Azerbaijan is the Land of Fire. Its naturally burning flames were worshipped for centuries by Zoroastrians. Their religion, one of the world’s oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Persian prophet Zarathustra. which predicted the triumph of good over evil, had already fascinated me when I was visiting the Towers of Silence, a Zoroastrian excarnation place close to the Iranian city of Yazd. But the first thing I saw when I visited Azerbaijan on my way from my then home in Iran to Georgia in 1999 were dozens flaring fires of the Baku oil fields, burning off excess gas next to the rusty oil pump jacks. The picture of the archaic-looking industrial landscape next to the almost black, oily waters of the Caspian Sea were now bearing witness to two opposite things: To the tragedy of an ecological disaster and to the grand history of Azerbaijan as the oldest oil producing region in the world. Fire was also the symbol of the capital Baku, symbolised since 2012 by the three architecturally stunning Flame Towers rising today above its skyline. 

At the time of my two visits in 1999 and 2007, there were no Flame Towers yet, but I was on fire about Baku’s fascinating old city: Enclosed by mighty fortress walls I strolled through its narrow-winding lanes and forgotten alleyways and ate delicious rice in a Shah Plov (meaning ‘king’s pilaf‘). From the old town I went down towards the Caspian Sea along tree-lined streets with crumbling mansions dating from the first oil-boom era. In a side street the red rose an old lady was selling were the only colours beyond grey. Communism still felt much closer than gentrification. In the seaside park where dozens pof couples were enjoying the afternoon breeze I discovered a stunning building which could have been the inspiration for the Sydney Opera. Fortunately it doubled as restaurant: For the first time I tried Lule kebab, an Aero specialty of grilled minced lamb mixed with lemon, salt, spices, and herbs. 

The next day I visited the Maiden Tower and learned about its 20 legends. I can only remember the one where I again encountered the Zoroastrians and their passion for fire: They had believed that the Maiden Tower used to be a fire temple which had 7 fire exits on the top of the tower. According to Zoroastrians belief there are 7 steps to reach heaven.