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“Baku Acropolis”, “ Old City ”, “Inner City” – all these names are applied to this unique architectural complex located right in Baku center. “Icheri Sheher” is the city's heart. It is the birthplace of ancient Baku . The city was growing and in the 12 th century in was surrounded by the fortified walls. This is why “Icheri Sheher” is sometimes referred to as a fortress.
Behind dilapidated walls you can see numerous unique monuments: Shirvan Dynasty Palace and Tomb, divankhane, mosque; “Hys Halasy” (“ Maiden Tower ”); mosques and minarets, remains of caravanserais, bath. The buildings of the old fortress are distinguished by their special features. Due to the lack of space the buildings used to be erected on “wall-to-wall” principle. You won't see any gardens there; the yards are extremely small and are separated by “threads” of the narrow streets, passages and dead ends.
The wall itself is special indeed. There used to be two of them around Baku and they were separate by moats. However, in the early 19 th century the city's growth was so rapid that it was decided to demolish the outer wall and build dwelling houses instead. The inner wall is still there with 25 towers and 5 gates.
They say that in the 1930s the fortress consisted of 900 buildings but only half of them survived by the early 21st century.
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