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This tapering 29m stone tower is Baku’s foremost architectural icon. Possibly millennia old, its original date of construction is the subject of much debate, though much of the present structure appears to be 12th century. The Azeri name, Qiz Qalasi, is usually rendered ‘maiden’s tower’ in English, leading to plenty of patently fictitious fairy tales. A popular version has a wealthy ruler falling in love with his own daughter. He asks the girl to marry him. Revolted by the thought of incest but unable to disobey her father she stalls, commanding that he build her a tower high enough to survey the full extent of his domain before she decides. When it’s finally complete she climbs to the roof and throws herself off.
A better translation of Qiz Qalasi would be ‘virgin tower’, alluding to military impenetrability rather than any association with tragic females. It was certainly an incredibly massive structure for its era, with walls 5m thick at the base and an unusual projecting buttress. Today, the eight-storey interior contains some old photographs, a souvenir shop and a costume photography opportunity (AZN10 extra), but the highlight is the rooftop viewpoint surveying Baku Bay and the Old City.