Reader’s Digest UK – July 2019

CASPIAN MYSTIQUE

today’s oil money rather than a

century ago.

I can’t get too exercised about this.

The history of a place transcends its

buildings. Late one morning

I enter the Taze Bey Hammam, a

traditional Turkish bath that has

operated continuously for more than

a century. I find myself in a hallway

decorated with wood carvings,

mounted animals, photos, and other

miscellanea. The place smells like

Turkish cigarettes.

I check in and trade my clothes

for a towel. As I step into the sauna

I catch my breath: It’s the hottest

I’ve ever felt. “A hundred degrees,”

the attendant tells me—and he isn’t

talking Fahrenheit.

Heat, a plunge in cold water, and

I’m led into a steam room. Through

mist I see an attendant holding leafy

branches under a fountain. When

he shakes them over me, the water

droplets give a shiver of pleasure. He

proceeds to rhythmically whip the

leaves over my arms and back. I close

my eyes and consider the thousands

of men who over centuries have

submitted to the same treatment.

Rarely have I felt such a living

connection with the past. When the

session finishes, it takes me a moment

to recall where I am. And who.

“IS THAT A VOLGA?” I ask Elnur

Babayev. He nods, then points. “And

that is a Pobeda from the 1950s.”

The vintage Soviet cars are

and beautiful and ugly and crowded
is because of oil.”
The elaborate oil residences
include Mukhtarov’s Mansion,
a rendition of a Venetian palace
that now hosts weddings, and the
Hajinski Mansion, which houses
luxury shops and apartments.
They appear to have been built with

94

LODGING Baku has about 150 hotels.

Budget-friendly Premier Old Gates

Hotel cosies things up with Azeri

carpets and arabesque wallpaper;

upper rooms have views of the

Caspian Sea and Baku’s old city walls.

Doubles £58. The Fairmont Baku

Flame Towers offers floor-to-ceiling

windows and modern décor. Doubles

from £125.

DINING Meat dishes are served in Silk

Road style at tapestry-filled Manqal,

Kichik Gala Street 126, average bill is

under £10. Tiny and always full, Piti-

Haneh is a word-of-mouth eatery

known for its pork dishes. Kutab

(stuffed flat-bread) and other street

foods fill kiosks by the city gates.

SHOPPING Azerbaijan’s legacy as a

crossroad of cultures comes alive at

the Taza Bazaar, a market selling

aromatic spices, dried fruits, cheeses,

local teas, and seafood.

More information azerbaijan.travel

TRAVEL TIPS

90 • JULY 2019