Mardakan

Mardakan is a settlement on the Absheron Peninsula, about 30 kilometres northeast of Baku, along the stretch of coast where the Azerbaijani elite began building summer residences in the 19th century. Arriving here by suburban train already says something about the character of the place: you pass from the capital's apartment blocks into a semi-urban landscape of villas with pine and pomegranate gardens, with the smell of dry earth and sea that defines all of Absheron.

What makes the visit worthwhile are the two medieval fortresses of Mardakan: a round tower and a square tower, both built from the same beige limestone that characterises the peninsula's historic architecture. The round tower has four storeys and is well preserved; the interior can be visited via narrow stairs with no handrail that lead up to a terrace with views over the Caspian Sea and the rooftops of the surrounding villas. The square tower, about 500 metres away, is more deteriorated but still standing. Both retain fragments of their enclosing walls.

A few kilometres away are the Ateshgah fire temple and Absheron National Park, making it easy to cover the whole peninsula in a single day trip from Baku. The Mardakan Botanical Garden adds a quiet, tourist-free stop to the itinerary.

The fortresses of Mardakan were built in the 14th century as part of the defensive system of the Şirvanşahlar — the Shirvanshah Sultanate — to control the Caspian Sea coastline. The round tower is attributed to the architect Mahmud ibn Saad, who also left his mark on other medieval buildings in the region. The Absheron Peninsula was for centuries a transit and surveillance zone between the empires competing for the Caspian, which explains the density of towers scattered across its extremities. From the 19th century onwards, with the oil boom in Baku, the local elite transformed these same arid fields into a summer resort, turning Mardakan into a place where medieval stone and early 20th-century bey villas coexist.

• Round tower of Mardakan The better-preserved of the two fortresses, with four storeys of limestone. You can climb inside via narrow stairs to the terrace, from which you can see the Caspian Sea and the surrounding gardens. Entry is very cheap and the place is usually almost empty.
• Square tower of Mardakan About 500 metres from the round tower, more deteriorated but with its own character. The remains of the surrounding walls are visible and give a sense of the original scale of the defensive complex.
• Mardakan Botanical Garden Created in the Soviet era, it houses flora from Absheron and some exotic species. It is peaceful, little-visited and pleasant for a stroll after the towers.
• Historic villas Around Mardakan there are several 19th- and early 20th-century villas built by oil merchants, with eclectic façades mixing Russian and Oriental influences.
• Ateshgah fire temple About 5 km from Mardakan, this 17th-century Zoroastrian temple is the natural next stop that rounds off a tour of the Absheron Peninsula.

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From Baku, the easiest option is to combine the metro and the suburban train: metro to Koroglu station and then the commuter train to Mardakan stop (about 40–50 minutes in total). There are also marshrutkas from Koroglu. By taxi or private car from central Baku it takes about 30–40 minutes along the Absheron motorway. The visit can be combined in the same day with the Ateshgah temple (5 km) and Absheron National Park.

The Absheron Peninsula can be visited year-round. April, May, September and October are the most comfortable months for exploring Mardakan on foot: mild temperatures and a little more greenery in the botanical garden. Summer is hot and arid, with 35–40 °C and dry wind; best to go early in the morning. Winter is cold but usually sunny, with temperatures rarely dropping below zero.