亞塞拜及其首都巴庫 BBC：More than the 'land of fire'. A Global Fund for Climate Disasters Is Taking Shape in Trump’s Shadow

A Global Fund for Climate Disasters Is Taking Shape in Trump’s Shadow

The U.N. climate summit in Azerbaijan has cleared the way for aid to flow when lower-income countries are hit.

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The COP29 venue in Baku, Azerbaijan. Agreements signed at the summit will allow a new emergency fund to start distributing aid.Credit...Maxim Shemetov/Reuters



More than the 'land of fire'



Saying that Azerbaijan has a rich history is a bit of an understatement. Sitting at the nexus of Europe and Asia, the land here has witnessed many diverse cultural traces , with evidence of prehistoric settlements dotted across the country.



Azerbaijan is often referred to as the ‘land of fire’, but there’s so much more to explore and uncover.

Featuring a tapestry of historical and modern architecture, influenced by religion and mediaeval monuments, the eclectic, artisanal heritage of the Silk Road, and isolated, dream-like mountainous villages, it’s a new frontier for curious travellers.

Baku: where old meets new

Take a walk through the capital’s centre and you’ll immediately grasp this country’s alluring mix of influences. Surrounded by imposing turreted walls dating back to the 12th-century, Baku’s Unesco listed Walled City, featuring golden bricks and intricate stonework, reveals a smorgasbord of historical footprints:

You might recognise this quarter’s focal point before you get there thanks to one of the banknotes sitting in your wallet: the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. Previously home to a royal family for around 200 years, this 15th-century complex – which includes everything from a mosque to a mausoleum – was described by Unesco as “one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture”.
Palace of the Shirvanshahs, Baku, Azerbaijan


After wandering among its glowing sandstone walls, you’ll find yourself with one of the city’s best vantage points for Baku’s distinctive skyline, overlooking buildings dating back to the Middle Ages to 19th-century European-inspired architecture. On the more modern side, there are the iconic, imposing Flame Towers, while Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Centre’s fluid, wave-like structure was designed to provide a counterpoint to the city’s Soviet architecture. This houses a cultural centre, with a programme of permanent and temporary exhibitions, classes and musical events on offer.

Moving back into the city, there’s plenty more to sink your teeth into. See art throughout the centuries at YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Art, or delve deeper into the country’s history and culture at Tahir Salahov’s House Museum and the Carpet Museum.

And for those who love to soak up the nightlife, you might hear the discordant, erratic notes of jazz. It’s a little-known fact that Azerbaijan has a long affinity with this music form, reaching back to the early 20th-century, and it was even outlawed for a time. Now, jazz bars are dotted around the city, while the Baku International Jazz festival sees musicians, from home and far away, gather in the city yearly.



The influence of silk

Surrounded by rolling green hills and mountains in north-west Azerbaijan, Sheki, which has been a settlement since the 8th century, has built up its reputation as the nation’s ‘craft capital’. Since the Middle Ages it had served as an important stop along the Silk Road – an influence that is still very much evident today.

Much of its architecture was built following a boom in the silk trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the lavishly decorated Khan Palace, which was designated a Unesco heritage site in 2019. This palace also provides striking examples of an art that is unique to Azerbaijan: shebeke.

Shebeke sees small shards of colourful glass slotted into wood frames to create intricate, beautiful patterns – all without nails or glue to hold them in place – in a practice that dates back to the 11th-century.
Shebeke artwork in the Palace of Shaki Khans



“The meaning behind colours is the symbolisation of nature in the form of seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter”

Explains Tofiq Rasulov, a shebeke craftsman. “The patterns and designs on shebeke are not random… These patterns tell stories and create connections between different forms of art. So, when you look at shebeke art, you're not just seeing colours and designs – you're also discovering a hidden language of symbols and meanings.”

Into the mountains

Moving to the west of the country reveals a scattering of isolated, ancient villages. Take Khinalig as one example, which was placed on the Unesco World Heritage List in September 2023. This renowned ethno-tourism destination is found over 2,000m above sea level, nestled adjacent to the snowy, jagged peaks of the Caucasus Mountains.

This isolated village, which is one of the highest residential places in Azerbaijan, features distinctive homes that are packed closely together, with the roof of one house serving as the courtyard for another – a necessity where space is so limited. Its inhabitants have lived here since the Bronze Age – and, owing to its remoteness, speak a language found nowhere else.
Xinaliq (Khinaluq), an ancient Caucasian village going back to the Caucasian Albanian period, located high up in Caucasus mountains.


Whether in the city or the countryside, anyone who visits Azerbaijan can expect to find an alluring mixture of old and new – representing the diversity of its history, along with the creativity and ingenuity of its people. There’s something for everyone here.








Downtown Baku, with the Flame Towers in the background.

巴庫（亞塞拜然語：Bakı）是亞塞拜然的首都、經濟文化中心。巴庫同時也是裏海最大港口，外高加索最大城市[2]。面積2192平方公里，人口300萬（2008年計算）[1]。巴庫全市分為內城和新城兩部分（亦有將蘇聯時期興建區域單獨區分出來的劃分法）。
在2007年，伊斯蘭會議組織文化部長宣布巴庫為2009年伊斯蘭文化中心。巴庫曾申辦2016年夏季奧運會和2020年夏季奧運會，但由於基礎設施不完備沒有入圍。
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku




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