İçərişəhər
A living walled town on the shore of the Caspian: behind the ancient wall stand the Maiden Tower, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and a maze of streets almost a thousand years old.
A fortress that people still call home
İçərişəhər (Azerbaijani for the "Inner City") is the historic core of Baku, enclosed by a fortress wall. It is not a museum behind glass but a lived-in quarter: behind the millennium-old gates are homes, workshops, tea houses and courtyards where laundry dries and people play backgammon.
Within roughly 22 hectares stand the foremost monuments of Azerbaijan's Middle Ages — the Maiden Tower and the palace complex of the Shirvanshahs, along with dozens of mosques, baths and caravanserais. In 2000, İçərişəhər, together with these two monuments, became Azerbaijan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Where to begin
Maiden Tower
A mysterious tower nearly 30 metres tall — a symbol of Baku whose age and purpose scholars still debate.
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
The 15th-century residence of the rulers of Shirvan: the Divankhana, mausoleum, mosque and bath in one complex.
Caravanserais
Inns of the Great Silk Road — the Multani and Bukhara caravanserais — for merchants from India and Central Asia.
Stone streets
A labyrinth of alleys, "shebeke" oriel windows and courtyards where films were shot and where Baku residents still live.
"Here the stone remembers the Shirvanshahs, the oil millionaires and the film cameras — and is still home."
Maiden Tower
Eight tiers, walls up to five metres thick, a buttress facing the sea — and not a single undisputed answer to when or why it was built.
Unravel the towerA walk through the fortress
Entry to the quarter itself is free — it is a city district. Individual monuments (the Maiden Tower, the palace) require a ticket. We have put together a route, landmarks and practical tips.
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