(Part 2) Icherisheher: A Living Museum That Will Take You Some Steps Back in Time

previously on Part 1

In 2000, Icherisheher, along with the Palace of The Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower  were inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Though three years later UNESCO placed Icherisheher on the list of the World Heritage in Danger due to an earthquake occurred on November 2000 as well as the lack of a plan of development and protection of Icherisheher, the works done for the restoration and conservation of the city were able to remove it from the endangered list in 2009. The year 2020 marks the 20^th anniversary of the inclusion of Icherisheher in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The inner part of Baku used to be the center of The Shirvanshah Dynasty back in the 12^th century. A place that survived the modernization wave and centuries of destruction and resurrection has successfully preserved its own cultural treasures that we can still thankfully enjoy today. As if it were a living open-air museum where it plays an essential role in comprehending the sustainability of cultural heritage, preserving the heritage and presenting it to the next generations, it is able to picture the ancient Baku up until this day. It is the place that has made an effort to preserve its own history. A Traditional nuanced scenery can easily be found here at Icherisheher, the beautiful old city. It showcases a combination of Shirvani, Sasanian, Arabic, Zoroastrian, Persian, Russian, and Ottoman presence around the area, which was built on a land that has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Era. Blocks of walls and towers surrounding Icherisheher are used to protect the city as if it were Caspian Sea’s clam shell that is protecting its beautiful hidden pearl. Behind the city’s thick walls lies a group of beautiful pearls dated back to centuries ago: Maiden Tower, the Shirvanshahs Palace, mosques, local bathhouses (hammam), and caravanserais, a roadside shelter place. Those ancient buildings were built from limestones and share the same color, spoiling our eyes with harmonies.

With its labyrinth, narrow sandstone streets, local cafes and souvenir shops built in a unique architecture, strolling around the city in between the cobble-stoned walls will make you feel as if you are part of its old days. There’s no need for a time machine to take you on a remarkable journey through time. Every alley possesses its own mysterious charm that only makes us crave for more walks through the alleys. Some middle-aged men in traditional clothes sometimes pass by too. Its magical view is really amazing, evoking the feeling of being in the setting of a real-life history. The streets drive us past ancient stone walls as well as architecture and buildings. Breathtaking unpredictable views are sometimes found at every turn. The surreal feeling to the city’s beauty and glam accompanies every step down the maze.

The effortless beauty of Icherisheher is truly mesmerizing. Its cultural heritage, be it in the form of ideas, patterns of actions, or artifacts are all an inseparable element of the city. The scenery of the ancient buildings, the aura of the old days, the interactions between the local dwellers, the sun lights coming in through the atmospheric alleyways that is accompanying your evening stroll, and the feeling of being in a living open-air museum, nothing is going to be able to replace that. It is no wonder that the place got tons of beautiful nicknames. As a place that offers a wide range of cultural beauties, the hidden pearl of the Caspian Sea really deserves all the admiration.

References :

http://www.unesco.org
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/azerbaijan/overview