Visa-free spontaneous overseas travel destination—Azerbaijan (Part 2)

In the previous part, we talked about some preparations before departing for Azerbaijan. Now, let's talk about Azerbaijan's capital—Baku!

➡️The landmark Flame Towers under the night sky, with flowing lights and interwoven shadows, give the buildings the power to cast magic.

➡️The pure white streamlined design, resembling waves in a minimalist style, makes the Heydar Aliyev Center display a breathtaking beauty. The architect also left her works in the Guangzhou Opera House and Beijing Daxing International Airport during her short life...

➡️Every corner in Baku Old City tells a silent story in photos. In 2000, Baku Old City was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site. The warmth of the stone walls conveys the timeworn beauty of the Shirvanshah Palace. Love and fate have allowed the Maiden Tower to be reborn amid the vicissitudes. The lion-head paintings stand quietly on the gray walls, replacing painters and attracting passing tourists.

➡️Highland Park has smoothed over the former smoke of war. The eternal flame of peace burns day and night in the Flame Towers, bringing hope and tranquility. The bustling streets reflect the city's prosperity, and Baku at night is just perfect for a high vantage point view.

➡️The Azerbaijan National History Museum, built by a generation of oil tycoons whose wealth was swept away by the tides of time, opens its once luxurious mansion to the public as a museum. Precious artifacts and historical materials showcase Azerbaijan's rich culture.

➡️The Taza Pir Mosque, built during the Shirvanshah dynasty, is located in the city's garden. The patterns on the dome wander in the light and shadow, and one can almost hear the melodious chanting.

➡️The Gobustan Historical Center, a World Cultural Heritage site, features rock paintings left thousands of years ago on rocks polished by wind and sand. With tectonic fissures, mud volcanoes erupting mud mixed with natural gas pile up into small hills on the ground, resembling an otherworldly scene from a movie. The profound experience of travel is embodied here—reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles.

➡️At the center of the Fire Temple is a flame altar that has burned continuously for centuries. Discovered by passing caravans in the 17th century, it later became a sacred site of Zoroastrianism. The Ming Cult in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" originated from Zoroastrianism; I wonder if the book's narrative is somewhat related to this.

➡️Azerbaijan Food Highlights
1️⃣Start your first meal of the day in Baku Old City. The three places I visited were all delicious, never a miss. Quietly enjoy the "slow" time in the Old City;
2️⃣Avoid the daytime heat; the Mugam Club Restaurant, located in an open-air ancient building, is more suitable for dinner;
3️⃣Wine lovers cannot miss Savalan Wine House, where a feast with seven bottles of wine kicked off today;
4️⃣Don’t underestimate Nar & Sharab by the seaside. With nearly a hundred tables in sight, it is fully packed on weekends;
5️⃣Shirvanshah Museum Restaurant must be booked in advance! Traditional music performances every day make the whole restaurant come alive;
6️⃣Atashgah, right next to the Fire Temple, attracted our attention with its traditional decor style;
7️⃣Chinar’s flavors span multiple cuisines, gathering Chinese, Thai, Japanese dishes... Pausing to gaze at the blue brick path, the Qin warrior statues in the courtyard seem to tell me this restaurant might be from China. Crossing mountains and rivers, crossing borders, the memory of food remains on the delicacies on the plate. No words are needed; just finish the delicious food in front of you to fix Chinar’s legendary status on the palate.