Baku is the new Paris
and its bread is even better… and sacred
Azercay is my favorite tea. Apparently nothing special, just black tea, literally ‘Azeri Chai’, the Chai of Azerbaijan. It has the perfect amount of strength, a beautiful colour and I can easily find it in almost every ex Soviet union country where I roam around.
In Azerbaijan they drink it in little elegantly shaped, transparent glasses, like in Turkey and they use lump sugar, like in Iran or they add jam in it, like… no, that’s only in Azerbaijan! The country favorite drink grows in the area around the costs of the Caspian Sea close to Iran. Next to the fertile lands there are deserts and mountains and deserts again with a huge amount of Mud volcanos and oil pumps, two things Azerbaijan is full of.
The less known sister of the Caucasus countries has an eagle shape and it is perched between the largest salty lake in the world and the mighty Caucasus mountains.
Little I knew before heading to Azerbaijan and its capital Baku.
Landing into masterpieces in the desert and then straight under sea level
I flew to the country, landing into Heydar Aliyev Airport (named after the former president), apparently one of the most beautiful airports in the world. Inside glasses and geometric wooden shapes alternate elements borrowed from the nature. Pretty impressive for a country visited by only three million people per year and probably known by not many more.
The airport was quiet, the temperature outside sizzling and the sun burning but, hey, it was August and I landed in a desert. I Purchased a BakuCard for 3 Manat (1.5 Euros) jumped on a bus and reached the center of Baku of the most populous city of the Caspian sea and the ‘lowest’ in the world: 28 meters below see level.
Watching Baku approaching I was imaging what’s a Shia Muslim, Turkic language speaking with a Russian inheritance and modern oil paradise looks like. I never have expectations while travelling but I like to make up a story about the culture, traditions, people features and local dishes. I knew Azerbaijan was surrounded by some of my favorite countries such as Iran, Georgia and Armenia, it was a Muslim (Shia) majority country, they love black tea and has a sea front. This was already enough to make Azerbaijan a winner to me!
In the heart of the city, next to a bakery showing mouth watering, fragrant bread, through an arch into one of those Caucasus style looking courtyard and then up, following the rusty, rickety handrail I found one of the cutest hostel I ever been. One of the joy of travelling to a less visited destination? A whole dorm room for yourself at the price of 5 euros.
Baku is like a piece of Baklava
I waited for the afternoon to pass by and the sun to lower down on the horizon before getting lost in Azerbaijan capital. As you can guess spring and autumn are the best seasons to explore the city, and the country, if you want to avoid the hit. If you are a lover of afternoon stillness and busy streets evenings like I am, it will be worth to deal with the hit of the day, especially when you can head to one of the many, unique, free of charge (most of them) and architecturally charming museums.
Baku is like a piece of Baklava (the delicious traditional pastry): it has many layers, textures and fillings, it is very sweet and rich and you fall in love straight after have tasted it. Baku has many many, layers skilfully combined together to enrich one another. Walking through the city center you witness a real bombardment of signals, traces, finds of different eras, cultures, religions and, the most evident of all: architecture.
Baku is the child of Azerbaijan oil boom and, one of those layers, shows it in all its wealth. They, sometimes, compare Baku to Dubai for its fast growing and new modern architecture but no. Baku has something more which makes ‘her’ delightful to walk through: its history.
Baku has always been on a cross road, by sea and by land, it has been part of many different empires: the Persians, the Arabs, the Ottomans, The Russians… It has been Christian, Zoroastrian and eventually Muslim as it is today. It went through different governments and different levels of wealth and all of this today is shown with proud and respect in front of you while walking along the busy sea/ lake shore in the warm evenings.
Overlooking the silver mirror of the Caspian Sea, Baku seems to breath and to stretch the sight over the horizon waiting for ships, news or maybe an exciting future to come, welcoming it with open arms and it feels like it has been doing it for millenniums. On the other side of the water lays Turkmenistan and the heart of Central Asia, lands which seem to be so far away from here. Baku also looks over to Europe and feels itself a bit more ‘westerner’ than its neighbours, but still holding hands with Iran and Turkey and speaking some Russian.
Baku is a perfectly sized city especially to walk around. The heart of the town is a maze of wide pedestrian streets busy with European style cafes, Shisha bars, fast food, traditional restaurants hidden underground in elegant and atmospheric caravanserai. When the sun goes down the sky turns into thousand of different purple shades, the glass of the modern skyscrapers on top of the old city switch into millions of led and the nights host a free light show viewed from every corner. There are fountains and people performing on the large boulevards, the city gathers on the lake front eating popcorn, Turkish Ice cream. Haijabs and miniskirts walk together, Azeri seems to have kept the elegant and beautiful facial characteristics of the Iranians brothers and while walking around it feels like being in an Iranian looking oasis of freedom.
There is the Carpet museum which building looks like a folded carpet and there is the ‘little Venice’: canals and bridges in the park in from of the seas front.
Yellow bricks, and skyscrapers
The core of Baku is the old city where the Maiden Tower and the Shrivenshah Palace are located and both included into the Unesco list. Respectively from the XIII and XVI century they are the ‘first layer’ of Baku reminding us of a pre islamic, Zoroastrian heritage (the tower) and the Medieval times under the Shirvan family, an Arab later ‘Persianized’ dynasty. The, maybe a bit exaggerated, restoration works do not take away any charm from these sites which are still perfectly embraced into the old town, a labyrinth of clean, tidy, yellow bricked alleys. Following up and down the lanes filled with colourful souvenirs and carpet shops you will meet friendly and not too pushy shop keepers, not many tourists and extremely welcoming locals (see Iranian and Caucasian vicinity).
