Baku

Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı), sometimes known as Baky or Baki, is the capital of Azerbaijan. It is located on the southern shore of the Apsheron Peninsula, at Template:Coor dm. Modern Baku consists of three parts: the Old Town (İçəri Şəhər), the boomtown and the Soviet-built town. Population (2003 census): 1,900,000¹. About 3 million people live in metropolitan area (due to large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons).

The layout of the city is rectangular, only in the oldest part of the city within the fortress walls the streets are crooked and narrow. The boomtown, south of the old city, was built after massive petroleum exploitation began nearly a century ago and has interesting beaux-arts architecture. Fine arts, history and literature museums are located there, all housed in the mansions of pre-Revolutionary millionaires.

Modern Baku spreads out from the city walls, its streets and buildings rising up hills that rim the Bay of Baku. Greater Baku is divided into 11 districts (Azizbayov, Binagadi, Garadagh, Narimanov, Nasimi, Nizami, Sabail, Sabunchu, Khatai, Surakhany and Yasamal) and 48 townships. Among these are townships on islands in the bay and one island town built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 50-100 kilometres from Baku proper (the so-called Oil Rocks).

1 History
2 Climate
3 Economy
4 Education
- 4.1 Public Universities
- 4.2 Private Universities
5 Sister cities
6 Famous people from Baku
7 Notes
8 External links

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History

Baku's name is thought to orginate from one of two Persian phrases: Bagh-Kuh ("Mount of God") and bad kube ("city of winds").

The history of Baku dates back to 1st millennium BCE, with the earliest written evidence from 6th century CE, however. The city was the location of an important fire temple of the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which was prevalent before the Islamic conquest of Iran.

The first written reference to Baku dates from 885, although archaeologists have found remains of a settlement predating by several centuries the birth of Jesus. The city became important after an earthquake destroyed Shemakha and in the 12th century, leading Shirvanshah Ahistan I to made Baku the new capital. 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.

The center of Baku is the old town, which is also a fortress. In December 2000, the "Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower" (called the "inner town") 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, survive. This section is picturesque, with its maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings. Wander the cobbled streets past the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, two caravansaraies (ancient inns), the 11th century 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. Image:Baku Maiden Tower.jpg During World War II ten defense zones were built around the city to prevent possible German invasion.

The Martyrs' Cemetery, formerly the Kirov park, is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives during the war with Armenia and also to the 137 people who were killed on January 19 and 20, 1990 when Soviet tanks and troops took to the streets of Baku. Photographs of victims featured on each tombstone are sobering and poignant. Now 20 January has become a national holiday of deep emotional meaning.

In 2003, UNESCO placed the Walled 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]

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Climate

Baku was one of very few places where Soviet citizens could actually enjoy beaches or relax in now-dilapidated spa complexes overlooking the salty Caspian Sea. The climate is hot and dry in the summer, cool and wet in the winter, when 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 metres below sea level, and temperatures on the coast rarely drop to freezing. The average annual temperature of Baku and that of the Earth come together to the tenth portions (14.2ºC)². The average temperature in July is +26ºC, in January +3ºC while the precipitation is 180-300 mm a year. 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.).

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Economy

Image:Baku-satellite view.jpg The basis of Baku's economy is petroleum. The existence of petroleum has been known since the 8th century. 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. 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. As the largest town in the country, the city is served by the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. 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.

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Education

As Azerbaijan's center 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.

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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)
Baku Slavic University (1946)
Baku State University (1919)

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Private Universities

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

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Sister cities

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

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Famous people from Baku

Image:Baku 1.jpg

Prominent Chess Grandmasters hailing from Baku include Garry Kasparov and Teimour Radjabov
Lev Davidovich Landau [2] was born in Baku on January 22 1908. He won The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1962 for his pioneering theories for condensed matter, especially liquid helium.
Mstislav Rostropovich [3] was born in Baku on March 27 1927. He is one of the most esteemed cellists of his generation.
Richard Sorge [4], one of the greatest spies in modern history, was born in 1895 in Baku. Acting as a German journalist in Germany, China and Japan he passed vital information to the Soviet intelligence agencies.
Genrich Altshuller lived and worked in Baku since he was 5 years old. Genrich Altshuller is the father of TRIZ (TIPS) system, inventor and author.
Lotfi Zadeh, inventor of fuzzy logic, was born in Baku on 4 February 1921, grew up in Iran, and is now (2005) a professor of computer science at University of California, Berkeley.
Kerim Kerimov, head of Soviet space program for 25 years and one of the founders of the Soviet space industry, was born in Baku on 14 November 1917.