The symbol of Baku, Maiden Tower is situated in the south-east part of "Icheri Shahar". Some of the scientists suppose that the Tower was built in two different periods. The lower part of the tower with smooth wall up to 12 meters is older and dates back to the VIII-VII centuries BC. The upper part surrounded with stone was built later. The height of the tower is 31meters from the north and 28meters from the south. The diameter of the Tower is 16 meters on the ground floor. The Tower consists of 8 floors. The ground floor of the Tower is 3meters high, the eight of the other floors is 2,5 meters.
Shirvanshah Palace was built in Baku in the 15th century for the rulers of Shirvan with transferring capital from Shemakha to Baku. The main building is the palace, which was built in 1411 by Shirvan-Shah Sheikh Ibrahim I. The complex includes the two- story building of the palace, the tomb, the mosque, the divanhane, the mausoleum of Sayyid Yahya Bakuvi, the bath, the eastern portal and the gate. The two- story building of the palace consists of about fifty different rooms, of the 25 rooms on the second floor 16 have survived. The ground floor of the building, which was used by servants. In 1964 the complex was declared a museum and taken under state protection.
One of the most interesting and historical monuments near Baku is the fire temple of Indian fire-worshippers, called Ateshgah. It is located not far from the sea, to the south- east of the village of Surakhani on the Absheron Peninsula. The cells and the temple were constructed at different times between the 17 th and 19 th centuries. Ateshgah was constructed by Indians living in Baku who came from Northern India and were the Sikh community. All the buildings consist of 24 cells and rooms. There are more Indian writings on the ground floor above the entrance door. The history of Atashgah goes back to the time of the Sassanids.
Qobustan the open- air museum is located 60 kilometers from Baku. Archaeologists found more than 6,000 drawings on 1,000 rocks, ancient caves there. There are a lot of pictures of dancing men, women and animals. These rock paintings reflect the culture, economy, traditions of ancient people.“Qobu” means “a place hidden from people’s eyes” in Azerbaijani. The oldest images belong to the Mesolithic era, but the scientists suppose that life existed there much earlier and can be dated far back. There are Latin inscriptions in ancient drawings which discovered dating back the 1st century AD.
26 years after the construction of "Atababa" the most outstanding Nahchivan landmark, the Mausoleum of Momine-Khatun, also known as Home Atabey. The mausoleum was a medieval skyscraper 34 meters tall. Today its height 25 meters. The Mausoleum constructed and named in the honor of local ruler Atabey Jahan Pehlivan's wife. A complex is decorated with pattern and quotes from the Koran. The mausoleum is round inside. The Mausoleum of Momine-Khatun is distinguished by imperial grandeur. This is one of the most monumental buildings of the Azerbaijani architecture.
The Azykh cave is situated on the south-eastern slope of the Garabakh upland in the territory of Azerbaijan and at the boundary with South Azerbaijan where the Araz river cuts the slopes of the Caucasus and the Mil-Mugan steppes. The cave is on the left bank of the Kuruchay river, 900 m above sea level. The south-western and the north-western parts of the valley are surrounded by meadows, the north and south parts by forests. A jaw bone found in 1968 is thought more 300,000 years old and thus one of the oldest proto-human remains found in this part of the world. Its discovery gave rise to the term Azykh Man.
Ganja fortress is located in the city centre near the Khan Garden. In the 16th century, the Ganja region was a battle field for Ottoman-Safavid wars. Ganja Fortress, which was known as “a shield that all Asians ”, was built by the commander of Turkish troops in the Caucasus, Ferhat Pasha. The total length of the wall was 3.6 km and height meters. Famous Ganja Gate was used as gate to the fortress.
Khinalig is an ancient Caucasian village going back to the Caucasian Albanian period. It is located high up in the north mountains of Quba Rayon in Azerbaijan that divides Russia and the South Caucasus. Khinalig is also the highest, most remote and isolated village in Azerbaijan and the highest in the Caucasus. The population of Khinalig is about 2,000 people. This group of people speaks the Khinalig language, which belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language family, although many speak Azerbaijani well.