Baku city tour – Places to visit in Baku, Azerbaijan

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The setting was ready & it was the perfect gift I could give myself. A birthday rendezvous with Azerbaijan. For company I had my accomplice & bestie Avafrin. With the excuse for travel being my 26th birthday, we planned a short & fun trip to Baku, Azerbaijan. We landed in Baku and were to do the Baku city tour.

Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. It is also given the title – Dubai of Azerbaijan owing to it’s penchant for freakish architecture and all things gold.

But I was excited as we had planned to not only see Baku but also to travel off the beaten path in Azerbaijan.

MEETING OUR GUIDE AND FRIEND TALEH

At the airport, which seemed more like a fancy ride in a water park in terms of design, our guide Taleh greeted us with a firm handshake & a hug.

Because well, you get a warm, pleasantly smiling guide to welcome you when you book a wonderful 3 nights- 4 days holiday through Holiday-Factory.

Now that I am done promoting their amazing (take my word) holiday-site hoping they give me discounts on my future trips, let’s get back to business.

Dressed in an Argentinian football jersey & cargo pants, Taleh looked more like a tourist than me. Ava meanwhile, secretly developed a crush on Taleh because some warmth is all it takes to woo her.

We left the airport and headed towards our amazing 5 -star abode for the trip – The Hyatt Regency.

SIGHTS OF BAKU AND MAGNIFICENCE OF HYATT

On the way we crossed a bridge that oddly looked like the Bandra-Worli sea link of Mumbai. Furthermore, we got to see the spectacular Heydar Aliyev Center in all it’s architectural glory.

It had an architectural design I’d never seen before in a building. Another interesting sighting enroute was the Baku Olympic stadium. It’s design resembled a pack of threptin biscuits placed – one above the other.

The plush natural green belts in Baku were a pleasant change from the imported vegetation of Dubai.

We reach our hotel which was luxury personified. It had a spacious lobby, an elegant outdoor seating area, a spa centre, pool, gym, and beautiful restaurants & cafes.

The hotel also had some gorgeous staff members who were constantly smiling. We placed our luggage in the room, freshened up & got ready for a guided Baku city tour.

BAKU CITY TOUR

LOCAL RESTORAN LOVE AT KAIZEN

The Baku city tour began with lunch at a local restoran (restaurant) with the name Kaizen. Warm interiors, sofas with mashnads (cylindrical handrest pillows) & war paintings on walls were some distinctive characteristics of the restoran.

They had a normal 3-course meal which, for a vegetarian, somehow reduced to 2-course. So, I enjoyed generous servings of soup & salad before embarking on our city tour.

EXPLORING NAGORNY PARK AND ACCIDENTALLY ENTERING A SHOOT

Our first stop was the Nagorny (Upland) Park. The place boasts of a fabulously vibrant view of Baku.

In it’s vicinity is the Parliament of Baku along with the blockbuster Flame Towers. Flame Towers are the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

As we entered the park, towards the left we saw an ancient mosque built in the Islamic invasion period.

We also noticed a tall pyramidic tombstone that signified the war heritage which the place was part of. As we walked further, a realisation dawned upon me. A realisation that I should have brought my cap along as the sun was beating down on us.

Taleh then, showed us an alley with the tombs of soldiers & officers killed on January 19, 1990. It was a period remembered currently as Black January.

It was the phase of oppression of political opposition by the Soviet Army, in which hundreds of Azerbaijani officers along with civilians were massacred.

Next to the alley is a memorial monument with a mashaal or flame signifying that the sacrifices of the warriors are still fresh in the minds of the people.

We savoured the panoramic visuals of Baku starting from the Baku Eye at the bay of Baku to the Primorsky Boulevard.

The Nagorny park gives us both – an insight into Azerbaijan’s history and a glimpse of Baku’s beauty. Therefore, it’s one of the top things to do in Azerbaijan.

As we were exiting the park, we accidentally walked in the middle of a shoot happening there.

What were the chances that from working in a Bollywood musical in Dubai, we’d land on a film shoot on our holiday – I thought to myself.

Next we headed to the old town of Baku famously called Icheri Sheher. There we saw houses with stylish window railings and small gardens at their entrances.

