Arab News: Splendid Baku

Arab News

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

It was almost three in the afternoon when the captain of my Fly Dubai flight FZ-705 announced the beginning of our flight’s descent. I peeked from my window just to see a vastness of blue peppered with oil rigs and fields, lovably hugged by a crescent-shaped city glittering with whitewashed buildings and sky-touching high-rises. The blue was the Caspian Sea, and the city was Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital.

In the early 20th century, it was dubbed the Paris of the Caucasus, but years of Soviet occupation had summoned the notion to fading memory. Today, however, and after 20 years of breaking free from the communist grip, Azerbaijanis are sparing no effort in rebuilding their capital to its heyday.

It wouldn’t take half an hour, or as long as the taxi ride takes from the airport to the city center, to notice the renovation work that is taking place in Baku. Courtesy of the oil and gas riches Azerbaijan enjoys, old houses are being refurbished, new skyscrapers are springing up and finely manicured parks with superb water fountains are dotting the capital, not to mention Baku’s Old City almost painstakingly restored to its original status.

Dating back to the 12th century, the Old City, or rather Icheri Sheher as it is locally known, is a walled city with cobbled streets and narrow alleyways that zigzag through old houses, garden cafes, art galleries and a handful of mosques. Most mosques follow the Azerbaijani Islamic architectural style, and come with kind of stout, short and plain minarets and superbly, yet not overly, decorated interiors. One such mosque is the Juma Mosque. A millennium old mosque, its functionality as a religious edifice came to a halt during the Soviet era, only to be resumed in 1992 after Azerbaijan gained independence. Its interiors have been recently renovated with the Call of Prayer written all around the mosque’s pastel colored walls. The inner columns and dome are finely decorated with a mix of light and blue colored designs that adapt geometrical and floral patterns. Juma Mosque puts you in a serene state of spiritual relaxation.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000, the Old City encompasses most of Baku’s sightseeing highlights; namely the Maiden’s Tower and the Shirvanshah’s Palace. The 29-meter, 8-story Maiden’s Tower comes with a couple of anecdotes that surround it. The most popular of which is the one involving a stunningly beautiful maiden who requested the build of the tower as her dowry, but later jumped off its rooftop. She was not really in love with the groom to be. A less tragic, but more plausible, story affirms that the Maiden Tower was built solely for defensive purposes.

The Shirvanshah’s Palace dates back to the reign of Shirvanshah Khalilulla I (15th century AD) who ordered the build of the palace as he moved the capital from Shamaha to Baku. The palace is an ensemble of fine Azeri architecture and includes a couple of mosques and mausoleums, as well as a Hammam (public bath) and Divan Khane (royal hall). Shirvanshah’s Palace was built on a hill that constitutes the highest point within the Old City and is visible even from Baku Boulevard.

Baku Boulevard is a fantastic promenade that runs parallel to the Caspian Sea front. More than 100 years ago, the Boulevard was the oil barons’ favorite location where they built lavish mansions. Today, however, it has been turned into a three kilometer long park with lots of cafes, statues, artistic installations, entertainments venues where concerts are sometimes featured, lovely water fountains (including a musical one) and a causeway from where you can shoot panoramic pictures of the capital. Baku Boulevard is still a work in progress with ambitious plans to reach 26 kilometers in length, thus connecting the heart of Baku to some of its suburbs.

A visit to Baku is deemed incomplete without a leisurely afternoon walk down Nazimi Street and Fountain Square. The pedestrian localities are the capital’s number one shopping destination where most of the world leading brands are on display. If you are not in the mood for that kind of shopping, there are a number of shops that sell traditional souvenirs and memorabilia. Putting the shopping aside, you can still go for the stroll with a delicious ice cream in hand as you enjoy the musical performances that often come to Fountain Square.

Music constitutes an important aspect of Azeri life with live concerts in public squares, traditional shows in restaurants, and even in the underground metro; the call for the next station is preceded with a mini piano concerto!

Resting on a bench in front of a lovely water fountain while enjoying the music being played live, I failed but to wonder that during my entire trip to Baku, I didn’t come across a single symbol of the Soviet Union. Twenty years have erased much of the red mark; nonetheless, Azerbaijanis are both vigorous and resilient to make Baku more splendid that what the Paris of the Caucasus once was. I think they are doing a pretty good job.

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