Things to do in Azerbaijan
-
A
Mado
Designer-hip Japanese restaurant where sushi comes with beautiful ceramic soy sauce jugs and luridly over-pink sushigari. Sadly, the limp maguro tastes somewhat bland.
reviewed
-
B
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…
reviewed
-
Hiking - Xınalıq to Laza
A delightfully rewarding hike links Xınalıq to Laza in 10 to 12 hours. Two routes are possible, around the base of Mt Şahdağ or past the fire-vent and over a shoulder of dramatically crag-topped Qızılqaya. A local guide (around around Manat30 per day) is particularly important for the latter, as fog can descend suddenly even on an apparently clear day, totally hiding the path.
If you have luggage it's also a good idea to hire packhorses (around Manat20 to around Manat40). In Xınalıqi-Ketsh language dzhim onongondeh pshii i hadmé ishkeléh Laza guisu means 'where can I find a horse and guide to take me to Laza?'. Since a new army/customs post was built across the…
reviewed
-
Janapar Trail
Dedicated hikers may want to consider crossing Karabakh on foot, taking advantage of a newly marked path that stretches from Hadrut in the south to Kelbajar region in the north. The 190km-long Janapar Trail is marked with blue signs that depict a yellow footprint.
Starting from Hadrut, the trail continues to Togh, Gtchavank, the Azokh cave, Karmir Shuka, the Skhtorashen giant plane tree, Avetaranots, Mkhitarashen, Karintak, Shushi, Stepanakert, Aygestan, Ptretsik, Kachaghakaberd, Kolatak, Gandzasar, Vaghuhas and Dadivank. If you have permission to enter Kelbajar, you can follow the trail to the hot springs at Zuar and finally Nor Manashid.
The entire route takes 14 days,…
reviewed
-
C
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.
reviewed
-
D
Muğam Club
A wonderfully atmospheric two-storey caravanserai offers alcove and courtyard dining options accompanied by impressive cabaret shows demonstrating tasters of various Azeri musical and dance styles. The Azeri food is excellent, but prices can be exorbitant (kebabs AZN12!). Often closed for private functions.
reviewed
-
E
Bibi
By far the nicest place in Baku for Persian cuisine, the Bibi offers live but unobtrusive music in its spacious double dining hall with olde-worlde tulip-chandeliers and rush-matting to soften the ceilings. Try the kəşki badımcan (eggplant with Iranian whey; AZN4).
reviewed
-
F
Scalini’s
Speedy, waistcoated waiters deliver perfect pastas with bucket-loads of parmesan and a selection of home-cooked breads in Baku’s most congenial Italian restaurant. The décor is upmarket bistro-style with a relaxed buzz, soaring high ceilings and great movie and Martini posters.
reviewed
-
G
Çudo Peçka
Many bakeries offer stand-bars at which to eat snacks and cheap if long-stewed cups of tea or cocoa. The Çudo Peçka chain is ubiquitous, and its branch near Hotel Velotrek has seating. However, their system of pre-paying can be awkward if you don't speak Azeri.
reviewed
-
H
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.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
I
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.
reviewed
-
J
Philharmonia
The brilliant Philharmonia, originally built as an oil-boom-era casino, has an even grander interior and offers an eclectic (if unpredictable) concert programme.
reviewed
-
K
Funicular
Get to Şahidlər Xiyabani by Funicular from the sea front, or marshrutka 39T or 177 from behind Bakı Soveti metro.
reviewed
-
Azər-Ilmə Carpet Factory
A free tour of the impressive Azər-İlmə Carpet Factory is well worth the 20-minute drive, even if you don’t buy.
reviewed
-
L
L’Aparté
Open all-hours with a phenomenally wide-ranging menu and surprisingly plush décor given the incredibly modest price range.
reviewed
-
M
Museum of Independence
In the same building as the Carpet Museum is the far less compelling Museum of Independence.
reviewed
-
N
Theatre Museum
In the same building as the Carpet Museum is the far less compelling Theatre Museum.
reviewed
-
O
Pancho’s
Pancho’s is the most authentic for Mexican food.
