Exploring Baku-The Azerbaijani Capital Day 2

 <Update>

During the Writing of this blog, a violent conflict has broken out between Azerbaijan & Armenia which has made it extremely difficult to visit any of these countries in the near future. 

Hope that with my blog you can have a sort of virtual tour. Thank you for all the support

<Update>

If you haven't read the Part 1 of this article which is Day-1  in Baku, then I recommend you visit this link to the article.

I had done prior research on the food scene in Baku, but, when I spent about 3 days in Baku, I found out that there are far too many restaurants & clubs that are not visible on google maps. But, being a vegetarian and a teetotaler, my options are always limited. I do try local food sometimes but I do not travel just for food. So, wherever I go, I try to find simple, vegetarian & possibly Indian food.

There are many many Indian restaurants in the city center of Baku (where we were staying) with the most notable being the Maharaja & Bombay Zaika. And as a surprise, there was a very good Indian Restaurant called Masala Junction in the same building I was staying. can you Imagine that? I asked the owner to make sure that their place appears on Google as their food was awesome.
Also special thanks to the proprietor of Bombay Zaika for those awesome vegetarian dishes.

The night scene of Baku is quite happening with a lot clubs as can be seen in the above picture which we clicked on our first night in Baku. There was a particularly large and popular club in the building right next to our apartment. Each of the nights we were there we would explore the surrounding areas on foot all the purposefully deciding not to use any kind taxi or public transport.

On our next day in Baku, we had planned to explore the city on our own without any tour package with just Google Maps as our local guide. Since the location of our apartment hotel was so meticulously chosen all the major attraction in the city were within walking distance or within a few minutes ride. 

The way to Icherisher(Baku Old City)

Making our own breakfast and grocery shopping in a foreign country was quite novel experience as this our first stay in an apartment hotel which some would like to call a BnB. We started at about 9AM after a relaxed breakfast and our stop on the self guided tour was the famous Baku Old Walled City called Icherisheher. It was a 2 min walk from our stay and the weather was a bit rough as the wind had stopped. Our guide the other day had warned us that Baku can get particularly warm (upto 38-40degs) on a day when there is no wind. When we reached the gate of the Old city, we saw it further gets forked in two directions.

The first thing you see in the Old city is this Plaza with a Forked Road

The first stop inside the old city walls was the Palace of the Shirvanshah. It is a 15th Century Palace with a Mosque and single Minaret that is visible in the picture below. The place is a UNESCO world heritage site and said to have authentic Azerbaijani Architecture.

Palace of the Shirvanshah

The place was very small to have anything of interest inside but if you have time to spare, the ticket is about 10USD for a each tourist which is steep for such small place. It was closed when we got there anyway. In Azerbaijan, many monuments & attractions are closed on Fridays and some are open only on alternate days so be sure to check before showing up.

Next we found our way to an open air museum and an art gallery of sorts. Its funny imagining anything of value displayed so openly in my home country. The museum/gallery had some some good pieces & stone sculptures on display and some of the Burial Headstones we had seen a day before in the Gobustan National Park.

We then wandered off to one of the many small Caravansarais in the Old city. Caravan Sarai is traditional word for the western equivalent of a medieval Inn. Interestingly, in Hindi, we share the same name with the etymology tracing back to Persian & Arabic roots.

This little Caravansari had a low archway leading to a wishing well which used to be an actual well  during times when caravans on the Silk-Route used to stop here. There were also many small shops selling souvenirs and antiques.

Next came the famous 12th Century Maiden tower which forms a part of the UNESCO Heritage monuments in Baku and also features on Azeri currency notes. It houses a very small museum showcasing Baku's history for any on who wants to get an overdose of small inconsequential museums in the old city.

Another thing about being at the maiden tower is that you will be hounded by street vendors and Tour operators which you should avoid as I always recommend against any kind of unplanned last minute tour booking.

