Baku new and old

We’re used to recognising how the economies of Middle Eastern countries have been founded on oil, but did you know that Azerbaijan claims to be the oldest oil producing region in the world? Or that its capital, Baku, was home to the world’s first mechanically drilled oil well in 1846? Or even that the country was supplying half of the world’s oil by 1901? I didn’t, until we visited the city!

You can still see that first oil-drilling machine on display in Bibi-Heybat, just outside the city, where drilling for oil is still big business. And it’s a ‘business’ that goes back to ancient times. Marco Polo, for instance, mentioned the income from the transportation of Baku oil to Eastern countries.

All of which explains why, unlike its neighbouring Caucasus region countries, Azerbaijan’s capital has an air of ‘bling’ about it. There are a number of very striking modern buildings (some of which I featured in my Seeing Baku in black and white post). Meanwhile its old town, Icherisheher, has been very substantially restored. Yet despite that restoration that area still offers a marked contrast to the more modern parts of the city.

On our first full day there we had a guided walk through part of the modern city and much of the old. I hope you’ll enjoy following along as I share some highlights from that walk.

Baku new(ish) …

Let’s start in the newer part of the city centre. And by ‘newer’ I don’t mean very new. The modern architecture I mentioned earlier is focused along the coast of the Caspian Sea and around the fringes of the centre. That centre is dominated by a grid of wide avenues lined with the mansions built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by oil barons. I enjoyed photographing the many ornate details. And I especially loved the story behind the House with Angels. This was built for the millionaire Sergey Tumayev in 1893. The angels, or putti, were placed on the pediment soon after to mark the birth of Tumayev’s two first-born boys.

Oil barons’ mansions (the House with Angels on the right)

Another mansion which stood out was the so-called Palace of Happiness, which today houses the office for Marriage Registrations. It was built by an oil baron called Murtuza Mukhtarov for his wife Liza-Khanum Tuganova. Wikipedia tells its story just as we were told it by our guide:

During one of their trips to France, they came across a beautiful French Gothic building. Lisa, astonished by its architecture said: “How happy the tenants of this building must be.” Mukhtarov did not reply but on his return to Baku, he ordered his people off to France to purchase blue prints of the building and bring them back to Baku. An exact copy of the building was raised in central Baku within nine months. On its completion in 1912, Mukhtarov surprised his wife by driving her there in a carriage and telling her that it was her new residence.

The Palace of Happiness (I loved the drainpipes!)

Other grand buildings included the Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature and the Town Hall.

The Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature

Town hall details

We also saw a number of statues of notable historical figures, including Nizami Ganjavi, a 12^th century Persian poet, after whom the museum of literature is named, and Yusif Məmmədəliyev, a 20^th century Azerbaijani / Soviet chemist.

Ganjavi on the left, Məmmədəliyev on the right

Baku older …

We entered the walled old town, Icherisheher, near the modern metro station of the same name. The whole area was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, the first place in Azerbaijan to receive this recognition. Just inside the gate is a sculpture of the head of Aliagha Vahid, another poet but this time from the Soviet era. Look closely at his ‘hair’. It is carved with scenes depicting various episodes from Vahid’s life, including his wedding and funeral.

Sculpture of Aliagha Vahid

Nearby is a fascinating little museum devoted to miniature books from all over the world. It has been declared the largest collection of miniature books (2,913 of them!) by the Guinness Book of World Records. The museum’s website will tell you more about the collection than you probably want to know but will at least give you a sense of its breadth. The books were difficult to photograph in their reflective glass cases, and I’ve since realised that my photos give no sense of scale, but typically they were a couple of centimetres, or less, in height. One bible was about the size of my thumbnail!

A miniature Koran and part of the display of the European collection

The Palace of the Shirvanshahs

Next we visited the nearby Palace of the Shirvanshahs. This was built by the Shahs in the 15^th century when they moved their capital from Shamakhi to Baku. The Shirvan shahs ruled Shirvan, the northern part of present-day Azerbaijan, for almost seven centuries, from the 9th to the 16^th. The move to Baku followed a series of earthquakes in Shamakhi. The palace fell into disuse after the Safavid Persian dynasty overthrew the Shirvans in the early 16^th century, only to be conquered themselves by the Ottomans later that century.

In the 18^th century this part of Azerbaijan came into the control of the Russian empire, following the Russo-Persian Wars. The Russians restored parts of the palace to be used as storage for military equipment.

The palace is not a single building but rather a group around a courtyard. Our guide Azad pointed out the bullet holes here from the Armenian massacre. A sign described this:

Bullet holes in the palace walls

Wikipedia has a lengthy account of this incident and the events leading up to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_Days

In one building we saw museum displays describing its history and how it once would have looked, as well as the Russian restoration.

In the museum

Another building, the Divan-khana, is variously thought to have been a mausoleum or reception room, with the latter theory being preferred. It has a very impressive entrance. There are also two mosques in the complex.

Entrance to the Divan-khana

Minaret and one of the mosques

Icherisheher’s back streets

Leaving the palace we followed a meandering route through some of the old town’s back streets. We popped into the old Shah Mosque and the more ornate Bylar Mosque (now a museum displaying ancient Qurans).

In Bylar Mosque

I was on the lookout for street art, of course, and found a few great pieces which I hope will appeal to Natalie. I also indulged in some street photography.

Around Icherisheher

It was too early in the trip for me to want to shop but I did enjoy photographing the colourful souvenir shops.

Souvenir shops

At one point we passed the Maiden Tower but decided not to go up, as our guide said we would get better city views elsewhere. We also took just a quick look inside one the city’s two ancient caravanserai, today home to a restaurant.

Maiden Tower and caravanserai

Oh, and of course I have to finish with just a few of the many cats we met on our walk. Baku residents take care of their feline neighbours, providing food and shelter for them much as I found in Kotor some years ago.

Cats of Baku

I have a bit more to share from our time in Baku but I’ll save that for a future post as this one is getting quite long! I’m sharing it with Terri for her Sunday Stills ‘Favorite Vacation Places’ challenge, and with Jo as a Monday Walk. Jo is taking a blogging break right now but will hopefully be back soon! Meanwhile I’m linking to her most recent post.

I visited Baku in September 2026