The centre of Baku is the old town. It is also a fortrees. In the old town you can see narrow alleys and ancient buildings: the Palace of Shirvanshah, two caravansarays, the 12th century Maidens Tower, the baths and the Djuma Mosque. The town also has dozens of small mosques. These places are among the most visited sights in Baku.

Coordinates 40°21′58.20″N 49°50′14.10″ECoordinates: 40°21′58.20″N 49°50′14.10″E

Location Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan

Type Tower

Height 29.5 m (97 ft)

Completion date 12th century

History

The Maiden Tower is built in the shape of a cylinder near the shore of the Caspian Sea.

Early sketch of Maiden Tower which was built into the walled defense system of Baku.

The Maiden Tower was probably built at the same time as the walls of Baku’s old city and shared their purpose of defending the city.

The tower bears features common to the defensive towers on the Absheronpeninsula - in Mardakan, Ramana, Shuvalan and Nardaran. It does not really have the features of temples, observatories or watch towers.

The Maiden’s Tower is the symbol of Baku. The 32-meters Maidens Tower is one of the beautiful and mysterious architectural monuments on The Absheron Peninsula. It has 8 floors. The walls are 4-5 meters thick . You can enjoy wonderful view of Baku from here. There are a lot of legends about the Tower. From the top of the tower you can see the inner city within the fortress walls.

Built in the 12th century, as part of the walled city of Baku, the Maiden Tower is the historic monument which has been inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property in 2001. It is one of the most noted landmarks and Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems.

The Maiden Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of historic evolution of the Baku city. It also has a gift shop. The view from the roof takes in the alleys and minarets of theOld City, the Baku Boulevard, the De Gaulle house and a wide vista of the Baku Bay

Another notable structure seen in the tower is a water well of 0.7 metres (2.3 ft) diameter, which is 21 metres (69 ft) deep (its depth is up to the aquifer) that has been discovered at the second floor of the tower. This well has been interpreted as rainwater harvesting structure and the water is said to be clean and fresh (though close to the sea)

The legendary tale of the king willing to force his daughter to marry a man she doesn't love, which she escapes by asking her father to first build a tower for her, and when it is finished committing suicide by jumping from the top of it has been the subject of many Azerbaijani poems and plays. However, the ballet titled “Maiden Tower", was the first Azerbaijani ballet composed by Afrasiyyab Badalbayli, in 1940. This ballet is performed at Baku´s Opera and Ballet Theatre. However, the story line is a modified version of the legend.

Palace of the Shirvanshahs (or Shirvanshahs‘Palace; Azerbaijani: Şirvanşahlarsarayı) is the biggest monument of the Shirvan-Absheron branch of the Azerbaijan architecture, situated in the Inner City of Baku. The complex contains :1. The main building of the palace, Divanhane2. The burial-vaults, the shah's mosque with a minaret3. Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's mousoleum4. A portal in the east - Murad's gate, 5. A reservoir and6. The remnants of the bath-house.

Minaret of the Mosque of the Shirvanshah palace

ICHERISHEHER(inner city)

History and today

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 Azerbaijanclassified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO

History:

Icherisheher is very old city. It was built in 12th century but some scientiests refer Icerisheher to 7th century.

Baku was divided into two sections: Icherisheher and Bayirsheher.

Today

Today Icherisheher is historical place where tourists

from all over the world come to visit.

Since 2006 Azerbaijani 10 manat banknote has

Icherisheher picture on it.

Places in Icherisheher:

1. The Maiden Tower built in 12th century as part of the walled city of Baku.

2. Place of the Shirvanshahs is the biggest monument of the Shirvan-Absheron branch of the Azerbaijan architecture.

3. Icherisheher is surrounded by huge fortress walls from north, east and west. There are 5 entrance doors to the city through the fortress walls.

The Juma (friday) mosque hosted for a long time the carpets museum, but is now back to its original use. The building you can see today dates from the early twentieth century, courtesy of an oil baron, but stands over the remains of preceding buildings.