reviewed
-
Cümə Mosque
Şamaxı’s only real sight is the big, sturdy Cümə Mosque. The original mosque on this site was supposedly the second oldest in the trans-Caucasus. Excavations of its 10th-century incarnation can be seen in the grounds where a little nodding-donkey pump has nothing to do with oil – it draws water for the congregation’s ritual ablutions. Today’s mosque building was erected in the 19th century, damaged during the civil unrest of 1918 and not restored until recent years. Nonetheless, the powerful, bare stone interior columns exude a feeling of great antiquity and the imam, dressed in fine white gown and mufti hat, is generally very happy for visitors to look around.…
reviewed
-
Ateşgah Fire Temple
The unique Ateşgah Fire Temple is one of Azerbaijan’s most remarkable sights. It stands on the site of a natural gas vent that was sacred to Zoroastrians for centuries, though this temple was actually built by 18th-century Indian Shiva devotees. They lived in the surrounding pentagonal caravanserai and performed extreme ascetic practices such as lying on hot coals or carrying unbearably heavy chains. Such eccentric behaviour is depicted by a number of mannequins in the museum section. But the temple’s centrepiece is the flaming stone hearth with four stone side flues that also spit dragon breath. At least when the caretaker bothers to turn on the gas. The original…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Carpet Museum
The Carpet Museum is housed in the rebuilt palace of Ehsan Khan, Naxçivan’s 18th-century monarch. Despite the şəbəkə windows and attractive exterior porches, the building isn’t quite as impressive as Şəki’s equivalent. Nonetheless the rug displays are well chosen if you want to learn the difference between a kilim and a sumax or palaz, or to recognise the four main styles of Azeri carpet making. The ghoulish centrepiece is a totally non-ironic silk-wool carpet portrait of a young Heydar Әliyev, replete with Soviet medals. Two side rooms relate to the history of the Naxçivan khanate, replicate the khan’s cushion-throne and gratuitously add photos of Yerevan…
reviewed
-
mud volcanoes
On top of otherwise unremarkable Daşgil Hill, some 10km south of Qobustan are an astonishingly weird collection of baby mud volcanoes . Here a whole family of 'geologically flatulent' little conical mounds gurgle, ooze, spit and sometimes erupt with thick, cold, grey mud.
It's more entertaining than it sounds - even when activity is very modest you get the eerie feeling that the volcanoes are alive. And normally the place is delightfully peaceful, if not completely deserted.
If driving, easiest access is from the Әlət junction, 15km south of Qobustan. Follow 'Şpal Zavodu' signs, but keep straight ahead after crossing the railway. Keep to this unpaved track for 3km then…
reviewed
-
Qobustan Museum
Qobustan is an open-air museum littered with neolithic rock drawings. It has some 4000 inscriptions that go back 12,000 years (along with some 2000-year-old Latin graffiti to boot). Tours are guided by helpful staff and are worth paying for, as the details of the petroglyphs and what they portray are largely incomprehensible to the casual visitor.
Stone Age stick men hunt and boogie down in the petroglyphs. Their dances are thought to have been accompanied by the Qaval-Daş (Tambourine Stone) - a rock that has a deep, resonating tone when struck. While at Qobustan, don't miss the 10km (6mi) detour to giggle at the quaint flatulence of a 'family' of mud-volcanoes.
reviewed
-
Qobustan
Behind depressing Qobustan town, barren rocky hill-crags rise from the semi-desert. But it was not always thus. Around 12,000 years ago the Caspian Sea level was some 80m higher. The Caspian foreshores were lush with vegetation and Stone Age hunter-gatherers settled in caves that were then just a short walk from the waters. The remnants of these caves remain etched with around 6000 fascinating petroglyphs (simple stone engravings).
Even if you have no particular interest in ancient doodles, Qobustan's eerie landscape and the hilltop views of oil-workings in the turquoise blue Caspian are still fascinating.
reviewed
-
Şirvan National Park
Around 100km south of Baku, this park is outwardly just a featureless flat plain but it provides Europe’s last remaining natural habitat for wild Caucasian antelopes (ceyran). To stand any chance of seeing these loveable creatures you’ll need a vehicle. If you don’t have your own 4WD it’s possible to rent the park’s bus (for petrol money) but making necessary arrangements is farcically awkward, as the park has no phone. Salyan- and Lənkəran-bound buses pass the park gates where there’s a small reception hut.
reviewed