Maiden Tower and the Beautiful Buildings of Baku

Hello dear friends. I continue to share memories from my trip to Baku with you. On the second day of our holiday, we went to visit the Maiden Tower, one of the symbols of Baku. I had heard a lot about it and seen many photos, so I was eager to see it up close. On the way, we also had the chance to stop and look at some beautiful buildings along the route. For example, this building was constructed with the money of the Baku millionaire Musa Nagiyev. Like many wealthy people, Nagiyev spent large sums on charity. He built schools, vocational schools and hospitals and even had a water supply system installed. This building was not built for his personal needs but for a charitable society. However the reason behind it was deeply sad. Nagiyev’s only heir, his son, died of tuberculosis in 1902 at the age of just 27. In his memory, Nagiyev decided to build the most beautiful building in the city. A neo-Gothic facade with Venetian elements was chosen. The Polish architect Józef Plośko was appointed. Plośko would later sign many important projects in Baku.

Another work by Plośko, again in a Gothic style, is the Palace of Happiness. It was commissioned by Murtuza Mukhtarov. He made his fortune not directly from oil but by producing oil extraction equipment. The story of this building is quite romantic. While traveling in Europe with his wife, they came across a palace. His wife said, My God, how beautiful, people living here must be happy. Mukhtarov remembered this, returned to Baku and ordered an exact copy of that building to be built. Imagine, the building was completed in just one year between 1911 and 1912. The original is thought to have been in Berlin, but it was destroyed during the Second World War, so this is the only surviving example of that design. Today it houses a marriage registry office, so the building still deserves its name, the Palace of Happiness.

Then we came across this building with a clock tower. It is also a work of Józef Plośko, but this time in a more eclectic style rather than Gothic. It was built on the order of the Taghiyev brothers, merchants and philanthropists who became rich through the oil trade. Today this building is known as the Landau House because the Nobel Prize winning physicist Lev Landau lived on the third floor of this building until 1924.

Of course, there are many more interesting buildings in Baku. There is the city hall inspired by Parisian palaces, the opera house resembling the casino in Monte Carlo and many others. Then we went to an area built long before the oil boom. We entered the old city, Icherisheher, inside its walls. Baku was first mentioned by ancient writers in the first century AD. The city was always in a favorable position for trade. In the tenth century, the port belonged to the Shirvanshah state, whose capital was Shamakhi. After a major earthquake there, the rulers moved their capital to Baku. Today the Palace of the Shirvanshahs is one of the most important attractions in the city. The complex includes a mausoleum, a palace mosque, a bathhouse, caravanserai gardens and the palace itself. The entrance fee is 15 manats and a guided tour costs 20 manats.

But what is really priceless is walking through the maze of narrow streets. There are countless photo spots and colorful details. The doors are so elegant. The cream colored walls work beautifully with green, blue or brown. The balconies with black railings look so charming because of this. These old style signs also change the whole feeling. Maybe it is a kind of artificial nostalgia, but they look much nicer than modern signs.

There are almost no straight streets here. One theory says they were designed this way to break the wind, because Baku constantly gets northern and southern winds. In my opinion, straight streets are rare in medieval cities anyway, so this theory is a bit debatable. Most of the buildings you see today were restored in recent years. They used to look more worn, but also more old. Now it feels like a film set. By the way, a very famous scene was filmed here. The pharmacy scene from the movie The Diamond Arm was shot right here. You can even go inside and see that famous room and there is a themed cafe next to it.

People still live here, it is not just hotels and shops. Laundry hanging outside is proof of that. And of course, there are cats.

The symbol of the old city is the Maiden Tower. It is 28 meters high and it is known to have a source of fresh water inside and gas underground. In the past, the Caspian Sea reached this area, so the tower was also used as a lighthouse. But when and for what purpose it was built is not known for sure. The most likely theory is that it was used for defense and as a shelter.

Today you have to walk about 250 meters to reach the sea and the way is full of traffic. Baku today is very much a car city. There are few pedestrian crossings and in many places there are underpasses. This means lost time and big difficulties for people with strollers, disabilities or luggage. Still there have been positive changes in recent years. In some places, bike lanes are being built and dedicated lanes for public transport are being introduced. The most striking example is the area around 28 May station. It used to be a huge parking lot, now it has green spaces, benches and a pleasant public area. Private cars are not allowed, only buses.

For public transport, you buy a 2 manat card that works on the metro and buses. One card can be used by more than one person. A ride costs only 0.5 manat, so it is very cheap. The metro is often faster because it avoids traffic. During our trip, we used the metro and Yandex Go taxis the most. After this, we visited Icherisheher, which I will talk about in my next posts. Thank you for reading, my friends.