Hello all. Just so you know, yes, I am a big fan of the Eurovision song contest. This year it was held in the Eurasian country of Azerbaijan, in their capital of Baku. The song contest made it look like a very pretty place.

Very pretty overview

Here was the winning song from last year that allowed Azerbaijan to be our hosts (they did pretty well at hosting actually even if I didn’t really like their entry last year)

The Maiden Tower lit up!

1) Maiden Tower

You know I’m a sucker when it comes to Old Towns and things that are like castles, right? Well, Maiden tower is located in Baku’s Old Town. I believe it was built in the 12^th Century and has been featured on their currency. I like landmarks.

The Flame Towers at Night

2) The Flame Towers

I believe that these have only recently been finished and they’re not entirely sure what they’re going to be. Apartments, a hotel and a business complex I think. They are very cool looking because they light up at night, and look like giant flames.

The Crystal Hall at Night

3) Baku Crystal Hall

Can you tell that I really like things that light up? The Baku Crystal hall was commissioned when Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 to be ready to host the contest in 2012. There was a very cool Timelapse of the Crystal Hall being built which doesn’t seem to be available on YouTube – if anyone can find it, send it my way! It’s a very pretty building with some stunning architecture – and it lights up at night. It flag colours too, if they so desire!

City Walls, Pretty Garden

4) The Walled City

Maiden’s Tower is actually a part of the Walled City – I really love ancient city walls that still remain, it gives a lovely idea of the cities history – close your eyes and you’re taken back 100s of years!

Yes, a carpet musuem

5) The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum

OK, I might give this one a miss, but if you want to do something really Azerbaijani – look at a lot of carpets. Azerbaijan is pretty well know for make world class carpets, and there’s a museum for carpet enthusiasts to visit should they desire to take in the countries pretty um. Unique. Selling Point.

Fun Fact: In Japanese, Baku means Tapir and there is a certain folklore surrounding the Baku, and the fact that it eats your dreams while you sleep. Hence in many Japanese video games, Tapirs or Tapir-like creatures are depicted as dream eating monsters. Now you know.

Tapir!