The hook
A Caspian boomtown where a walled medieval old city of caravanserais and a mysterious stone tower sits beneath a skyline of oil-wealth showpieces, including three curved towers shaped like flames.
01Why it's worth it
Baku has been shaped by oil for over a century, and the money shows in a flashy modern skyline, most famously the trio of Flame Towers that glow above the bay, and the swooping white curves of the Zaha Hadid cultural centre. But its soul is the Icherisheher, the walled old city, a UNESCO-listed maze of sandstone lanes, mosques, hammams, and caravanserais wrapped around the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the enigmatic Maiden Tower, a massive stone cylinder whose original purpose no one is sure of. The contrast between the ancient core and the petro-modern towers on the windy Caspian shore is the character of the place. Outside town lie oddities of the "land of fire": a hillside where natural gas flames leak from the ground, and fire-worship temples. It is a comfortable, intriguing city that rewards a day or two.
02How to experience it
Wander the walled Icherisheher for the Maiden Tower and Shirvanshahs' palace, then stroll the seaside boulevard beneath the Flame Towers for the old-and-new contrast. Take a half-day out to the burning hillside of Yanar Dag and the Ateshgah fire temple. Spring and autumn dodge the summer heat.