Every city is shaped by and reflects its history, and of course Baku is no exception. I confess that before we visited I’d done too little reading about that history, but a few days in the city were enough to give me some useful insights.
As with the entire Caucasus region, Azerbaijan has arguably seen more than its fair share of conflicts. Sitting in such a strategic location, straddling Europe and Asia and at the cross-roads of many trading routes, over the centuries many have wanted to control this area. Often caught in a tug-of-war between Persia to the south and Russia to the north, and regularly troubled by inter-ethnic fighting, it is perhaps unsurprising that its people look back to the past as well as cherishing its current hard-won independence.
In my previous post about the city I focused on the old town, Icherisheher, and the area immediately surrounding it. Today I want to cover a couple of other places we visited, interesting for very different reasons.
Baku Boulevard
Also spelled Bulvar, the Boulevard is a long promenade along the shore of the Caspian Sea. We didn’t walk the full length but did have a pleasant stroll along a section quite early one morning. There were more locals than tourists in evidence: jogging, fishing, walking dogs, and so on. This open space by the water is a real asset for the city.
An aside: when is a sea not a sea?
Our guide introduced us to an intriguing fact about the Caspian Sea. Of course, technically it isn’t a sea at all but rather a lake, as it is completely landlocked. However according to what Azad told us, it is actually neither of those things!
Today five countries surround this body of water: Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Things were simpler in the past, with only the Soviet Union and Iran bordering it. Both those nations considered it a lake. But with the break-up of the Soviet Union the newly formed countries of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan disagreed, as did Russia. They wanted it to be considered a sea while Iran favoured the existing lake definition.
And why does any of this matter? A sea is subject to international maritime law, covering areas such as the management of natural resources, territorial rights, and the environment. Under it, any state can seek access to its resources, not just those that border it. But if it is defined as a lake, then it has to be divided equally between those bordering countries.
In 2018 a deal was struck which gave the Caspian a ‘special legal status’, meaning that it is not defined as either a sea or a lake! Under the deal the surface of the water is treated differently from the seabed when it comes to allocating resources. Strange, but true!
But I digress … Let’s get back to our explorations
Leaving our hotel that morning we walked down through the prosaically but appropriately named White Fountain Square and through a subway under busy Neftchilar Avenue.
This brought us to the strip of park along the lake (sea?) shore. We walked a little way in both directions by the water’s edge to take photos of some of the modern architecture. These included some excellent views of the iconic Flame Towers.
Bulvar views
One unusual sight was the statue of an opera singer, Muslim Magomayev, on the left below. The information plaque next to it had buttons which when pressed played a selection of his songs, the sounds of which followed us as we walked. Other sculptures included a fisherman and a man reaching forward to shake hands; clearly many people had responded to this gesture.
Bulvar sculptures
In the park behind the promenade there are various food outlets, a children’s funfair, giant chess boards and other entertainment options. But this early in the day all were closed, apart from a couple of coffee kiosks. In any case, we had just eaten breakfast and were more interested in photo opportunities than refreshments!
Refreshment stand and fairground ride
Highland Park
Later that morning we visited a very different part of the city, albeit also one that provides fresh air, views and walking paths. We took the funicular to Highland Park, also known as Dağüstü Park, which offers sweeping views over the city alongside memories of its troubled past.
As we exited the funicular we had great views of the nearby Flame Towers, and a neighbouring mosque.
The Flame Towers and mosque
Martyrs’ Alley
I’ll get to the other views shortly, but one of the main reasons to come up here, for Azerbaijanis in particular, is to pay respects to their countrymen killed in recent conflicts. This site was formerly a cemetery for Muslim victims of the battles in the city in 1918. I touched on these in my description of our visit to the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. During the Soviet Union period the cemetery was destroyed, the bodies removed and an amusement park created on this site. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the area was reinstated as a burial site for national heroes. Those buried and commemorated here today were killed either in January 1990 when Soviet forces invaded Baku, or during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1988–1994.
One tomb in particular was pointed out to us (on the left below). This is that of a married couple, Fariza and Ilham Allahverdiyev. Ilham was shot dead by Soviet troops in Black January, and Fariza committed suicide after hearing of her husband’s death. Visitors leave flowers here (red carnations are the traditional sign of mourning) as well as at many of the other tombs.
Tombs in Martyrs Alley
At the far end of the alley is the eternal flame memorial, opened in 1998 and restored and revised in 2007. The flame burns above an eight-pointed star.
The Eternal Flame Monument
Views from Highland Park
Turning away from the memorial we arrived at the panoramic terrace overlooking the city. From several viewpoints here we could look down on the bay and many of the city’s most impressive buildings. These included the Crescent Hotel, Deniz Shopping Mall and the Carpet Museum, the latter designed to look just like a rolled-up carpet! You can see it on the far left below.
Views from Highland Park
Then, rather than return by funicular, we walked down the long flight of steps back to the car that was waiting to take us out of the city to see what else Azerbaijan had to offer. And that was a lot!
I visited Baku in September 2026
