I first went to Baku at the turn of the century. Baku was still under a heavy Russian influence with the Russian market just off the Fountain Square and memorials to Lenin still to be found. The photos here are over a 10 year period and many of the places do not exist anymore.

The Maiden Tower inside the walls of the Old Town is still imposing. There are many legends about the tower but the most famous is the one of the Fire haired Maiden who saved Baku from slavery. There were still hundreds of nodding donkey oil wells to be seen before a major clean up started. Oil could still be found seeping out of the hills above the town along with semi submerged shipwrecks in the docks. The transformation of Baku started in 2006 and the change has been astounding. New roads and land reclamation has made Baku unrecognisable to the town I first visited. The Norman Foster designed White City buildings from the Flame Towers above the city to the Heydar Aliyev Center are stunning. Sayadlar in the Khizi region is only a couple of hours from Baku. Famous for its pink mountains.