Day-5 31/10/24
The plan for our last day in Baku was to visit Old city,
Old City or Inner City (Azerbaijan: İçərişəhər - this also is the name for the
metro station) is the historical core of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The
Old City is the most ancient part of Baku, which is surrounded by walls. In
December 2000, the Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs
and Maiden Tower, became the first location in Azerbaijan to be classified as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We decided to travel by metro as, İçərişəhər is just a station away from Sahil
metro station, where we were staying and it is the terminal station on the
Red Line (Baku metro has two lines Red and Green). We did not have a metro card
to book our tickets. At station we were helped first by a police man and then
by metro official to buy metro card (@ 2 ₼) and we were able to load 8 ₼ on
card by inserting cash in the machine. The ticket to any place using metro was 0.5 ₼ per person and we were on
our way to the Old City.
The metro is
way deep underground (almost 10 stories) and a lot of security was around. We
were informed on the platform that photography was strictly prohibited.
It was a smooth but noisy ride (carriages were making noise) and that reminded me of
Virar fast.
After coming out from İçərişəhər metro station, close by, we found one of the
entrances of old city.
We were
welcomed by a bronze bust of poet Aliaga Vahid (1894 - 1965).
The
information board read as under:
The
master of gazels and sátyric poetry, Distinguished man of art (1943), Aliaga
Mammadgulu Iskandarov (Vahid) was born in Baku. Born to be a poet, Vahid also
did translations of Oriental writers' works info the Azerbaijani language. His
first book "Fruits of Greed” was printed in 1916. His pen-name
"Vahid" (meaning Unique) was given to him by a prominent poet of
gazels in Baku literature world, Mirza Abdulxalig Yusif. The poet was buried in
the Avenue-of Honour. The bronze bust of the poet is made by Rahib Hasanov,
Natig Aliyev and Sanan Salamzadeh and this inimitable bust is also considered
being "unique" in the art of sculpture.
Devon, BP, Statoyl, ACIP, LUKoyl, Sevron naphtha companies. A board expressing the gratitude towards these companies is conspicuously placed at the entrance. The collection started as a private collection and now it has 9000+ miniature books from countries all over the globe. The museum started its operation on April 2, 2002. In 2015, the Museum of Miniature Books was presented the Certificate of the Guinness Book of Records as the largest private museum of miniature books, smallest being of the size of a thumb nail.
The books are organised in country wise shelves & cover most of the countries. There is no entry fee. We were happy to see Bhagwat Geeta, Hanuman Chalisa, and various shapes and sizes of Bibles and Quran. Museum curators said that they would be happy to receive any miniature books to add to their collection.
The pathways in the city are paved with stone and now lined with a number of shops and restaurants. Our next stop was Shirvanshah Sheykh Ibrahim - I. The entry fee for the palace was 15 ₼.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING OF THE SHIRVANSHAHS
12th-15th centuries.
The construction of the residential building was started in the 12th
century. The building was extended later during the 14th-15th centuries. It has
two floors. The building's upper floor served as a living space for Shah's
family. It reflects distinctive architectural techniques, characteristics of
oriental palaces. The ground floor served the household needs of the palace.
The Administration of State Historical-Architectural Reserve
"Icherisheher" welcomes you to the Shirvanshahs' Palace and offers
multimedia guide at cost with you during your walk for those who want to delve
deeper into the Palace's history. It tells the history and stories of the
Palace, and lasts more than an hour.
The feudal kingdom of Shirvan was established in the 6th century. The first
mention of the name Shirvan in writing, dates to the 7th century.
The Arabic historian Al-Masudi (9th-10th centuries) gives an idea about the
range of the territory of Shirvan. At that time it extended from the Caspian Sea
to the city of Gabala, north-west of Baku.
Borders of the provinces of Shirvan often changed due to conquests. But, in
general, the territory ruled by the Shirvanshahs gradually grew over the
centuries.
