In the booming capital city (pop. 2.4 million, above and top), sleek European-style boulevards sit alongside ancient mosques and caravanserais. With its narrow stone streets, the walled, UNESCO World Heritage Old City (Icherisheher) is home to historic landmarks like the evocative, largely 12th-century Maiden Tower and the elaborate 15th-century Shirvanshahs’ Palace. At the same time, there's a wealth of handsome architecture from the turn of the 20th century as well as modern buildings like the dramatic trio of Flame Towers, finished in 2013 and home to apartments, offices, and a luxury Fairmont hotel, as well as star architect Zaha Hadid´s flowing Heydat Aliyev Center (a cultural center inaugurated in 2012). Also take a relaxing evening stroll on Baku Boulevard, the 117-year-old Caspian seafront promenade; enjoy a vibrant dining, shopping, and nightlife scene, and check out museums devoted to a variety of topics, including national history; art both traditional and modern; and carpets, another Azeri specialty (this 59-year-old institution is now housed in yet another dramatic modern building, constructed in 2014 and with a silhouette mimicking a rolled-up carpet). And 17th-century Ateshgah in the Baku suburb of Surakhani, the last remaining example of the many temples erected centuries ago to honor fire, considered a divine element by Zoroastrians and other local religions. Its mystique derives from its keeping of ever-burning flames from a natural gas field underneath it (the field was eventually exhausted, and today the gas is piped in from Baku). Priests once performed rituals here, offering prayers and incense to the eternal flame. Today travelers can walk through the ancient courtyard and gaze upon the pentagonal temple. Finally, come summer, Baku´s beaches are pretty good, ranging from lively beach clubs to amenity-packed, family friendly strands to quieter stretches.
Read more in Tripatini contributor Somans Leisure Tours India´s post Why Azerbaijan Is One of the World´s Most Underrated Destination.
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