Traditions of Baku
A Caspian city that holds fire, carpet and mugham music in its old walled quarter.
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan, a city on the Caspian Sea with a walled old town, Icherisheher, and one of the oldest cultures of fire worship. Azerbaijan marks Nowruz with great ceremony, and mugham, the modal classical music of the country, is performed in the city's halls.
Fire and Nowruz
In the weeks before Nowruz, bonfires are lit on four Tuesdays, each for one of the four elements. People jump over the fires to leave behind bad luck. Families bake pakhlava and shakarbura, and grow wheat sprouts called semeni. Mugham singers and tar players perform in the Old City.
At the table
Plov in Azerbaijan is served with the rice and its toppings on separate plates. Dolma wrapped in grape leaves, dushbara, tiny dumplings in broth, and kebab are everyday foods. Tea, drunk in pear-shaped armudu glasses, comes with jam and sugar cubes.
Signature traditions of Baku
Also part of it, and being written: Novruz (The Azerbaijani spring festival.), Mugham (The classical music of Azerbaijan.), Plov (The festive rice.).
A trail idea for Baku
- Icherisheher Walk the old walls and the Maiden Tower.
- Ateshgah A fire temple near the city.
- Taza Bazaar Buy pomegranates and sweets.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chovgan: en:User:Arad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pahlevani and zurkhaneh rituals: Hossein Khosravi, CC BY 4.0, source
- Armudu tea glass: Interfase, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Azerbaijani carpet: Dmitri Yermakov, Public domain, source
- Victory Day: Toghrul Rahimli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source