Last Updated on November 15, 2025 by Home in the World
‘Azerbai-WHAT?’ Tell most people you’ve chosen to holiday in Baku, Azerbaijan, and you’re likely to be met with glazed eyes or, at best, quizzical looks. While it does resonate with a small handful of Eurovision or Formula 1 fans who have seen the city host those respective events, it’s fair to say it is not on most people’s radar, leave alone travel bucket list. I, on the other hand, had been inexplicably fascinated by this obscure, faraway place for some years.
And finally, in May 2018, there I was, sitting on the plane, face pressed eagerly against the window, watching the sprawling, sandy landscape and glistening glass buildings draw ever nearer. I had to pinch myself. It could easily have been a mirage.
But it wasn’t. And a few minutes later I had touched down on Azerbaijan soil, with a freshly inked Azerbaycan stamp in my passport and a giddy desire to head out and see if this enigmatic, almost fabled, part of the world would meet my lofty expectations (Spoiler: It did, and I returned a year later to explore it further – this blog post is a mix of experiences and impressions from those two trips).
The Flame Towers
As you would expect from the capital of an oil-rich, former Soviet nation situated in the Caucasus between Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and the Caspian Sea, Baku is a city of great diversity in every respect. It is nicknamed ‘the Dubai of the Caspian Sea’, and there are certainly some parallels with the Middle Eastern metropolis. Glittering skyscrapers sprout up right left and centre, the most iconic of all being the 182-m-tall Flame Towers.
This trio of buildings, the tallest in Azerbaijan, is an omnipresent landmark and reference point in the city, putting on a dazzling light show every night to boot. One tower is home to the luxury Fairmont Baku Flame Towers (where I stayed, see my blog post about it here), while the other two, not yet fully occupied, are set to consist of apartments and offices.
The unique flame shapes of the towers reflect the national symbol of Azerbaijan, the ‘Land of Fire’, whose ancient Persian name Aturpatakan roughly translates to ‘a place where the sacred fire is preserved’. And indeed, the country’s intense geothermal activity and compelling history as the cradle of an age-old fire-worshiping religion are aspects I would be exploring in more detail a little further afield.
The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre
Another stand-out example of modern architecture in Baku is the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, named after the third president of Azerbaijan (the Aliyevs continue to be the most powerful family in the country), and designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in 2012.
Interestingly, it is rumoured to be one of the most expensive buildings in Europe (geopolitically Azerbaijan is considered more a part of Europe than Asia, though the line is rather blurry) per square foot. Completely devoid of any hard angles, this curved white structure sits like dollops of whipped cream atop a trifle of well manicured, terraced lawns dotted with other colourful and quirky art installations. And this would not be the last of the public art I would encounter in this eclectic city, but more on that later.
A couple more shots of the Heydar Aliyev Centre and some of its art installations:
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum
If your mind is already boggling at the aforementioned futuristic structures, which frankly wouldn’t look totally out of place in a dystopian sci-fi film, may I present to you exhibit D, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum. And while the thought of a carpet museum may conjure up images of some obscure, musty, hole-in-the-wall place displaying the odd slab of moth-eaten matting, Baku’s offering is anything but.
Located prominently in a lush garden area alongside the Mini Venice canal system, between the Caspian Sea waterfront and the pulsating Neftchilar Avenue, the museum houses the world’s largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets, along with other woven artefacts and varying exhibitions. There is a small gift shop, and you can also watch professional weavers in action. And the best bit? THE ENTIRE BUILDING IS SHAPED LIKE A ROLL OF CARPET.
When you’re inside, you really get a sense of the tubular structure, whose curved walls showcase dozens of vividly coloured rugs – some tasselled, some featuring rich geometric patterns, some typically Persian in style, some flat, some thicker in pile; a veritable Aladdin’s cave of magic carpets.
Icheri Sheher (the old town)
Baku is an emerging tourist destination, and Azerbaijan’s oil wealth has seen a number of stunningly unique, space-age edifices pop up across the city. And as you gaze in awe at these extraordinary feats of architecture, it’s easy to forget that this is, in fact, a very old part of the world; it indeed once constituted a section of Ancient Persia, an empire that dates back to the 6th century BC (I talk more about the country’s Persian origins in my Day trips from Baku post).
