Located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, the ancient Walled City of Baku in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list along with the Shirvan Shah's Palace and Maiden Tower in 2000. The walled fort is built on a site inhabited since the Palaeolithic Period (thought to be between 100,000BC and 30,000BC) and archaeologists have found evidence of Zoroastrian, Sassanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman and Russian influences. The Shirvan Shah's Palace was built in the 12th century by the Shirvan Shah Dynasty who moved their capital to Baku from Shamakha after an earthquake. Baku developed as an important trading port and was captured and conquered by many warring empires before finally becoming the capital of Azerbaijan in 1920. The Walled City is the old part of the Baku and its maze of alleyways and ancient buildings still thrive with life today with the modern city fanning out around it.

For more information on the Walled City of Baku, contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see Tourist Information above).

Air: Baku International Airport. Water: Ferry: Passenger ferry services. Rail: Baku City Train Station. Underground: Public services. Road: Bus: Public services.

Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
4 Shykhali Qurbanov Street, 1009 Baku, Azerbaijan
Tel: (12) 492 9692
Website: http://azerbaijan.tourism.az

Embassy of the Azerbaijan Republic
4 Kensington Court, London W8 5DL, UK
Tel: (020) 7938 3412
Website: http://azerbaijan.tourism.az

Baku, Azerbaijan, Baku