|
|
Day
1
(September 24, 2017) Azerbaijan: Baku
Before
Our flight, which started the previous day, is
scheduled to arrive at Baku by 5:30 AM. We’ll have the entire day to
explore the city but, based on our experience, we’ll probably want to
spend a big part of it to rest.
With this, our plan for this day is not ambitious:
exploring the Old City, where our hotel is located.
The spots marked at the map are:
0- Hotel Seven Rooms
1- Palace of the Shirvanshahs
2- Maiden Tower
3- Flame Towers
4- Martyrs' Lane
5- Carpet Museum
|
After
We could barely sleep this night in our flights,
as we expected. So we arrive at Baku very tired. Immigration procedures
are short and, after agreed 35 AZN with the taxi driver for our ride to
the hotel, we’re in the reception desk by 6 AM.
Unfortunately, they cannot give us any room until
noon, so we make time exploring the beautiful Old City, which is empty
at this early time. We walk all around the Old City to check the wall
is quite completed.
 
The only people we can see in our walks are the ones that are
cleaning the streets. There are a lot of them, which is the explains
why the city is looking that clean that, even in cobbled streets like
the ones in this Old City, we cannot see even a tiny paper between the
stones.
 
It’s around 8 AM when we’re suggested where we
could get our breakfast by the guy in the reception desk: we can get a
buffet breakfast in the top floor of Sultan Inn Hotel by 10 AZN each.
It’s a good breakfast and, besides, this restaurant has wonderful
views. Maiden Tower is very close and we can save climbing to its top
as we’ve just got the same views here.
 
We’re told from our hotel we could get a room by
10 AM and, after a last walk, which seems to take the rest of our
strength from us, we wait in the small hotel hall half slept until we
can get our room, where we give up any plans on our bed.
It’s around 6 PM when we leave the hotel and we
have just an hour of daylight in front of us, but as we have now full
battery we walk following a reference that cannot be missed: the Flame
Towers. We can check now the cleaning we could see by the morning is
not something specific of that time as streets keep looking shimmering
and there is still a lot of people cleaning them now too, even out of
the Old City.
 
In our way up to the towers we can see a large
white staircase with the best views of the bay and part of the city.
The night takes us here, which allows us to enjoy the bay before and
after the lights are on in the city.
 
We keep walking to this path where take us to a
temple
with fire: the Martyr’s Monument. From there we take our way back
through the Martyr’s Lane, which ends at Flame Towers feet.
 
Once back in the Old City, and already fallen in
love of
this city, we choose Restaurant Mebo for our diner. It is at the top of
a building, so we get some night views there. We eat lamb ribs with
chips, rolls of meat on vine leaves, a Caesar salad and our first plov
by 54 AZN in total (around 27€).
Well satisfied with the diner and the walk we can see lovely days
coming in Baku as we’re reaching the hotel to sleep until tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
