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Austin Hotel Baku
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4 Star Austin Hotel Baku is approximately 30 minutes from H. Aliyev International Airport /BAK/,...
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Azerbaijan: Search for areas
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Baku
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Description
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Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. Its history dates back to the 1st millennium BC. Earliest written evidence is from 6th century AD, however.
Baku is the place of an important fire temple of the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism which was prevalent in the whole region in the older times. For most of its history Baku was an integrated part of Persia. The first written reference to Baku dates from 885, although archaeologists have found remains of a settlement predating by several centuries the birth of Jesus. The city became important after an earthquake destroyed Shemakha and the of the 12th century and the Shirvanshah, Ahistan I, made Baku the new capital. In 1813 Russia signed the Treaty of Gulistan with Persia by which Baku and most of the Caucasus region were ceceded from Iran and was annexed to Russia.
There are a few theories about the origin of the name, the most widely known being that Baku comes from the Persian word Bagh-Kuh (the Mount of God). The Name of Baku is also popularly explained as coming from the Persian word "bad kube", meaning "city of winds". The climate is hot and dry in the summer, cool and wet in the winter, with gale-force winds that sweep through on occasion, caused by masses of polar air; however, snow is rare at 28 metres below sea level, and temperatures on the coast rarely get down to freezing.
The centre of Baku is the old town, which is also a fortress. The walled city of Baku (called "Icheri sheher" meaning "Inner town") became in December 2000 the first location in Azerbaijan classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Most of the walls and towers, strengthened after the Russian conquest in 1806, survive. This section is picturesque, with its maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings. Wander the cobbled streets past the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, two caravansaraies (ancient inns), the 11th century Maiden Tower (nice view of the harbor), the baths and the Djuma Mosque (it used to house the Carpet and Applied Arts Museum, but now is a mosque again; the carpets got moved to the former Lenin museum). The old town also has dozens of small mosques, often without any particular sign to distinguish them from the next building.
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