Today, I am on a journey to my 16th country Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a very young country. It gained independence only in the year 1991 after the successful collapse of Soviet Union. I took a flight from Abu Dhabi on Wizz Air
to reach Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. It was one of the cheapest flights I ever flew in. The journey which lasted about four hours cost me only around Rs. 6000. In this video, I will share my impressions of Baku city, the famous Old Town, the flame towers, and one of the best apartments I ever stayed in so far.
From the Baku airport, I took the shuttle bus to Baku City. Finally, I was in a country where it was okay to take off mask and be free. Nobody, I mean absolutely nobody was wearing masks in Azerbaijan.
It seemed as if Azerbaijan was living in a parallel universe where covid wasn’t even a thing. Anyways, the Baku airport which is known as the Heyder Aliyev International Airport is about 30 minutes away from the Baku city. The shuttle bus dropped me at the famous 28 May Street in Baku.
From there, I took a taxi to reach my apartment. As usual, I booked this apartment on Airbnb. The apartment was pretty affordable and it was within a walking distance to the main streets and attractions in Baku city.
I was very tired from the very long journey from India and I got some rest in the apartment. After taking some rest, I decided to take a walk.
My apartment was close to the Nizami Street and the famous Baku Old Town. Nizami Street is a very large pedestrian shopping street.
Nizami street is the most beautiful and lively street in Baku, with European style building on its both sides. Some of the most expensive and best restaurants in Baku can be found in this street. The street is filled with locals and tourists all around the clock.
I haven’t heard much about Azerbaijan before and hence I was not sure what to expect in Baku.
But the first thing that I noticed was the cleanliness. In Baku the roads are so nice, the people were following rules and the streets were very clean.
Also, in the summers, the day is very long and it doesn’t get dark until nine in the night. The Old Town, also known as Icherisheher, is a very beautiful historical part of Baku with stone-paved streets and old style buildings.
The old town is pretty quiet. There are a bunch of expensive restaurants for tourists, but apart from that the Old Town region is mostly narrow streets with
old residential apartments used by the locals.
The iconic Baku flame towers keep peeking behind the Old Town buildings as I strolled through these streets there.
The main attraction in the Old Town is the Maiden Tower. The interesting thing about this tower is that nobody knows why exactly it was constructed.
Anyways, currently, this tower showcases a museum, showing the historical evolution of Baku. We can climb all the way to the top through its narrow staircases and enjoy a beautiful view of the Baku city.
Next, I went to explore the Baku Promenade. It is one of the best places in Baku to spend the evening.
The Baku City doesn’t have a Beach area. However, this Promenade which is along the shore of the Caspian sea is an amazing place to just walk around and enjoy the Caspian wind.
The next attraction closest to the Promenade is the Highlands Park.
As the name suggests, it is a little park at the highest point in Baku. The wind was pretty insane there. You get a fantastic view of the Baku City and the Caspian sea from the Highlands Park.
I recommend visiting this place after evening. The view of Baku city lighting up to its full beauty is really worth it.
There is also a war memorial and Cemetery in this park. It was built for the Martyrs who were killed by the Russians in the 1990s Black January War.
In the night, the area around the Promenade becomes very alive with crowd of people and you start to feel the real vibe and colors of Baku city.
The streets were beautifully lit with incandescent lights and it is hard to miss the famous Baku Flame Towers dancing with its lights. The Baku Flame Towers consists of three towers, with the tallest one over 182 meter in height.
The towers are used for residential apartments, hotel rooms, and office buildings. Though Baku was a small city, it left a very positive impression in my mind.
I walked into the night thinking about my travel plans around Azerbaijan for the coming days.