Sights in Baku (Baki)
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Şahidlər Xiyabani (Martyr's Lane)
High above the city centre's southwest corner lies the sombre memorial, Şahidlər Xiyabani (Martyr's Lane) of Bakuvian victims of the Red Army's 1990 attack. Those martyrs were swiftly joined by many more Azeris who died in the Karabakh conflict. A small memorial to British and Commonwealth troops killed around Baku during WWI has been erected nearby, causing considerable controversy. After all, the British had been sent to prevent the Turkish invasion which most Azeris supported.
A small police post above it dissuades vandals. Even if graves are too maudlin to appeal, Şahidlər Xiyabani has a fine new Turkish-style mosque and at the edge of the gardens there's a viewpoin…
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Carpet Museum
Formerly a Lenin Museum, this solidly neoclassical building now houses an interesting Carpet Museum, which charts the history of Azeri carpet making and includes over 1000 rare and beautiful rugs from Azerbaijan, as well as Iran and Dagestan. A guided tour (AZN3 extra) helps to put the designs in context and to explain the significance of their symbols. In the same building are the far less compelling Theatre Museum and Museum of Independence.
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Faxri Xiyəbani Cemetery
The Faxri Xiyəbani Cemetery, where Heydar Әliyev’s grave is the first place that any dignitary is likely to be taken to on an official visit to Baku.
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Maiden’s Tower
This tapering 29m stone tower is Baku’s foremost architectural icon. Its century of construction is the subject of much debate, though its present form is 12th century.
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Funicular
Get to Şahidlər Xiyabani by Funicular from the sea front, or marshrutka 39T or 177 from behind Bakı Soveti metro.
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Museum of Independence
In the same building as the Carpet Museum is the far less compelling Museum of Independence.
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Theatre Museum
In the same building as the Carpet Museum is the far less compelling Theatre Museum.
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Rostropovich Museum
For foreign visitors a popular choice is the Rostropovich Museum, given the international fame of the Bakuvian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, who lived here as a child. However, it’s of very limited interest to nonspecialists and no English is spoken.
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Archangel Michael Russian Church
The modest Archangel Michael Russian Church is the centre of Baku’s Orthodox community. It’s not geared towards tourists, but you’re welcome to admire the icons and colourful ceiling murals.
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Təzə Pir Mosque
It was built between 1903 and 1914 but a recent renovation has added gilding to its minaret tips and stone cladding to the surrounding buildings, which house the Centre for Islam in the Caucasus.
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Historical Museum
Less impressive from outside but truly stunning within is the Historical Museum, housed in the 1896 former home of one of Baku’s greatest late-19th-century oil barons.
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State Art Museum
The State Art Museum is housed in two impressive oil-boom mansions. The main building houses a collection of rather staid 19th-century Azeri and Russian art.
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Turkish-style mosque
Şahidlər Xiyabani has a fine new Turkish-style mosque and at the edge of the gardens there's a viewpoint offering some splendid views across the bay and city.
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Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature
Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature, whose exterior façade has ogive arched niches set with statues of the nation’s literary greats.
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Imam Huseyn Mosque
Overshadowed by vast new apartment towers is the fine Imam Huseyn Mosque, featuring some attractive Moorish and Art Nouveau stone-design elements.
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Armenian Church
The sturdy Armenian Church remains disused for lack of Armenians, a reminder of the brutal cultural divide still caused by the war in Karabakh.
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Cumə Mosque
Several blunt medieval minarets rise above the Old City but the intricate stone façade of the Cumə Mosque is only a century old.
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Ali Shamsir’s Gallery
Ali Shamsir’s Gallery a commercial mini-gallery, where you can see great modern Azeri art with free admission.
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Center of Contemporary Art
Center of Contemporary Art, a commercial mini-gallery, where you can see great modern Azeri art with free admission.
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Qız Qalası
Qız Qalası, a commercial mini gallery, where you can see great modern Azeri art with free admission.
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Palace of the Shirvanshahs
This charming if entirely unfurnished 15th-century sandstone palace complex was the seat of northeastern Azerbaijan’s ruling dynasty during the Middle Ages.
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