Baku to the Future

Quick: What’s the first thing that pops into your head when I say Azerbaijan?

I’ll tell you what didn’t pop into mine before I visited: modern.

How very wrong I was.

Let’s start with the obvious: Flame Towers. When you arrive in Baku, it is impossible not to notice these newly-constructed and overwhelmingly large buildings, looming over the city like giant testaments to Azerbaijan’s new money. At night they light up for hours in a virtual show that makes the seaside promenade feel so much more…alive. (Don’t believe this light trick works? See also: the Bund.)

Another metaphor for Azerbaijan’s attempts to become an international power are Crystal Hall and the giant flag next to it. Crystal Hall was built specifically for the Eurovision Song Contest they hosted this year; in the month that I was in Azerbaijan, the venue played host to J.Lo, Rihanna, and Shakira.

The flag, standing at 162 meters, held the Guinness World Record for tallest unsupported flagpole…for all of a year. Apparently a flag in Tajikistan now has the title, but not all the Azeris were informed — many would still point it out and inform me, with a proud smile, that this was the tallest flag in the world.

Most of the architecture in Baku was in the typical Azeri style, but newer buildings clearly had an outside influence. Below, from left to right: Park Bulvar Mall, Trump Tower, and the Baku Business Center.

Even the metro stations were pretty modern. In most cities, subway station exits appear to be bare-bones entryways; they are simply there to serve a purpose, not to look pretty. Not in Baku — I’ve never seen such detail put into a metro’s exterior appearance.

While we’re on the subject on transport: Baku’s taxi fleets, while not entirely lacking in old Soviet-era cars, were also surprisingly Western due to what I dubbed their “purple cabs” — taxis that look and drive just like London’s famous black cabs, except painted in a lovely shade of eggplant.

And I mean, can you really call yourself a “metropolitan city” if you don’t have at least a couple punk drivers who can’t park and insist on driving hideous cars fitted with spoilers and custom license plates?

Baku also had some very notable Western influences — for instance, (surprisingly well-hidden) mini-Venetian canals like this one, which I stumbled upon while walking through a small park. Or the influx of designer brands…for babies.

Baku held an international humanitarian forum while I was in town, as well as various conferences by international news agencies, NGOs, and even a French tourism board. It might all be for show, it might not be — either way, it appears Azerbaijan is trying to turn around about its reputation regarding human rights and become a more open country.

Of course, governments can do all the showing and telling they want, but you really haven’t changed anything in the people’s eyes until you have J. Lo come over and perform in front of 30,000 people, and Inter Milan fly into the city for a Europa League game against Azerbaijani team Neftchi Baku.

But regardless of everything else, what made the greatest impression on me — as they always do — were the lights. When dusk falls and a city becomes an illuminated silhouette of itself — to me, that’s when a city feels the most metropolitan and modern.