Maiden Tower

Many attractions and monuments around the world have become instantly recognizable symbols of the cities in which they are found. Thus, it is impossible to imagine Paris without its Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited tourist attractions worldwide. The well-known Statue of Liberty personifies New York and the U.S/ And surely almost everyone who comes to London will have a photo taken against the backdrop of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben, just as all who visit Moscow go to the Red Square to take a picture of St.Basil’s Cathedral and the domes of the Kremlin. For Baku, such a symbol is Maiden Tower, an ancient building which had been included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Rearing majestically against the panorama of Baku Bay, its distinctive contour is a notable feature of the centuries-old citadel. The aim of the annual Maiden Tower International Art Festival is to unite a great number of people around this unique, miraculously preserved historical monument, which dates from the 12th century.

There is a version that , Maiden Tower had been erected in two stages:  the lower part of the monument  was constructed in the VIII-VII centuries, and the upper part was completed in the XII century. The height of the tower is 31 meters from the north and 28 meters from the south.  The thickness of the walls at the foundation is 5 meters, and in the upper part 4 meters. The general view of a construction supplements the counterfort, which was a support of the Maiden tower. Tower locates on the coast rock and consists of 8 floors. Each of the eight floors is covered with the stone cupola. The ground floor of the Tower is 3 meters high, the height of the other floors is on the average 2.5 meters. The connection between the floor is supported by staircases built in the thickness of the south-eastern wall of the tower. Connection between floors was possible only by lowering the rope or ladder through the circular hole on the ceiling.

One of the interesting features in the construction structure of the Maiden Tower is a well dug out on a rock, which has 21 meters deep. Chemical analysis also proved that water in the well is good for drinking.

There are different thoughts about functional purpose and date of construction of the Maiden Tower. This tower is called a temple of fire worshippers, defensive tower, observatory, Zorastrian hut and so on. In 1964 the Maiden Tower became a museum. During restoration works it was implemented one quite unusual project. It will be a question of live history of the stone chronicle- about swifts, which during last 30-40 years have constructed about 250 nests in holed of the destroyed walls. Swifts, or Apus apus, are migrant birds who flight to Baku in April , get prosperity , and in August go back to South Africa. For to preserve the nests it was decided to move swifts into a nearby building on façade of which was constructed an alternative housing of 500 artificial cells. An interesting point was that the most part of the Maiden Tower should be covered with a white fabric to move birds. Now, when the issue of protection of environment is very much urgent, this project was one of the largest in the world.

In 2015, Maiden tower took part in a competition of the best museum a year of European Museum Forum and was nominated among 44 museums of the Europe.

Numismatics exhibition

Our museum is located in the mosque called "Chin" which dates back to the XIV century.  Numismatics is the study of money and related procedures, coin minting, money weight systems, the history of money circulation and mainly old currency, which is promoted in the exhibition. Azerbaijan is also one of the ancient places in the usage of money. It is interesting to know how to have had a rich history of coins, which lost their value today. They have changed their form, size, weight and theme several times over the time. As Azerbaijan was in the center of attention of other countries, it underwent attacks and struggles of foreign countries periodically. The proof of this fact is the money treasure found out during the archaeological excavation works. The coins of copper, silver and gold which belong to the period of Azerbaijan Caliphates, Afshars, Safavids and Shirvanshahs are exhibited in the museum. Gold coins of the state of Byzantine and of ancient period are exhibited in a special showcase and are distinguished from other currencies with their interesting history. Along with the Byzantine monetary units, coins and buried treasures of different periods are preserved and displayed in the exhibition.

In medieval times Azerbaijan retained trade and economic relations with foreign countries which led to put silver coins into circulation in the world market. The currency being preserved and exhibited in the museum is the proof of trade relations of Azerbaijan with foreign countries.

Furthermore, examples of commodity exchange dating back to ancient times, more accessories from bronze period, kauri-belly-slit-shell brought from Indian Ocean, natural volcanic obsidian shown in the museum create a vivid impression on visitors who come to the museum. In the end, we feel gratitude for showing interest to the exhibition of our museum.

Sirataghli Religious-Architectural Complex

The place, has been the holy place during long millenniums, though there was a great number of religious and beliefs altering each other on the territory of Azerbaijan. In the 1960 s, during the renovation works of the territory around the Maiden Tower, the parts of monument were revealed, exactly, the colonnade with equilateral arches.

The exhibited monuments cover the large historical period from the idolatry to Islam. During the excavations, more than 50 graves were revealed. In Azerbaijan there are several types of gravestones: tombstones, sandugas and stone sculptures of ram or horse shape.  The gravestones were located in different directions. The graves, which were placed to the side of Kaaba (south-west), were the Moslem graves. The tombstones were decorated with foliage and geometrical ornaments, as well as the subject plot compositions. There are the descriptions on some gravestones, which symbolize the gender and profession of the deceased. Moreover, there are the tombstones with the different symbolic depictions.

According to the gravestones in the form of stone sculptures of ram and horses, it is possible to detect the territories, inhabited with Turkic tribes and to define the borders of the historical territories of Azerbaijan.

The gravestones in the form of stone sculptures of rams are met on the vast territory form the southern boundaries to the north-west territories of Azerbaijan. Besides stone statues it should be mentioned that gravestones were used as a tomb a totem in pastoral tribes. The ram was totem of the Old Turkic tribes. Today this place functions as an open-air museum and art of stone carving.