The air smelled rusty, salty, and a bit other-worldly. Walking further we reached this mysterious structure, which Taleh informed us, was the Maiden Tower.

LEGEND OF THE MAIDEN TOWER AND TASTING AZERBAIJAN’S “SWEETNESS”

Maiden meaning impregnable, the cylindrically shaped tower is made of grey limestone. It was constructed on the ledge of rock jutting into the Caspian Sea.

There’s a famous legend about the Maiden tower which goes that – “The Shah fell in love with his own daughter and decided to marry her. Terrified by the thought of marrying her father, the daughter who loved a young boy, asked her father to build a tower in the hope that during the construction her father would change his mind. But the Shah was adamant and did not change his decision. As a result, the daughter climbed to the top of the tower and jumped into the Caspian Sea”.

Quite a cinematic legend, isn’t it?

Enjoying a stroll in the streets, we stepped into a local dessert shop. We tasted at least 6-7 kinds of Pakhlava which is basically Azerbaijani pastry.

It primarily consists of nuts & dry fruits with honey as the sweetening agent. It’s extremely filling and one of my favourite local Azerbaijani dishes. I definitely recommend you to do a Pakhlava tasting if you’re in Baku.

ENCOUNTERING AN OLD “PRICEY” LADY, AN IGNORANT SHOPKEEPER AND A THIEF

Post the dessert hogging, we walked towards a famous souvenir shop. I saw an old lady sitting at the entrance of the shop from a distance. It’s only when I got close to her, did I realize it was a life-like artwork. I entered the store and everything was out of my budget.

Basically all I could afford is a picture with the life-like old lady’s statue that had fooled me. The statue in itself was too darn expensive. The owner of the shop tells my friend Ava that she looks like a Kashmiri and I look predominantly Indian.

I had the urge to correct my “innocently racist and geographically challenged” shopkeeper friend that Kashmir is a part of India. But then a slightly selfish thought of souvenir discount won the battle against the urge to correct his geographical misinformation.

Also, I distinctly remember this secretive & funny old man entering the store in a rushed manner. He was carrying a bronze horse antique in an open bag. It seemed as if he’d stolen it from an art gallery & wanted to sell it and make a fortune before the police arrested him.

I know I might be speculating but he actually seemed like a thief.

He coincidentally accompanied us during a major part of our walk through the old city. He knocked on every door on the way in the hope to sell the antique for a sizeable amount of Manats. For people who don’t know Azeri Manat aka AZN is the local currency of Azerbaijan.

We made a pit stop at the fountain side for a few snaps of the Heydar Aliyev government office center. The building by the way looked royally mesmerising and just looking at it made me wish I lived there.

EXPLORING THE BAKU BOULEVARD AND CARPET MUSEUM

After resting for a bit, we proceeded towards the Baku Boulevard also known as the Seaside National Park. The place was originally built for Baku residents to enjoy their leisure time. It starts from the National Flag Square and ends at the Freedom Square.

Many cultural and sports events take place at the Baku Boulevard. The Baku Boulevard is basically a large extension of gardens with restaurants by the seaside and a walking/cycling track running through the entire stretch.

There are small fountain spaces amidst the gardens as well which give the place a serene look. We observed a Carpet Museum along the way.

Also known as Xalca, the structure of the building looks like a rolled carpet. I loved how Azerbaijani architecture was so creative and innovative. The museum has the largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets in the world. And it displays carpets & rug items of various weaving techniques applied across decades.

Done with the traversing along the Boulevard, we headed back to our hotel. Tired from all the walking exploring the city, we decided to get a foot-spa session.

Unfortunately there were no massage slots available that evening, so we couldn’t get the foot massage. As a result we called it a day relaxing in the outdoor seating area, sipping wine, gorging on pizzas, and enjoying the lush green ambience of Hyatt.

CONCLUSION

So that was my account of exploring Baku, Azerbaijan through the Baku city tour. To see more posts on Azerbaijan travel, subscribe to my blog, and stay tuned.

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PICTURE CREDITS –

1. Baku Boulevard – courtesy – TripAdvisor@Sonia261.

2. Carpet Museum courtesy – TripAdvisor @Azerbaijan Carpet Museum management.