Baku

Azerbaijan

PERSONAGES WHAT TO EAT MUST-SEE PICTURES

PERSONAGES

Adil Guliyev

He was an Azerbaijani fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force who became a hero of the Soviet Air Force with twenty shootings during World War II. Winner of the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his exploits, he remained in the Soviet Air Force and retired with the rank of colonel in 1966. He later became director of the Baku airport.

Chingiz Babayev

Chingiz Babayev was a senior lieutenant of the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military High School , posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan for saving people's lives during the 1995 Baku subway fire . A memorial complex dedicated to Babayev was later established inside the Ulduz metro station in Baku.

Ağıl başda olar, yaşda olmaz

Literally "intelligence is in the head not in age", in other words wisdom has no age.

WHAT TO EAT

Tandir bread

Also called tandoor, it takes its name from the method of baking. Its history dates back to Neolithic times and the name comes from an ethnic group belonging to the Sumerians. The tandir is nothing more than the "oven" in which the bread is baked.

Fisincan

These are delicious patties made with beef and/or mutton, or poultry. The patties are fried with a breadcrumb coating of walnuts, pomegranate or plum sauce. Traditionally they are served with pilaf, a rice baked in a covered casserole, along with a broth flavored with butter and chopped onion.

Baklava

This is a very complex, layered dessert made with thin sheets of buttered phyllo dough placed in a baking dish. Chopped nuts are then placed on the various layers; the whole thing is then baked and then soaked in a solution of honey, lemon juice and spices with rosewater. In Azerbaijan traditionally baklava is cut into triangles and eaten with the hands.

MUST-SEE

Boulevard along the Caspian Sea

It is filled with manicured flower beds and fountains, exhibitions, hedge sculptures and exotic plants, it is the perfect place for a romantic stroll culminating on the pier with breathtaking views across the bay.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre

It's the masterpiece of Anglo-Iraqi archistar Zaha Hadid. Opened in 2012, the convention center and museum earned Hadid first place in the 2014 "Design of the Year" award, the first time it was won by a woman.

Old City

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 and the first UNESCO site in Azerbaijan, from 2003 to 2009 it was listed as an endangered property due to damage from the 2000 Baku earthquake and heavy renovation and reconstruction. Built beginning in the 12th century, the old city, watched over by crenellated walls and the three gleaming Flame Towers, is home to splendid minarets, mosques, hammams, fortresses and other more recent buildings that reflect the history and successive dominations over the city.