has been argued to be a fortress, except that its design makes poor military sense; a Zoroastrian fire temple, which the layout partly supports; and an astronomical instrument, on the basis of how its projecting buttress aligns. The name has no accepted explanation either, and the romantic legends attached to it are all later.
You are looking at a large, elaborate, expensive building whose builders' intentions have been lost. That is rarer than it sounds, and more interesting than a settled answer.
Highland Park gives the best view in Baku, over the bay and the towers. It is also the site of the Alley of Martyrs, and it is worth knowing what that is before arriving with a camera up.
The graves here are largely of people killed in January 1990, when Soviet troops entered Baku and opened fire during the final years of the union, and of those who died in the Karabakh conflict. Families visit. There is an eternal flame at the end of the row.
Photograph the view, by all means. In the alley itself, keep your voice down and your camera lowered, as you would in any cemetery at home.
The old city is cobbled and stepped, and three hours means walking rather than driving between its sights, so wear shoes accordingly.
The Flame Towers are seen from outside; the LED display along their faces runs after dark, so a morning tour will not show it. Modest dress is appropriate for the historic religious sites, and Baku's summer heat combined with wind off the Caspian catches people out in both directions.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Icherisheher, the walled quarter above the bay. It is still residential, so you are walking through people's streets rather than an open-air museum.
Most of the three hours. The vehicle links the districts, but the old city itself is only sensible on foot.
Not meaningfully. Its level is governed by river inflow and evaporation, and it has shifted by metres within living memory.
Nobody knows. A fortress, a Zoroastrian fire temple and an astronomical instrument have all been argued for, and none is settled.
There is an interior with stairs to a roof terrace, though admission is arranged separately from this tour.
All later inventions. Even the name has no accepted explanation.
A burial ground, mostly for those killed in January 1990 when Soviet troops entered the city, and for those who died in the Karabakh conflict.
Photograph the view from the park freely. In the alley itself, treat it as you would a cemetery at home.