So while the futuristic structures are a window into what modern Baku has become and where it is headed, the winding, cobbled streets of the walled UNESCO-World-Heritage-listed Old City, known as Icheri Sheher, are a veritable step back in time.
Dominated by the 12th-century Maiden Tower fortress and the 15th-century Palace of the Shirvanshahs, who ruled the historic Shirvan region of the eastern Caucasus, the Old Town is an eclectic mix of beautifully restored architecture, boutique hotels, foreign embassies, zany street art, exotic carpet hangings, the ruins of old hamams, and the odd whiff of sweet shisha smoke wafting out of the cafés and caravanserais.
And while there is one small ‘main drag’ of souvenir shops, with hawkers inviting you in to browse everything from Aladdin lamps to ‘I Love Baku’ T-shirts (I somehow ended up succumbing to an antique cake stand and an ‘Azerbaijan’ cushion – don’t ask), it did not have the frenetic, over-commercialised feel commonly found in other better-trodden tourist hotspots.
The majority of tourists who come here, I was told, are sun-seeking Russians, and anyone who looks vaguely like a tourist is indeed addressed in Russian, which still seems to be the default second language after the native Azeri (similar to Turkish). There is, however, starting to be a gradual shift in this department towards English.
On my first visit to the Icheri Sheher, I soon discovered that one wrong turn sees you swallowed up into its labyrinthine laneways, where washing lines laden with mismatched laundry are strung across the narrow alleys, and children kick dusty footballs in hidden, creeper-lined courtyards that time appears to have forgotten. The vibe is one of Mediterranean-meets-Middle-East; I definitely had a few ‘which continent am I on again?’ moments.
A kind local lady who happened to speak a bit of English must have noticed our bewildered looks and vain attempts to make sense of our crumpled maps, and insisted on personally guiding us back to the main street. She had lived there her whole life, and was genuinely pleased, indeed grateful, that we had chosen to visit her city. This was one of many instances of spontaneous Azeri warmth and hospitality we encountered during our stays.
The Baku Museum of Miniature Books
Having regained our bearings, there was another off-beat treasure within the fortress walls of Icheri Sheher that I wanted to visit – the Baku Museum of Miniature Books, which holds the Guinness World Record as the largest collection of miniature books, totalling 2,913. The museum is free, and exhibits a diverse array of tiny books in many different languages, all fully readable, though some require a microscope.
If you’re lucky, the old Russian lady who manages it will give you an impromptu tour in a curious fusion of Russian and English. ‘From where you are?’ she asked us. ‘Australia’, we replied, upon which she bustled her way to a glass cabinet in the far corner where a tiny book about the Sydney 2000 Olympics was displayed. ‘Australia’, she pointed it out to us with a proud flourish. A real treat for literary enthusiasts.
The Philharmonia Garden
Just nearby the museum, as you step out of the Old City through the gates of the mighty fortress walls and back into the more contemporary Baku, is the leafy and majestic Philharmonia Garden – a public park that hugs the outer south-western wall of Icheri Sheher. It is essentially a perfectly manicured tree-lined pathway that descends towards Neftchilar Avenue, its showpiece being the ornate Philharmonic Fountain and mini arcade of marble arches, flanked by the striking yellow Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall, which was built in Italian Rococo style in 1912.
Indeed the whole scene would not look out of place in a city like Paris or St Petersburg. The park particularly comes alive in the late afternoon, with children romping around, students chilling out, and bridal parties making the most of the picturesque setting. I really loved the civilised, familial vibe.
A note on safety and transportation
A quick aside before I continue. If you’re wondering how to get around Baku, it is a very walkable city, and for the most part, I explored it on foot. The Flame Towers are located at the of a pretty steep hill though, and the best way to get up and down from there is by the cute little funicular, whose operating times are not totally clear – though it definitely does not run on Mondays – and which only costs a few manats to ride.
Failing that, there are cabs, though tourists are advised to only ride proper metered cabs (they even have the London ones). On one occasion we had no choice but to take an unmetered one for a very short ride and arranged the price in advance. The driver was lovely and we managed to make ourselves understood despite his complete lack of English and my very tiny smattering of Russian. I had also read prior to my first visit that tourists had to carry their passport around with them at all times in case they were stopped for identity checks.
