Baku is the bustling capital city of Azerbaijan.
It has two faces: an ancient Silk Route city on a walled enclave with gates (Icerisheher) separating it from the modern, bustling, glass-paned, flame-towered, skyscraper city with architectural wonders like a rolled-in-carpet building, three flame towers symbolizing Azerbaijan's play with fire by tradition over the ages, and the existence of burning mountains and mud volcanoes by seeping hydrocarbon underground reserves.
It has green parks dotting the modern cityscape, contributing fresh air and oxygen to the bustling city.
It has a 16km promenade on the banks of the Caspian Sea, a misnomer as it's a saltwater lake bordering the country.
This huge park is the Bulvar.
Unlike the new city, Old Baku is filled with granite or brick-layered buildings, winding, cobwebbed, cobbled stone narrow streets with winding steps into open terraces.
Built from 7 th century to 12 th century Old Baku leads on to Nizami Street, the shopper's delight, where old and new merge to create a traffic-free expanse of designed street floors, public singers in squares, apostles, and other statues, modern art pieces, fountains, and thousands of shops and restaurants.
The old city's landmarks are the Shirvansh palace, a two-storeyed simple structure ( hardly a palace to Indians who had seen resplendent exotic palaces in thier land ,this would account to a royal cooks quarters ) of those who ruled and created a city of their victory trophies, swords, and other items.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Maiden's Tower, a cylindrical 8-storey tower constructed in the 12th century.
The Jumma Mosque,
Museum of Miniature Books,
old caravanserais functioning as restaurants and bars,
hammams or public bath houses too.
Old Baku is not a historical ghost town of abandoned towns. but a pulsating living city with many living in it still .
Amongst caravansaries built in silk route times the preserved ones are Multani and Bukharra
There are more than 3000 residents staying in old Baku and thier houses are i narrow winding streets some with steep steps ,plenty of shops sell antiques of brass copper pottery Russian dolls carpets paintings
We can see old men intent on their games of dice .
The old Baku has unlimited potential for exploration on foot into narrow streets lined with slices of history reminicing us of the tired travellers in silk route bartering thier treasures of tea or spices for carpets or wool ,the scent of distant lands ,the stubble of beards or the glimpses of slit eyes in covered veils the distant cry of an infant or the click of metal shoes of an old resident meandering in the streets meld old into now in this live stage .
Its advised by a seasoned traveller to go to old Baku in the dawn and early morning far from the maddening crowd of tourists and the hot sun in summer .
In the throes of the cold of dawn when the city comes alive the foggy glimpses of sandstone balconies and towers is like never seen any other time ,far from the tourist circuits one can wander into winding streets to catch surprises at narrow corners .
To sit in a caravinesseri for an Azerbaijani breakfast of sweetened freshly baked vread dipped into fragrant strawberry jam or fresh hotel or bite into a succulent cheese or bite into a soft lamb in an oily sauce would end the Baku by foot .
Harimohan