But always you should pickup souvenirs whenever you can and we found a quaint little underground shop (literally) near the maiden tower selling small Azerbaijani carpets for souvenirs if are not interested in full size one which is quite the luxury item. The carpet souvenirs could be had for starting from 40AZN (30USD) to a few thousand AZN.

By now it was almost past midday & we were tired from walking almost 4 hours by now. And there is one thing I noticed about Azerbaijan was the lack of public restrooms. They were absent even very prominent landmarks. It took me 6 hours to find one. 

We started to find our way out of the old city and on the way out, stumbled upon a beautiful garden and a fountain in the midst which seems to have been there especially for a photo opportunity. 

There is also a large mechanical vintage clock on the outer wall of the city facing the Caspian sea. I always had fascination for them and wanted to visit one so, couldn't  help myself from getting pictured there.

We got out of the Old city on to the Azneft Square which has the iconic Four Seasons Hotel and is Looks more European than Azeri.

The best thing about Baku is the Boulevard that stretches along the Caspian sea with lush gardens a view of the Flame towers in the background always. The boulevard also has large jumbo sized public chessboards where people are always enjoying a game. There many of these around I especially liked them.

Walking along the boulevard we ultimately wanted to reach the station for the Funicular train. On the way, we found a so called mini recreation of Venice with a small network of canals & a few gondolas. It was good but so small that it looks like a children's ride.  

 

On the way to Funicular station through gardens in the Baku Boulevard, you will find the famous Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. You can visit this if you haven't had an overdose of museums in Baku yet. It was yet again closed for visitors due the weird rule of keeping such attraction open only on some days of the week. Due to the limited time we had in Baku, we were against visiting many Museum anyway.

The building of the Carpet museum is quite modern and is one the many Instagram worthy spots in Baku.

Ahead of the carpet museum you can see the Funicular train station. The Funicular train which is just a train that only runs up & down a mountain. 

The train connects Neftchilar Avenue to Martyrs street (which is a monument in itself) and begins operations at 1300 Hours. The ticket is just 2AZN per person an the two coach train takes around  4 minutes to travel 455 meters uphill. There is a service every 10 minutes. The ride uphill is very picturesque one with views on the Baku Boulevard.

Shahidlar Mosque with Flame Towers in The Background

 Once uphill, you find the Shahidlar Xiyabani Mosque flanked by the Highland park which consists of the Martyrs street which is huge monument dedicated to fallen heroes during the Azerbaijani war of 1992 when they got out of the Soviet Union.

Martyrs Street

 On a lighter note, this was only place in Baku where I could find a public restroom. And of course, at any point on the Highland park and its beautiful viewing terrace you always can Glimpse the famous Flame Towers of Baku. Being built on a hill they are visible from all of Baku and are the tallest building in the city.

After spending an hour at the viewing terrace we were tired of walking all day. We booked a Cab to our final attraction for the day which was the famous Baku Eye which is a Ferris Wheel with panoramic  views of the city & the Caspian sea.

The Ferris wheel, installed in 2014 is 200feet tall and has 30, 8 person enclosed cabins. It completes one rotation in 30-40 minutes. The tickets are 5 AZN per person which is very much worth it. The Panoramic views you get from the Glass Cabin cant be had from any skyscraper anywhere.

By the time we were done with Baku Eye, it was already around 3PM and we were completely exhausted from the constant walking and standing all day. We just booked another Cab back to our apartment. The things about cabs in Baku is you can go almost anywhere in the city under 10AZN.

The evening was spent relaxing on the Baku Sea front and watching the lighting display on the Flame Towers while relishing the local ice cream called Dondurma. The wind had started blowing as the sun set and we headed to our apartment with a quick stop at Masala Junction for a South Indian Dinner.

The next day we had our onward flight to Moscow. My Russia series of Travelogues has started and the first blog is already out. Do read it by clicking here.

Stay tuned to my blog for more travelogues, recipes & much more.