The Flame Towers of Baku are the most famous installation in the city and the pride of the city. These three towers are part of a complex on the hill overlooking the old town and most of downtown. Although security now keeps people away from most of the structure, unless you have a reservation at the nice hotel that inhabits one of the towers, you can still visit the park across the street to view it up close. But, mainly, the towers are for appreciating from afar, most effectively from the marine drive, where there is a clear view of the three towers.

Easily my favorite restaurant in Baku, this place has everything. It’s cheap and cheerful. This is the place to try Azerbaijani food and get a bit of everything, knowing that it will be a good example of what these dishes should be. We ended up here two of our four nights in the city, and honestly, we should have been here all four. The dishes are local prices and I would suggest ordering 2-4 for the table and sampling before trying any more. The best from memory would be the sadj (BBQ meat and vegetables brought to the table sizzling), the tolma (stuffed grape leaves) and the pomegranate wine.

Baku’s carpet museum is a famous installation along the marine drive. The exhibits encompass weavings, tapestries and carpets from all over the region and through a fair amount of history. Plaques describe the stories in the patterns as well as the stories of the development of the art. The most famous part of this museum is the building itself, resembling a rolled carpet well over 100 meters in length.

There are so many good restaurants around downtown Baku. Knowing a few good menu items and keywords will get you a good meal every night of the week here. Kichik Qala is a street on the edge of the walled city lined with wonderful restaurants. Glass windows show the kitchens and the tandoor ovens where the smell of fresh bread wafts out into the street. Pick any stop along the way and work your way through the menu.

The Maiden Tower is one of the main sites of the historic section of Baku. Across from it lies several ruins, a caravansary, an ancient bath complex and a cafe. This cafe is one of the best views in the city. From here, you can watch the people coming and going to the tower, haggling with the carpet merchants of the square and wandering about the ruins of the old baths. The food is okay, nothing special, but you can easily get a coffee, tea, shisha or something else to sit and pass the time with some of the best people watching in the city.

The Museum of Miniature Books is a really cool find in Baku It offers a very unique collection and is free to visit. Here, various displays have books written and illustrated on a few square inches organized by language, age, subject and more. Follow the flags atop the shelves to find the literature in your language and work it out from there.

A strange addition to the waterfront of Baku, Mini-Venice is a collection of manmade canals and waterways outside of a restaurant. Here, you can hire a boat to take you around the various waters, just like in its namesake Venice. Otherwise, indulge in the overpriced but really good restaurant, and watch the tourists go by from the terrace on the water.

Yanar Dag is home to the fires of the mountain, or the leaking gas from the earth that is constantly alight and has been for centuries. This spot has become far more touristy in recent years, but that’s because it’s truly a sight to see. One of the most interesting facts about Yanar Dag is that the fires had to be covered by earth during WWII to hide the city from the air. The city of Baku hid its lights to hide itself from the air but the constant flames burning from the hills provided a waypoint for enemy pilots to find the targets on the ground.

One of the oldest remnants of the old silk road and the fire worshippers that inhabited the region before Baku came to prominence, Atashgah Fire Temple is a must-visit on any itinerary to Azerbaijan. The temple is formed like an old camp. The boundary wall houses various rooms around a central temple that the sacred flame, which until recently was naturally lit by gas from the earth. Today, the fires are artificial but light the same places that they did for centuries.

Ramana Castle is a fascinating find in the territories surrounding Baka, Azerbaijan. This is a privately owned bit of history on the peninsula. Ask anyone walking by and they will find the family that owns the property to unlock the door to let you in. Once inside, roughly hewn staircases, balconies with no safety barriers, and platforms that bend when you step on them will help you reach the top level of the castle and see the views of the oil fields below.

Gobustan is a fascinating bit of history buried out in the desert southwest of Baku. Here, thousands of petroglyphs are dotted about the landscape. Some are excavated, some naturally protected by caves and outcroppings, and some are out on the bare stone fading after thousands of years of exposure. The area is famous for its history, and Gobustan makes it easy to get a grasp of the length of time people have lived here as well as the conditions and way of life of the people at that time. Tickets for foreigners are 10AZN or about USD$7.

Mud volcanos can be found throughout the Baku region and the east of Azerbaijan. These are really interesting geological sites but don’t expect a volcano in the traditional sense. Most of the time, these are small mounds of grey clay spewed out when combined with the geothermic activity below. They are more like geysers or hot springs found out in the desert, but the water combines with the silt and sand on the way to the surface to create fascinating, bulbous, muddy formations.

A beautiful mosque out on a cliff overlooking the oil industry below, this place holds a special spot in the religious community of Baku. The building is recently renovated, but each room is gorgeous. It is known as a mosque but the main chamber of the building is a tomb. There is no sanctuary, no main room, no prayer space. The tomb is said to be home to the remains of a direct descendant of Muhammed. So, although it is not a true mosque in the architectural or functional sense, it is one of the most important Islamic buildings in the city.

“Modern Meets Ancient in Baku, Azerbaijan” by Creed Evans was originally published on Wanderdash (follow Creed @creedevans)