The construction of the Palace itself started in the 12th century. It was
expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries during the ruling of the Shirvanshahs
Ibrahim- I, Khalilullah- I and Farrukh Yasar.
You could spend few hours reading and seeing the old artefacts displayed in
various rooms. The king’s throne or its remains are not seen. We got our answer
when we came to the next board.
THE THRONE
The State of Shirvan was an arena of power struggles by various forces
attempting to gain a rule over the territory. During the first half of the 16th
century, all valuable and significant treasures were taken away from the Palace
by conquerors.
The Shirvanshahs also hoarded a significant part of their treasures at the
"Bughurt" tower in the town of Shamakhi. Unfortunately, these
treasures were also plundered in 1538.
Hence, the thrones of the Shirvanshahs were neither preserved, nor were there
any visual references confirming their appearance. It is only through the
writings of the court poet, Badr Shirvani, that we know it may have been made
of walnut timber, and was described as "..shining like gold".
The throne
design and supporting information presented here was generated by The Prince's
School of Traditional Arts (PSTA), UK, following historical research by
Azerbaijani scientists. This is part of a joint project between the
Administration of State Historical-Architectural Reserve "Icherisheher”
and PSTA to promote the continued development of Icherisheher Centre for
Traditional Arts (ICTA).
One of the main aims of the Centre is to develop and regenerate the traditional
Azerbaijani arts and crafts through training talented young artists. ICTA is located in the "Icherisheher". State Historical- Architectural
Reserve, is the major part of the vision of its Administration for the
preservation of the Old City of Baku as a Living History.
Thorne Room
The Throne Room was the centre of State representation. Badr Shirvani, the
court poet, who lived here in the 15th century, described this space, and based
on his work we can assume that the Throne Room was located here. The poet
writes:
"It is blue as the sky and golden as the sun here. When light passes
through the window to fall upon the ceiling full of decorative designs, the
stars shine from within the blue glow of the dome."
The dome was lined with blue tiles, which appeared as a sky to the poet.
Unfortunately, the Palace has fallen apart over time as it has been intruded
and damaged by invaders several times. It is known from travel reports that the
tiles of the dome, ceilings, floors and columns were removed and carried off by
conquerors. The dome of the Throne Room was destroyed by the bombs of Russian
imperial forces in the 18th century.
A two-year project to reconstruct the dome and its stalactite ornaments was
finished in 2004.
On entry the traces of shooting are seen on strong stone walls. The board reads as under
TRACES OF SHOOTING
20th century
March 31st - April 2nd, 1918 Armenian Dashnaks committed the genocide of Azerbaijanis in many parts of Azerbaijan, including Baku. In the city of Baku, 12.000 innocent civilians felt victims to this massacre. The traces of the shooting you still can see on the Palace walls are silent witnesses of those tragic events.
After climbing a few tall stone steps, we came to the entrance of the palace building. On the right you see small coin museum where visitors are required to pay additional fees apart from entrance fee.
The information board reads as:
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN IN ISLAMIC ART
Islamic art and architecture are timeless, universal, and exhibit the highest
of beauty. They derive from the wedding of wisdom and craftsmanship and feature
three principal decorative languages of symbolic content. These three
decorative languages represent Knowledge, Love and Awe of the Divine
respectively.
The Tomb of
Shirvanshahs Family, built by Shirvanshah Khatitullah- I between 1435-1436 reveals the three decorative elements of Islam within its form. The Arabic inscription
on the entrance facade sits above the various biomorphic plant designs around
the arch spandrel.
Geometry is represented in both the hexahedral (relating to a hexahedron, which
is a three-dimensional shape with six faces, straight edges, and sharp corners)
cupola with geometric star design and the geometric stalactite vaulting system
(muqarnas- is a form of three-dimensional
decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like
elements are projected over others below.) above the main entrance.
Geometric principles are also exhibited within the proportional systems of the
building's design both in plan and elevation.
15th century
The tomb of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi is also known as "Dervish's Tomb." Seyid Yahya Bakuvi was the court's scientist at the palace of Shirvanshah Khalilullah- I.
