Tourist Guide Baku
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is located on the western shore of the Apsheron
Peninsula on the Caspian Sea. With about 2 million people, it’s the largest
city in the country.
The origin of the name “Baku” is generally explained as coming from
the Persian word Bagh-Kuh, meaning the Mount of God. Another explanation is
from the Persian word "bad kube", meaning "Hit by winds".
Baku is a real ancient settlement: archaeologists have found remains of a settlement
predating by several centuries the birth of Jesus. However, the first written
reference to Baku dates from 885.
Persia controlled the area by the 11th century, though for a period during the
13th and 14th centuries it fell under Mongols control. In 1723 Baku was conquered
by Peter I the Great, the czar of Russia, but it was returned to Persia in 1735.
Russia captured again the town in 1806 and in 1920 it became the Azerbaijan’s
capital.
Baku's main product is without any doubt petroleum. The existence of the “black
gold” has been known since the 8th century and about fifty years before
the World War II, Baku produced half of the world's oil supply.
Today, Baku can be divided into three main parts: the Old Town (a fortress which,
in December 2000, has become the first location in Azerbaijan classified as
world cultural site by UNESCO), the boomtown and the Soviet-built town.
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