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Historical Museum
Well-presented exhibits on Azerbaijan’s history and culture might miss the odd century here and there, but there’s more than enough to fill several hours if you’re really interested. If not, it’s still worth a brief trot through to admire the opulent 1895–1901 mansion of HZ Tağiyev
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Mardakan Castle
This 22m square-plan tower is the more interesting of Mərdəkans two crenellated fortress keeps. If you want to get in and up the five flights of unlit steps to the rooftop, seek out key-holder, Vidadi, who lives in one of the closest houses. The tower is accessed off Kolxoz küç, ab
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Vahid Gardens
An arched gateway in the Old City wall leads from İçeri Şəhər metro station to a pretty handkerchief of garden. Its dominated by the imaginative bust of poet Vahid incorporating characters from his work into the lines of his hair. Yay Gallery offers changing 21st-century art exhibi
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İmamzadə
The İmamzadə, Azerbaijans most impressive Islamic structure, is a masterpiece of brickwork and Central Asian–style blue majolica tiles nearing completion on the northern edge of Gəncə, replacing a far-more-modest 19th-century equivalent. Though evidence seems sketchy, the site is c
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Laza
Encircled by soaring mountains with grass-clad slopes and ribbon waterfalls cascading over perilous cliff edges, Lazas setting is remarkably impressive. The tiny village is diffuse and its houses somewhat banal, but a rocky pinnacle beside the metal-roofed little mosque adds foregr
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Durca
Once a seasonal village only occupied by shepherd families during the midsummer grazing season, Durca has a few new holiday homes under construction but the upper village remains essentially unspoilt with several older stone houses and plenty of walking opportunities in the valley
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Nizami Park
This little park has a more natural vibe than most of the over-manicured equivalents in other towns. Old chaps in flat caps sip tea and slap dominoes beneath shady chestnut and plane trees. Theres an ornamental castle tower, a museum, a metal spired turbe (tomb tower) and statues o
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Crescent Moon Building
Several gleaming towers are under construction at Crescent Bay opposite Port Baku including a potentially phenomenal architectural attention-grabber in the form of a gigantic upside-down crescent moon. At the other end of the bay, it should be counterpointed by a spherical sun buil
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Tigranakert
Tigranakert is one of the four cities founded by Tigran the Great, but the only one known to historians today. It was founded in the 1st century BC, and vanished from history in the 14th. Archaeologists are uncovering the remains of a 5th-century church and a 1st-century fortress w
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Nizami Literature Museum
The Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature occupies a fine early 20th-century building whose exterior facade is made photogenic with ogive arched niches set with statues of the nation’s literary greats. The exhibitions within look at Azerbaijans history through the prism of such wr
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Yanar Bulağ
Watch water burn at Arçivan village! What you see is a stand-pipe beneath a concrete pergola, but the water that bubbles forth is made ‘flammable’ by partly dissolved methane. Youll need to bring your own matches as the flames blow out fairly rapidly and locals care more for collec
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Gəncə Darvazası
This pair of gigantic brick gateways dates from 2014 but is designed to evoke the idea of ancient Gəncəs long-lost citadel portal from which the iron gates were plundered by an 1139 Georgian attack and removed to Gelati. The site is near the M2 Hwy bypass intersection several kilom
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Azokh Cave
The extraordinary Azokh cave, not far from the village of Azokh, is 14km south of Karmir Shuka (also known as Krasny Bazar). About 200m before the village, look for the trail to the right that leads uphill to the cave. The cave has six bat-filled chambers connected by tunnels. Rema
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Amaras Monastery
Founded by St Gregory the Illuminator and completed by his grandson, Bishop Grigoris, the Amaras Monastery dates from the 5th century. Its a hugely important place for Armenian culture, as at the same time the creator of the Armenian alphabet Mesrop Mashtots founded a school to spr
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Shahdag National Park
The vast Shahdag National Park covers over 1.3 million sq km, encompassing many of the nations most spectacular peaks and high-mountain trails. Lower areas of the park can be entered with a standard national park entrance ticket that must be prepurchased (online or via bank transfe
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MIM
This joyous tailor-made gallery creates a wide variety of intimate viewing spaces, in many of which you can recline on leather bean-bag sofas as you contemplate the extensive collection of predominantly post-1980 Azerbaijani art. Some earlier 20th-century canvases also appear, alon
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Şahidlər Xiyabani
The most notable feature of the park that stretches south from the Flame Towers is a sombre row of grave-memorials – Bakuvian victims of the Red Army’s 1990 attack along with early martyrs of the Karabakh conflict. There’s also a memorial to Turkish WWI soldiers, and (more controve
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Qırmızi Qəsəbə
Across the river from central Quba, Qırmızi Qəsəbə is a wealthy and much celebrated Jewish village with two active synagogues. Its comfortable existence is often cited as proof of Azerbaijans history of religious tolerance, though to the casual observer the townscapes biggest diffe
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Vank
Vank is unlike any other village in Karabakh – if not the world – thanks to the patronage of native son Levon Hairapetian. The Moscow-based lumber baron has funded the large-scale redevelopment of the town, including a school, hospital and two super-kitsch hotels. The Eclectic Hote
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Azər
Hand-woven carpets using wool coloured with vegetable dyes are created before your eyes in this amazingly grand suburban gallery-workshop that includes a museum-like selection of traditional handicrafts. Tours are free with no sales pressure. Ideally call ahead, English spoken. Tak
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