Pir Həsən

Azerbaijan


Pir Həsən is a shrine area where you can come to have a bottle smashed over your head. Honestly. It’s considered a cure for nervousness of spirit. The smashing occurs at the back of a pretty view-garden whose focus is the grave of oil-baron Zeynalabdin Tağıyev beneath an egg-shaped stone pavilion, surrounded by archaeological fragments.

To find Pir Həsən turn north at the traffic light directly west of central Mərdəkən's arboretum ('Dendroloji Parki'). Swing west again on Ramin Qazımov küç and then turn north once more.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Azerbaijan attractions

1. Mardakan Castle

0.71 MILES

This 22m square-plan tower is a very dramatic construction yet it somehow manages to lie almost entirely hidden in a series of old village-style…

2. Mir Mövsüm Ağa Ziyarətgahı

2.66 MILES

One of Azerbaijan’s most intriguing shrines, this complex is topped with a beautifully patterned Central Asian–style dome and has an interior spangled…

3. Qala Ethnographic Museum Complex

3.78 MILES

This impressive open-air park-museum features several furnished, traditional-style Abşeron buildings – such as a house, blacksmith's forge, potters'…

4. Ateşgah Fire Temple

9.35 MILES

The unique Ateşgah is an 18th-century fire temple whose centrepiece is a flaming hearth. Arching above is a four-pillared stone dome with side flues which…

5. Ramana Fortress

9.52 MILES

On a rocky outcrop at Ramana, this fortress tower is one of the Abşeron's most dramatic castles, but adding to the interest of the visit is the view of…

6. Yanar Dağ

13.85 MILES

In a raised gully near Digah village, a 10m-long strip of 'eternal' fire licks gently at at the foot of Fire Mountain. The name is misleading for what is…

7. Heydar Aliyev Center

16.56 MILES

Vast and jaw-droppingly original, this Zaha Hadid building is a majestic statement of fluid 21st-century architecture forming abstract waves and peaks…

8. Supreme Court

17.1 MILES

Elegant new stone building with colonnaded pseudo-Greek frontage.