What is Baku?

For other uses, see Baku (disambiguation).

Baku Baki
Seal
Coordinates:
Country	Azerbaijan
Government
- Mayor	Hajibala Abutalybov
Area
- City	260 km  (0 sq mi)
Elevation	-28  m (0 ft)
Population (2005) [1]
- City	2,036,000
- Density	1280 /km (0/sq mi)
Time zone	GMT+4 (UTC+4)
- Summer (DST)	GMT+5 (UTC+5)
Website: BakuCity.az

Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Maiden Tower in old town Baku
State Party	Azerbaijan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	958
Region	Middle East
Inscription History
Inscription	2000  (24th Session)
Endangered	2003-
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı), sometimes known as Baky or Baki, is the capital, the largest city, and the largest port of Azerbaijan. Located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, the city consists of two principal parts: the downtown and the old Inner City (21,5 ha). As of January 1, 2003 the population was 1,827,500 of which 153,400 were internally displaced persons and 93,400 refugees.^[2] Baku is a member of Organization of World Heritage Cities and Sister Cities International.^[3] The city is also bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (Azizbeyov, Binagadi, Qaradagh, Narimanov, Nasimi, Nizami, Sabayil, Sabunchu, Khatai, Surakhany and Yasamal) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on islands in the Bay of Baku and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 km away from Baku.

Origin of the name

The name Baku is widely believed to be derived from the old Persian names of the city Bad-kube, meaning "Wind-pounded [city]", or Baghkuh, meaning "Mount of God". Arabic sources refer the city as Baku, Bakukh, Bakuya, and Bakuye, all of which seem to come from the original Persian name.

Other theories suggest that the name dates back to Zoroastrianism and comes from the word Baga meaning "the god" in Avestan and Sanskrit.^[4][5]

History

Main article: History of Baku

The first written evidence for Baku is related to the 6th century AD.^[6]

The city became important after an earthquake destroyed Shemakha and in the 12th century, ruling Shirvanshah Ahsitan I made Baku the new capital. In 1501 shah Ismail I Safavi laid a siege to Baku. At this time the city was however enclosed with the lines of strong walls, which were washed by sea on one side and protected by a wide trench on land. In 1540 Baku was again captured by the Safavid troops. In 1604 the Baku fortress was destroyed by Iranian shah Abbas I. On June 26, 1723 after a lasting siege and firing from the cannons Baku surrendered to the Russians. According to Peter the Great's decree the soldiers of two regiments (2,382 people) were left in the Baku garrison under the command of Prince Baryatyanski, the commandant of the city. In 1795 Baku was invaded by Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar to defend against the tsarist Russia beginning a policy of subduing the South Caucasus to itself. In the spring of 1796 by Yekaterina II’s order General Zubov’s troops started a large campaign in Transcaucasia. Baku surrendered after the first demand of Zubov who had sent 6,000 militants to capture the city. On June 13, 1796 the Russian flotilla entered the Baku bay and a garrison of the Russian troops was placed in the city. General Pavel Tsitsianov was appointed the Baku's commandant. Later, however, Czar Pavel I ordered him to cease the campaign and withdraw the Russian forces. In March, 1797 the tsarist troops left Baku but a new tsar, Alexander I began to show a special interest in capturing Baku. In 1803 Tsitsianov reached an agreement with the Baku khan to compromise, but the agreement was soon annulled. On February 8, 1806, after the city was surrendered, under the accompaniment of the retinue Huseyngulu khan left the city to present the city’s keys to Sisianov.

In 1813 , Russia signed the Treaty of Gulistan with Persia, which provided for the cession of Baku and most of the Caucasus from Iran and their annexation by Russia.

Oil boom

Main article: Oil industry in Azerbaijan

Since 1873 an oil belt of Baku began to be formed which was known as a Black City. Within a short period of time departments and representations of Swiss, English, French, Belgian, German, Swedish and American firms were established in Baku, among them were the firms of the Nobels and Rothschilds. By the beginning of the 20th century almost half of the oil reserves in the world had been extracted in Baku.^[7]

On May 28, 1918 the Azerbaijani fraction of the Transcaucasian Sejm proclaimed the Independence from Russia. The first Azerbaijani government was located in the western part of the country, in Ganja. In Baku, however, a coalition of Bolsheviks, Esers, Dashnaks and Mensheviks fought against a Turkish-Islamic army led by Nuru Pasha. This coalition known as the "Baku Commune" also inspired or tacitly condoned the massacres of local Muslims by well-armed Dashnak-Armenian forces during the March Days. This coalition, however, collapsed and was replaced by a British-controlled government known as Central Caspian Dictatorship in July, 1918. British forces under General Dunsterville occupied Baku and helped the mainly Dashnak-Armenian forces to defend the capital. However, Baku fell on September 15, 1918 and an Azeri-Ottoman army entered the capital, causing British forces and much of the Armenian population to flee and since that time Baku was a capital of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920). On April 28, 1920 the 11th Red Army invaded Baku and occupied the city. The National Government had to flee to Europe. Many Azeri personalities in Baku were killed by the Russian troops.

