It is only a few steps from the shoreline promenade in Baku along the Caspian Sea to the landmark symbol of Azerbaijan's capital. The roughly 30-metre-high Virgin Tower in the old town centre, which has been declared a world cultural heritage site by Unesco, does not escape one's notice on the broad shopping mile.
A breeze blows in from the shoreline over waters darkened by petroleum, making the air smell something like a car repair garage. Icheri Sheher is the name of the historical inner walled city district under protection, where, next to the old tower there are old temples and minarets, palaces of the ruling Khans, as well as a great many restaurants, cafes and hotels.
Old town director Mikhail Yabarov is expecting an onslaught of tourists when the Eurovision Song Contest is staged in Baku in the latter half of May. It is in Icheri Sheher that the artists and artisans make their home.
The old city centre, endangered by earthquakes, has for a long time now been in a desolate state and threatened by decay, Yabarov says. He explains how difficult it has been to try to find a compromise between the monument protection demands of Unesco and the conditions of everyday life in the southern Caucasus.
“The city is a living organism. We can't just live here as if in the Middle Ages,” he argues. The narrow alleys are above all familiar to the fans of films of the former Soviet imperial era. Film directors have used the old settings and the worldly Islam of the city to add some spice of the exotic to their movies.
Yabarov points out that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin once wanted to destroy it all. But then other problems cropped up - and the Kremlin boss in faraway Moscow forgot about old Baku.
Today, many people believe that the Icheri Sheher district has what it takes to be a world-class tourism destination. However, a lot remains to be accomplished when it comes to infrastructure, cultural offerings, and management.
And the capital's prices in the authoritarian-ruled country are considered to be on the high side. Going back to the 1930s a lively jazz scene evolved in Icheri Sheher, the most prominent personality in it being Vagif Mustafazadeh (1940-1979). To this day, the spirit of the artistic scene is felt in many pubs, shops and museums in Baku.
In the midst of the architectural monuments one sees merchants selling hand-woven carpets made of wool and silk, along with all kinds of oriental trinkets. Women in native costumes can be seen baking pita bread with sesame seeds in an earthen oven near the walled city's stone gates.
The best panoramic view of the city is from the spire of The Virgin, which most researchers agree dates back to the 12th Century. For many of Baku's 2 million residents the stone cylindrical tower is a romantic symbol of love and purity.
According to one legend, a beautiful maiden once plunged to her death from the tower out of love for a fisherman. Old town director Yabarov, in any event, is convinced that the historic ruins found around the tower, as well as the old bath house, the palace of the Shirvanshah Dynasty and the many Islamic and Jewish religious structures will in the future attract many more people from areas outside the former Soviet Union.
And it does not escape one's notice that there is no lack of money in the Azerbaijani capital. Everywhere you look in the wealthiest city of the southern Caucasus, which in its way is like a Dubai on the Caspian Sea, new glass and steel buildings are towering above the old city area.
But it is from the old town that the path to the promenade where there are cafes and kiosks is the shortest one. From there, one's view sweeps outward past the uncongested coastline to the sea. - Sapa-dpa