Baku, the little brother of Dubai?

You do not know what to expect when you arrive in Baku. You know you are in an old city that also tries to be very modern. The flame towers that have become the symbols for Baku are visible from almost anywhere you are in the city. One thing that I find a little bit annoying about several Eastern Europe/ Central Asia countries is that nearly all the flights from Europe arrive and leave in the middle of the night. My plane landed at 05:10 in the morning, and my return flight was at 03:40. You have no room before at least noon when you arrive, and having one the night before you leave is no point.

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Early morning stroll

Putting my complaints aside. I should not complain about arriving in the city centre around 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday. It was about 20 degrees in the sun and hardly a person in sight. I was going to stay in an Airbnb in the old town of Baku, so the driver let me off quite close to where I would stay. From there, I started my morning walk. One of my first sights was the Maiden Tower, a UNESCO heritage sight. A building from the 12th century, there are various mysteries and legends related to Baku’s Maiden Tower. However, the central mystery is the Tower’s design and purpose. Anyhow, it is situated close to the seafront.

After my stroll down by the seafront, with a view over to the Financial District of Baku, you see the Fire Towers. Since this was my first morning, I thought there was less Dictator propaganda than I had expected. Because there were few posters of that in the centre of Baku. But as a tourist, it is good to research and know where to look, like the following picture of the Deniz Mall. This is supposed to resemble the wedding ring of the president’s wife.

The contrasts

The Old City is within a wall with a few towers and gates. There is no ordinary car traffic there, but residents and taxis can drive in for a fee. Outside the Old Town, the cars have a significant presence. In certain places, you can find roads with up to 5 rows of traffic in one direction, like down by the seafront. You can only cross in a pedestrian tunnel, but they were very far in between in some places. In Baku, you see only new and very expensive cars. When you travel out in the countryside, Ladas from the 1980s, that is the norm.

Dubai or not?

I have not been to Dubai yet. However, it is on my list for my next trip. It is not my idea to call Baku the little brother of Dubai. That is something I have read. The reason is that Azerbaijan has oil, and since the independence from the Soviets, they could be masters in their own house. Now, they have the money to build modern architecture and glass buildings that can be recognised worldwide. Above, you see the new and contemporary Carpet Museum. Its curved shapes make the display of the carpets very interesting. Instead of hanging flat on a wall, they follow the curved wall, and you can look at them from a balcony.

Heydar Aliyev Centre

I was looking forward to visiting the modern and fantastic pearl of a building. Heydar Aliyev is, of course, the name of the first president. I went there on one of my first days, but unfortunately, a conference was going on that week. I looked it up and discovered it would finish on Friday at the end of my stay there. Therefore, I went there again on Saturday optimistically. They needed Saturday to clear up after the conference, but I was welcome on Sunday, and by then, I was on the flight back to Oslo.

My last day in Baku and Azerbaijan

The workshop of Ali Shamsi was a place I had read about before I came to Baku. I wanted to visit it, and I did find it easily in the Old Town. There were so many interesting things to see in his decoration outside the studio. I think I passed it at least five times; however, he was never there, so I could go in.

As I said earlier in this post, travelling in the middle of the night is a hassle. What do you do without a room all day? I visited a Hamam in the evening and found one within Old Town. It was small and nice. I do not normally like massages or being done things with, but apart from the hard scrubbing, I did actually feel a little bit new when I left to take the last bus to the airport.

You can read more about my Azerbaijan posts here:

• Azerbaijan the best and worst experience in a long time.
• Shäki, Xinaliq and Quba, the oil fortune is not visible here.
• Ganja, previously an Iranian treasure.