The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2022 - Issue 32

bitetravel T he Republic of Azerbaijan shone a light on its country when it won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with Ell and Nikki’s ‘Running Scared’. The transcontinen- tal country is considered a turkic state and part of the Middle East, Eastern Europe or Western Asia. Baku, the cap- ital and the largest city in the country, gets its name, ‘City of Winds’, from the ancient Persian word Bādkube, meaning ‘pounding winds’ because it’s usually windy throughout most of the year. Baku is a large scientific, cultural and industrial centre; its ancient foundations make it one of the East's oldest and most significant cities. The capital city sits on the Caspian Sea shore in the south of the Absheron peninsula and covers an area of 2,200 square kmwith a population of 5 million. Baku was first mentioned in the Book of the Dead by the Egyptian Pharaoh Minesan in 3,200 BC. The ancient age is found in stone carv- ings dating back 12,000 years and archaeological excavations. It was also discovered in a stone carving by August Guy Oc- tavio, who reflected the stationing of a military camp under Roman emperors Pompey and Lucius’ rule near the city to seize the southern Caucasus in the first century. The Old City preserved much of its 12th-century defensive walls with ev- idence of Zoroastrian, Sassanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman and Russian presence. Maiden Tower and Shirvan- shah Palace are the city’s most ancient monuments. The dark and enigmatic cylinder-shaped Maiden Tower looks out to the sea from the southern edge of Baku’s old walled city, Icherisheher. Its construction date is shrouded in mystery; some believe it was built in the 4th to 6th centuries due to the stone type used. Others think it’s the 11th century because of an inscription 14 metres high that reads ‘Qubbeye Masud ibn Davud’ in old Arabic script. The word ‘qubbe’ means tower, and Madud ibn Davud may have been the architect’s name. Another theory is its connection to the goddesses Mitra and Anahita; therefore, a Zoroastrian temple built under the in- fluence of Capiana and Midiya temple towers, part of the an- cient fire city Ateshi Baquan. Maiden Tower may have been a watch tower built with the Baku fortress walls in the Middle Ages as a defensive mechanism or an observatory in the 12th century, with the stone protrusion on the upper and lower part of the tower presenting the days of the month. Heydar Aliyev Centre