Baku to me is a sunset city. The lights, the water, the glasses and the bricks, the hills to climb and the streets to walk. It all turns into a shining, glazing pearl which fills evenings and expectations. The flame towers are now the symbol of the city, standing tall on the top of the old one. In somehow the sinuous shaped glass towers fit so well with the old yellow bricks palaces. You can spot them from everywhere in the city, especially in the evenings when, lighten up, they constantly change colours and patterns. On top of that hill there is the best view and people watching point of the city, there is the ‘classic’ eternal flame and you can see the shore of the sea now dotted of modern, elegant buildings best seen in the morning during a walk or a run along the pedestrian, wide path. Baku is my favorite city to run in and guess what?? the only one along the Silk road where you can wear a tank top!
The new, the modern and the ‘hanging bread’
Leaving the luxury boutiques and the traffic of Lamborghinis and Ferraris in the ‘old’ and shiny downtown I like to walk towards the ‘newer’ and ‘Russian’ part. Here, while walking, you see very caucasian looking, two storey houses covered in grape plants and rusty balconies turning into soviet era short ‘efficient’ buildings. Ladas are still parked along the sunny streets, tiny groceries shops disappeared inside from a tiny door and bags filled of bread are hanging from the trees along the footpath. Bread is sacred for Azeri, it is never thrown away, instead it is hanged on trees for the animal to eat. It is one of the staple elements in the rich and various Azeri cousins. As usual there are many different kind of bread but the Tandir one is the most popular. Yes, you are right, it reminds you Tandoori and it is cooked in the same way (we are still on the Silk Road!). Speaking of which, then you walk through the Taza Bazaar and, while getting lost through spices, fresh and beautiful veggies, teas, nuts etc. you will remember of caravans of goods coming from the East.
Going down again towards the sea there is new area of hipster Italian cafes serving Lavazza espresso and quinoa salads next door to contemporary galleries and well kept parks where I like to sit under the shade and eat the Qutab I just grabbed from one of the many bakeries. The half moon shaped dough filled with local herbs goes perfectly with a yogurt drink (like Ayran in Turkey, yes) and it will keep you going until the ‘fest’ style dinner with Plov (rice cooked with spices and herbs, popular dish of all Central Asia and Iran), kebabs, Dolma, local cheese, fresh salads, soups, nuts pastries….
Further East from the center, women walk along the shiny, candid ground towards the entrance of one of the new symbol of the city and one of the most beautiful modern building in the world. The black chadors waving in the wind and stand out on the fluid white folding and unfolding masterpiece of architecture. The design and shape of The Heydar Aliyev Centre designed by Zaha Hadid, beautifully reminds us the style of the city: rolling and floating on different surfaces, layers, styles, ideas, histories and cultures and embracing them all, keeping them in their uniqueness.
The centre is a cultural hub hosting many exhibitions, concert halls, events but mostly an ode to beauty.
I go back to the town and grab a Dovga a kind of warm/ coldish yogurt soup with herbs and chickpeas which tastes better of what it sounds and it is perfect for the summer days. I go back to get lost through alleys and shining glass windows searching for Beauty which is an easy job in Baku. You don’t need to look hard to find how this hidden gem was contended by empires in the history and by new investors and ‘beauty chasers’ now.
Baku is an unknown treasure which welcomes, hugs and treats you, it unfolds all its richness in front of you, it turns of the lights in the evenings, it dances on the street, it serves you a feast for every meal and it enchants you with unexpected modern forms but the very ‘wow’ factor is how all of this uniquely blends and coexist, welcoming the new, the different, the unknown and add it on its layers, one by one.
… Practically…
Baku is perfect for a two days weekend away or for a longer trip (even five days is good!). If you have a couple of days more to fill go and explore the areas around the city such as the Qobustan National Park to see the biggest concentration of Mud volcanos on earth and the Absheron peninsula with the Ateshgah Zoroahstrian temple, the Yanar Dag fire mountain and the surrounding sleepy villages.
Things you need to do while in Baku beside all the ‘usual sightseeing’
Take a 40 min boat ride at sunset on the Caspian sea while watching the sun going down behind the flames. Catch it from the jetty in front of the Boulevard mall from 16.30 to 23 (3 Man).
Take the 2 manat funicular or walk up to the hill at the base of the flame towers at sunset time, (make sure you get there in advance cause sometime the queue is very long and the funicular always very slow)
Go running/ walking along the sea shore in the early morning
walk around fountains square in the evening
have a Turkish Ice cream on the shore why strolling and people watching in the summer evenings
Have a traditional Azeri dinner with local music and dance at ‘Sirvansah Muzey’ restaurant
Have a proper coffee at ‘Coffee Station’ (less Azeri more ‘desperate Italian away’)
Spend at least two hours at Heydar Aliev center even if you are not interested in art or architecture.
On the way back from the Mud volcanos stop at Darya Fish house on the sea shore for a traditional Azeri ‘sunday brunch’ experience
Use the Metro with your Bakucard
Stay at the Freedom Hostel if you are looking for a good value, central, clean and cosy accommodation
Entree if you are looking for great bakery next door to the hostel (and many other branches in the city)
go to the Taza bazaar and stroll around the area