Around 30 of his works with Sufi-mystic character have survived to the present day.
TOMB OF
SHIRVANSHAH'S FAMILY
1435-1436
The tomb of Shirvanshah's Family was built for burial of Shirvanshah
Khalilullah's mother Bike Khanim and his 6-year-old son Farrukh Yamin by the
architect Mohammed Ali. Later, Shirvanshah Khalilullah- I, his wife Khanike
Sultan and his sons Mohammed Ibrahim, Amir Bahram and Sheikh Saleh were also
buried in this tomb.
We had our lunch at one of the restaurants (qadimi) in old city. Ordered for mixed qutab, saaj, mushroom soup. Everything was delicious.
DIVANKHANA / TOMB OF SHAH
15th century
Construction of one of the masterpieces of medieval architecture of Azerbaijan
-Divankhana had remained unfinished due to political and historical situation.
There are several conjectures about the purpose of the building. It could have
served for official receptions and/or divan meetings - i.e. Shirvanshah's State
Council. Some researchers believe that Shirvanshah Farrukh Yasar ordered the
construction as the Shah's tomb.
The Maiden
Tower (Azerbaijani: Qız qalası) is a 12th-century monument.
Along with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a
group of historic monuments listed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage
List of Historical Monuments as cultural property, Category III. It is one
of Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured
on Azerbaijani currency notes and official letterheads. The Maiden
Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of the historic evolution of Baku
city. It also has a gift shop.
The name is
misnomer, what it really means that it was never conquered. Before receding of
the shore line of Caspian Sea it stood guard to protect Old city in the event
of invasion from sea.
Our morning return trip to İçərişəhər (old city) had cost us 6 ₼ and left us
with 2 ₼ on metro card. We decided to spend them. It was simple, add 4 ₼ to the
metro card and have one more go at the metro. Evening we went to Sahil station
and loaded 4 m to the card with our learnings from morning tuition. The machine
accepts coins as well as currency notes.
We decided to visit monument of Nariman Narimanov and expected it to be somewhere near Nariman Narimanov, metro station, which is two stations away from Sahil and is a junction on Red & Green lines (this station is accessible on both the lines). The station was named after Nariman Narimanov, Soviet Azerbaijani revolutionary and statesman (1870–1925). We reached Nariman Narimanov station, close to it there is garden named after him. We expected to find the monument (statue) in the garden but to our disappointment we couldn’t find it. We didn’t have internet to search the location. It was surprising that nobody on the road or in nearby shops could guide us, may be English understanding was a problem. We decided to drop the idea and roam around the place. We found nice sweets shop named “Beyoglu Baklava” and Turkish owner who was friendly and could use Google translate to communicate. The shop was selling Baklava (A dessert made of milk-infused dough and a groundnut and honey filling) and Turkish delight (sweet role stuffed with various nuts). Both are Turkish sweets and we had our quota of generous testing and finished purchasing of both the sweets to take back home. On our way back to metro some of us wanted hot tea to counter the cold. A street side small joint was selling tea and other Azerbaijani cuisines. One of us floated the idea to try Plove-Azerbaijan's national dish, made with saffron-infused rice, dried fruits, with choice of meat. Order was to take a few minutes; in the meantime, we had nice chat with staff manning the outlet using their broken English and Google translator. The translator was useful in making choice of meat. They were friendly people. After getting our Plove packed and we had our cup of tea, the staff was interested in taking group photos with us, to that we merrily agreed and after that session parted happily with handshakes and goodbyes.
Google search back home, for Nariman Narimanov statue, we found, to get to the
monument you need to use a bus №10 from the bus stop near the “Sahil” metro
station. It will bring you directly to the “Nariman Narimanov Garden” bus stop.
You can also use a bus №77 or 18. We were close but we are not destined to
visit the monument. The description from search says the monument with water
front is worth a visit.
Tomorrow we will say goodbye to Baku.
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