Historical city core

The centre of Baku is the old town, which is also a fortress. In December 2000, the Inner City of Baku with the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower became the first location in Azerbaijan classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Most of the walls and towers, strengthened after the Russian conquest in 1806, survived. This section is picturesque, with its maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings: the cobbled streets past the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, two caravansaraies (ancient inns), the Maiden Tower (nice view of the harbor), the baths and the Djuma Mosque (it used to house the Carpet and Applied Arts Museum, but now is a mosque again; the carpets got moved to the former Lenin museum). The old town also has dozens of small mosques, often without any particular sign to distinguish them from the next building.

In 2003 , UNESCO placed the Inner City on the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing damage from a November 2000 earthquake, poor conservation as well as "dubious" restoration efforts^[1]. The Martyrs' Lane, formerly the Kirov Park, is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives during the Nagorno-Karabakh War and also to the 137 people who were killed on Black January, 1990. A sizable and influential Armenian population of Baku going back to 15th century was virtually annihilated or deported after the independence from USSR^[8]. The Armenian church of Baku was burned down in 1990. ^[9]

Climate

Baku was one of very few places where Soviet citizens could enjoy beaches or relax in now-dilapidated spa complexes overlooking the salty Caspian Sea. The climate is hot and humid in the summer, and cool and wet in the winter. During the winter gale-force winds sweep through on occasion, driven by masses of polar air (strong northern winds Khazri and southern Gilavar are typical here); however, snow is rare at 28 m below sea level, and temperatures on the coast rarely drop to freezing. The average annual temperature of Baku and that of the Earth differ by less than 0.1°C (14.2°C).^[10] The southwestern part of Great Baku is a more arid part of Azerbaijan (precipitation here is less than 150 mm a year). In the vicinities of the city there are a number of mud volcanoes (Keyraki, Bogkh-bogkha, Lokbatan and others) and salt lakes (Boyukshor, Khodasan etc.).

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg (°F)	37	37	42	51	62	71	77	77	69	60	51	42	55
Avg (°C)	3	3	6	11	17	22	25	25	21	16	11	6	13
Avg precipitation (in)	1.4	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.8	1.3	1.2	1.3	9.4
Avg precipitation (cm)	3.6	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.3	0.8	0.3	0.8	2.0	3.3	3.0	3.3	23.9
''Source: Weatherbase

Demographics

Until 1988 Baku had very large Armenian, Russian, and Jewish population that contributed to cultural diversity and added in various ways (music, literature, architecture) to Baku's history treasure chest. Under Communism, the Soviets took over the majority of Jewish property in Baku and Kuba. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliev has returned several synagogues and a Jewish college nationalized by the Soviets, to the Jewish community. He has encouraged the restoration of these buildings and is well-liked by the Jews of Azerbaijan. Renovation has begun on seven of the original eleven synagogues, including the Gilah synagogue, built in 1896, and the large Kruei Synagogue.^[11]. The new Azerbaijan constitution grants religious freedom and asserts that there is no state religion.

Currently vast majority of the population of Baku are ethnic Azerbaijanis (more than 90%). The intensive growth of the population started in the middle of the 19th century when Baku was a small town with the population of about 7 thousand people all in all. The population increased again from about 13,000 in the 1860s to 112,000 in 1897 and 215,000 in 1913, making Baku the largest city in the Caucasus region.^[12]

Baku has been a cosmopolitan city at certain times during its history, meaning ethnic Azerbaijanis did not constitute the majority of population. ^[13]

Year	Armenians	Azerbaijanis	Georgians	Iranian Citizens	Jews	Russians	Total
1897	19,060	40,148	971	9,426	2,341	37,399	111,904
1903	26,151	44,257	N/A	11,132	N/A	56,955	155,876
1913	41,680	45,962	4,073	25,096	9,690	76,288	214,672

Ethnic Groups

Population-2,075,000. 2007(est)

• Azeris 92.8% (1,925,600)
• Russians 4% (83,000)
• Turkish 2.1% (43,575)
• Other 1.1%

Religion

More than 90% of the residents of Baku practice various forms of Islam (majority Shia). A large minority of the population (about 4%) are Christians (majority Russian Orthodox Church, Georgian Orthodox Church and Molokans).