Azerbaijan may have a reputation as being a bit of a police state, and there is a visible police presence, but this was not at all menacing and indeed only made you feel safer. We did not bother carrying our passports around after the first day, and on the few occasions we approached police officers asking for directions, they were all entirely pleasant and helpful.
Other interesting architecture
Ok, so I’ve mentioned the Old City, I’ve mentioned the ultra-modern stuff, but what about everything in between? Baku has probably the most amazing mix of architecture I have seen in any city anywhere, and this is no doubt influenced by its location in the Caucasus region, and the history that comes with it.
Straddling the furthest reaches of Europe to the west and (Turkic) Asia to the east, and wedged like a sandwich between Mother Russia (its former Soviet ruler) to the north and the equally complex Iran, formerly Persia, to the south, it’s hard to know which continent you’re on.
A walk through Icheri Sheher makes you feel like you’re in the back alleys of Istanbul; a stroll along the sweeping seaside boulevard, with its shiny glass skyscrapers and million-dollar yachts, and you could be in Dubai; wander the streets of downtown Baku and the window-boxed Juliet balconies give off strong Parisian vibes, with a few Soviet relics thrown in for good measure. And then there are the uniquely Azeri buildings that have no global equivalent. ‘Melting pot’ doesn’t begin to cover it.
Below are a few more snaps of Baku’s unique mix of buildings.
Martyrs’ Lane, Upland Park
But while Azerbaijan’s unique, intercontinental location has no doubt helped produce this wonderfully diverse collection of buildings, it has also inevitably resulted in conflict. Martyrs’ Lane or Alley in Upland Park, not far from the Flame Towers, is a sobering reminder of this, and is lined with black stone plaques, often strewn poignantly with red carnations. The plaques commemorate the victims killed during the ‘Black January’ mass murder of 1990, when the Soviet Army tried to suppress the Azerbaijani independence movement.
There is also a Turkish Martyrs’ Memorial to Ottoman soldiers killed in Azerbaijan in World War I, as well as a memorial to those killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, an ethnic and territorial conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the late ’80s and early ’90s. To this day, the Nagorno-Karabakh region remains a highly dangerous and contentious area officially belonging to Azerbaijan, and if your passport shows you have been to this area or even Armenia, be prepared for intense scrutiny when entering Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh is indeed listed as a no-go zone by most countries’ foreign offices.
Sadly, the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia continues to rear its head to this day; it is a very delicate geopolitical matter. The alley ends in the Eternal Flame, which simultaneously ties in with Azerbaijan’s reputation as a ‘land of fire’. The memorial and entire Upland Park provide sweeping views of the Caspian Sea and the city of Baku down below.
Baku street art
But I’d like to finish this post on a less sombre note, namely the unexpected prevalence of eclectic street art found across Baku. From quirky sculptures to discreet ceiling paintings to faces on tree trunks to fairy-tale tableaux in underpasses to vividly painted flower pots, Baku’s public art was yet another surprise in this city that had already served up its fair share of left-field delights. Below are a few features, followed by an image collage.
Final thoughts on what to see in Baku
Few people may have heard of Baku or Azerbaijan, and it will no doubt raise a few eyebrows if mentioned as a holiday destination, but just because somewhere is seemingly ‘weird’ and off the beaten track doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not worth visiting. In many cases, those are indeed precisely the places that ARE worth visiting. Baku more than exceeded my expectations – proven by the fact that I returned there the very next year.
It is exceptionally clean and safe, has SO MUCH to offer in the way of culture, architecture, art and history, and its friendly people truly value the fact that Western tourists are choosing to visit their seemingly off-the-radar city. I do hope that the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia (which have unfortunately escalated in the years since I originally wrote this post) do not start to cause problems.
To quote an overused travel-writing cliché, Baku really is a ‘hidden gem’, but as its star seemingly keeps rising (subject to the aforementioned tensions with Armenia), as it continues to host world-famous events such as Formula 1 grands prix and UEFA Cup finals, and with Qatar Airways operating daily direct flights there from Doha, I can only assume (and hope) the curtain will finally be lifted on this beautiful, mesmerising, sophisticated city, which is more than ready to reveal its tradition-meets-modern mystique to the rest of the world.
** This post, like everything else on this website, has been written entirely by me. No ChatGPT or any other AI tool has been used. It takes longer to create, but I value 100% human-generated content and I hope you do too! **
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