Walled City of Baku, Azerbaijan

The Walled City of Baku, with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Azerbaijan. It was inscribed during the 24th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Cairns, Australia from 27 November to 2 December, 2000.

The Walled City is the historical centre of Baku. The World Heritage Committee inscribed it for being an outstanding and rare example of a historic urban area with architecture that reflects influences from various cultures including Zoroastrian, Sassanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman and Russian. The walls date back to at least the 12th century, with all possibility that the earliest construction being carried out as early as the 7th century.

Photos of Walled City of Baku

Walled City of Baku, Azerbaijan
Author: Самый Древний (public domain)

Maiden Tower, Baku
Author: Самый Древний (public domain)

Shirvanshah's Palace, Baku
Author: Nick Taylor (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)

Tower at Shirvanshah's Palace, Baku
Author: Emin Bashirov (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Mosque at Shirvanshah's Palace, Baku
Author: Самый Древний (public domain)

What to See in Walled City of Baku

The city walls: These are defensive walls which were built between the 7th and 6th centuries BC. They are well preserved within the Inner City (Icheri Sheher).
Maiden Tower: This is one of the most famous landmarks and icons of Azerbaijan. It appears in many of the country's banknotes. It was constructed in the 12th century or possibly even earlier. According to a legend, it was called Maiden Tower because a maiden threw herself off the top to her death on the waves below. Until the early 20th century, the Maiden Tower stood by the shore of the Caspian Sea, but reclamation has extended the shore since then.
Shirvanshah's Palace: A complex of buildings begun by Ibrahim I ruler of the Shirvanshah dynasty in the 15th century. It includes the palace building as well as pavilion, mausoleum, mosque and bath house. The complex is believed to have been constructed around the tomb of a Sufi Muslim saint, Seyyid Yahya Bakuvi. The Shirvanshah rulers were patrons of this faith. Despite it being called a palace, there was no evidence that the Shirvanshah rulers actually ruled from here.

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 40 22 0 E 49 49 60
Inscription Year: 2000
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: IV

Location

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is a coastal town on the west coast of the Caspian Sea, on the southern tip of the Absheron Peninsula.

Location Map

View Walled City of Baku, Azerbaijan in a larger map

His

Threat

The Walled City of Baku was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003, following the November 2000 earthquake, out of concern for poor conservation methods being carried out, and "dubious" restoration efforts following the quake. It was only removed from the list in 2009, when the World Heritage Committee was satisfied with the efforts taken by Azerbaijan to safeguard the Walled City of Baku.

Visiting Baku

Baku is served by the Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD), which is about 25km from the city center. Among the airlines flying there include BMI, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Air Baltic.

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