Economy

The basis of Baku's economy is petroleum. The existence of petroleum has been known since the 8th century. In the 10th century, the Arabian traveler, Marudee, reported that both white and black oil were being extracted naturally from Baku^[2]. By the 15th century oil for lamps was obtained from hand dug surface wells. Commercial exploitation began in 1872 , and by the beginning of the 20th century the Baku oil fields were the largest in the world. Towards the end of the 20th century much of the onshore petroleum had been exhausted, and drilling had extended into the sea offshore. By the end of the 19th century skilled workers and specialists flocked to Baku. By 1900 the city had more than 3,000 oil wells of which 2,000 of them were producing oil at industrial levels. Baku ranked as one of the largest centres for the production of oil industry equipment before WWII. The World War II Battle of Stalingrad was fought to determine who would have control of the Baku oil fields. Fifty years before the battle, Baku produced half of the world's oil supply: Azerbaijan and the United States are the only two countries ever to have been the world's majority oil producer. Currently the oil economy of Baku is undergoing a resurgence, with the development of the massive Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field (Shallow water Gunashli by SOCAR, deeper areas by a consortium lead by BP) and the Shah Deniz gas field. The old Inturist Hotel was one of Baku's largest, now being renovated, but overshadowed by the newer Hyatt Park, Hyatt Regency, Park Inn and Excelsior.

Baku Stock Exchange has been operating since February of 2001.

Transport and communication

As the largest town in the country, the city is served by the Heydar Aliyev International Airport and Baku Metro. There were once also trams There are two official taxi companies in the city: the yellow Star cabs and the white taxis with blue sign from "Azerq Taxis". The van buses stop at any point along that route when flagged down or told to stop. Shipping services operate regularly from Baku across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) in Turkmenistan and to Bandar Anzali and Bandar Nowshar in Iran. The city's main Internet providers are ADaNet and AzInternet Services.

Education

As Azerbaijan's centre of education, Baku boasts many universities and vocational schools. After Azerbaijan gained independence, the fall of Communism led to development of a number of private institutions. Baku also houses the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan founded here in 1945 .

Public universities

• Azerbaijan Medical University (founded 1930)
• Azerbaijan State Economic University (1930)
• Azerbaijan State Oil Academy (1920)
• Azerbaijan Technical University (1950)
• Azerbaijan University of Languages (1973)
• Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University (1975)
• Baku Academy of Music (1920)
• Baku Slavic University (1946)
• Baku State University (1919)

Private universities

• Azerbaijan International University (1997)
• Khazar University (1991)
• Odlar Yurdu University (1995)
• Qafqaz University (1992)
• Western University (1991)

Entertainment

Baku has a vibrant life regarding theatre, opera and ballet, drawing both from the rich local dramatic portfolio and from the international repertoire. The main movie theatre is "Azerbaijan Cinema". The Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, designed by architect N. G. Bayev, is one of the most ornate music halls in the city. The State Philharmonic Hall with excellent acoustic conditions often holds performances outside, in a pleasant park. The Carpet and Applied Arts Museum exhibits the carpets from all periods, styles and from both Azerbaijan proper and the Azeri provinces in Iran.

Heydar Aliyev Palace is one of the main venues featuring sizeable performances (e.g. that of Coolio], though it is currently closed for a major refurbishment. Some of the most popular discotheques and night clubs include, "X-site", "Capitol Night Club", "Hyatt Disco", Zagulba Disco Club and "Le Mirage". Most of them are open till the early hours of the morning. The "Capitol Night Club" is a lively night spot with gay elements, playing a blend of local, Russian and Western music, R&B, trance, europop and techno.

Most of the pubs and bars are located near Fountain Square and are usually open until the early hours of the morning. There are several British style pubs, among them "Corner bar, "Shakespeares" (reputed to serve the best pub food in Baku), "Finnigans" the "Rig bar", O'Malley's and the "Phoenix Bar". There is also a Jazz Club. The Baku International Jazz Festival is organized annually.

Notable beaches include Shikhovo and "One Thousand and One Nights".

Baku has applied to the International Olympic Committee to host the Olympics Games slated for 2016.

Sister cities

Baku currently has sixteen sister cities (aka "twin towns"):

Amman, Jordan Basra, Iraq Bordeaux, France Dakar, Senegal Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Houston, Texas, U.S.

Istanbul, Turkey İzmir, Turkey Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Konya, Turkey Mainz, Germany Naples, Italy

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Saint Petersburg, Russia Tabriz, Iran Vũng Tàu, Vietnam

Famous people from Baku

For more details on this topic, see .

• Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev, a prominent Azerbaijani composer
• Tahir Salahov, an Azerbaijani painter and draughtsman
• Vagit Alekperov, a founder of the leading Russian oil company LUKOIL
• Fikret Mashadi Jamil oghlu Amirov, Azerbaijani composer of the Soviet period
• Lev Landau, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics of 1962.
• Garri Kasparov, Vladimir Akopian, Tatiana Zatulovskaya, Emil Sutovsky, Elmar Magerramov and Teimour Radjabov, chess grandmasters.
• Lev Nussimbaum a prolific Jewish writer who reinvented himself as a Muslim under the pseudonyms Essad Bey and Kurban Said.
• Kerim Kerimov, head of Soviet space program for 25 years and one of the founders of the Soviet space industry.
• Uzeyir Hajibeyov, an Azerbaijani composer
• Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the most esteemed cellists of his generation.
• Muslim Magomayev, famous operatic and pop singer.
• Richard Sorge, Soviet spy, who acted as a German journalist in Nazi Germany, China and Japan.
• Lotfi Zadeh, inventor of fuzzy logic.
• Hovannes Adamian, an Armenian engineer, who designed the systems of black and white and color television.
• Mikayil Mushfig, an Azerbaijani poet
• Georgy Shakhnazarov, a Soviet politician and political scientist, one of the ideologs of Gorbachev's reforms.
• Huseyn Javid, an Azerbaijani poet and playwright
• Boris Babaian, an ethnic Armenian, is notable as the pioneering creator of supercomputers in the Soviet Union.
• Avet Terterian, an outstanding Armenian and Soviet composer.
• Yevgeny Petrosyan, one of the USSR's best-known comedians who has been entertaining Russians for more than four decades.
• Rustam Mammad Ibrahim oglu Ibrahimbeyov, Azerbaijani and Soviet screenwriter, dramatist and producer
• Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria, a Soviet politician and chief of the Soviet security and police apparatus
• Mehdi Huseynzade, an Azeri guerilla and scout during the Soviet-German War
• Hazi Ahad oglu Aslanov, an Azerbaijani Major-General of the Soviet armoured troops during World War II
• Alimardan Alekper oglu Topchubashev, a prominent Azerbaijani politician, foreign minister and speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
• Mammed Amin Rasulzade, an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Azerbaijan Republic
• Abbas Mirza Abdulrasul oglu Sharifzadeh, an Azerbaijani actor, film director and film editor
• Khalilullah I, (1417-1465), ruler of Shirvan
• Emanuel Nobel, oldest brother of Alfred Nobel
• Mustafa Barzani, a Kurdish nationalist leader and President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
• Samedbey Sadykhbey oglu Mehmandarov, General of the Artillery of the Russian tsarist army and Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
• Ludvig Nobel, a son of Immanuel Nobel and Alfred Nobel's second oldest brother

Gallery

Philharmonic Hall	Opera	Museum of Art	Puppet Theatre
City hall	Nizami Cinema	Baku Academy of Music	New office building
Wedding Palace	Academy of Sciences (Ismailiyya)	Maiden Tower	Street in oil boom-era Baku
Old city and soviet-era buildings	Renovated office of Bank Standart	Gates to the Old City	Yacht Club
Monument to Azeri participants on the Eastern Front of WWII

See also

• Baku Photo Gallery
• Second Baku
• Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

Notes

References

Sources

• Abbasov, Mazakhir. Baku During the Great Patriotic War.
• Madatov, G. Azerbaijan During the Great Patriotic War. Baku, 1975.

External links

• Azerbaijan Links
• UNESCO World Heritage Site listing: "Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower"
• Bakutürkleri
• Info on Baku
• Baku Pages
• Baku Hotels
• Population estimation
• American Embassy in Baku Azerbaijan
• British Embassy in Baku Azerbaijan
• Baku in Emporis
• Baku travel guide and photos
• Baku now known as Baky
• Satellite view and zooming (Google Maps)
• Baku Guide

•  • [ e] Capitals of Asia
Central Asia	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan Astana, Kazakhstan Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Dushanbe, Tajikistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan
East Asia	Beijing, People's Republic of China (China) Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan) Tokyo, Japan Pyongyang, North Korea Seoul, South Korea Ulan Bator, Mongolia
South Asia	Dhaka, Bangladesh Thimphu, Bhutan New Delhi, India Mal, Maldives Kathmandu, Nepal Islamabad, Pakistan Kotte (official, administrative) and Colombo (commercial), Sri Lanka
Southeast Asia	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Phnom Penh, Cambodia Dili, East Timor Jakarta, Indonesia Vientiane, Laos Kuala Lumpur (official) and Putrajaya (administrative), Malaysia Naypyidaw, Myanmar Manila, Philippines Singapore, Singapore Bangkok, Thailand Hanoi, Vietnam
Southwest Asia	Yerevan, Armenia Baku, Azerbaijan Manama, Bahrain Nicosia, Cyprus Tbilisi, Georgia Tehran, Iran Baghdad, Iraq Jerusalem, Israel Amman, Jordan Kuwait City, Kuwait Beirut, Lebanon Muscat, Oman Doha, Qatar Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Damascus, Syria Ankara, Turkey Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates San‘a’, Yemen
Disputed Region	Kabul, Afghanistan

•  • [ e] World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan
Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower