The Old City of Baku, known locally as Icheri Sheher, is an authentic labyrinth of history dating back to the 6th century. It is here, among the narrow streets and stone walls, that the novel 'Ali and Nino' takes place, and every corner breathes the atmosphere of pre-Soviet Baku. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Old Town is a living museum where history is not just an exhibit, but everyday life. Medieval fortifications surround an area full of mosques, caravanserais, and palaces, creating a unique enclave of time in the heart of a modern metropolis.

The Maiden Tower, known in Azerbaijani as Qız Qalası, towers over the Old Town as the most enigmatic building in Baku. This cylindrical tower, 29 meters high and with walls up to 5 meters thick, hides the mystery of its origin - archaeologists argue whether it was built in the 6th or 12th century. Legend has it that the shah had it built for his daughter, whom he wanted to marry against her will. The girl agreed on the condition that her father build a tower so high that she could see the whole of Baku. When the building was completed, she threw herself from its top into the sea. Today, the observation deck offers a breathtaking view of the Caspian Sea and the modern districts of the city. Inside, there is a museum presenting the history of the building and archaeological finds from the area.

The Shirvanshahs' Palace is a gem of pre-Islamic architecture, the residence of the Shirvanshah dynasty from the 15th century. The complex consists of the main palace building, the Divan-khane (courtroom), the royal family's tomb, the palace mosque with a minaret, and the remains of a bathhouse. Each architectural element tells the story of the power of the dynasty that ruled the region for centuries. Stone sculptures, ornate portals, and intricate water systems testify to an advanced civilization. It is in such interiors that scenes from 'Ali and Nino' could have taken place, where the Azerbaijani aristocracy met with European diplomats and merchants from all over the world. Today, the palace functions as a museum where you can see collections of ceramics, jewelry, and manuscripts from the era.

Multan Karvansarayi is a historic caravanserai that recalls the days when Baku was a key point on the Silk Road. These medieval 'hotels' served as places for merchants to rest and store their goods during long trading journeys. The massive stone walls and distinctive courtyard surrounded by arcades create an atmosphere that transports visitors back to the era of great camel caravans and exotic goods from China, Persia, and Europe. In pre-Soviet Baku, such places were centers of not only trade but also cultural exchange - people of different nationalities, religions, and traditions met here, creating the cosmopolitan character of the city, which is so beautifully described in the novel 'Ali and Nino'.

Qobustan National Park is a place that takes us on a journey thousands of years back, long before the time of 'Ali and Nino', to an era when the first humans lived in these lands. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is famous for its more than 6,000 petroglyphs - rock drawings dating from 40,000 to 10,000 BC. These ancient works of art depict scenes of hunting, ritual dances, boats on the Caspian Sea, and long-extinct animals. The petroglyphs of Qobustan are a priceless record of the life of prehistoric communities, their beliefs and everyday life. Particularly fascinating are the depictions of people dancing in a circle - probably the oldest known representations of dance in human history.

But Qobustan is not just a prehistoric art gallery. The park is also famous for a unique geological phenomenon - mud volcanoes. These small, conical formations eject mud mixed with natural gas to the surface, creating a surreal landscape reminiscent of the surface of an alien planet. Azerbaijan has the largest concentration of mud volcanoes in the world—more than 400 of the approximately 800 that exist on Earth. Some of them periodically erupt with flames, which in ancient times may have been the source of legends about the land of fire. The Qobustan National Museum, located at the entrance to the park, displays a collection of artifacts from the Mesolithic period, including ancient tools, pottery fragments, and human remains that provide insight into how our ancestors lived.

Atashgah Zoroastrian Fire Temple is a place of fire worship that has attracted Zoroastrian followers from Persia and India for centuries. The temple, whose current form dates back to the 17th-18th centuries, was built around a natural source of natural gas that has been burning continuously for centuries. Azerbaijan is called the 'Land of Fire' precisely because of such natural phenomena - natural gas emerging from the ground and spontaneously igniting was proof of the presence of a deity for ancient peoples. The temple complex consists of a central altar with an eternal flame, surrounded by cells for pilgrims and priests. Inscriptions on the walls in Persian and Hindi testify to the international character of this place of worship.

Today, Atashgah functions as a museum where you can learn about the history of Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions, which had a huge influence on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although the natural flame went out in the 1960s due to gas exploitation in the area, it is now artificially maintained, allowing visitors to experience the magic of this place. Nearby is Yanardag - 'Burning Mountain', where a natural fire has been burning on the hillside for thousands of years, further evidence of the region's geological wealth. These places combine prehistory with modern history, showing the cultural continuity of Azerbaijan and its unique character as a land where fire was not only a source of heat but also an object of religious worship.

The Azerbaijan History Museum is housed in one of the most beautiful buildings in Baku - the early 20th-century residence of oil magnate Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. It was in such villas that the Azerbaijani elite lived during the first oil boom, which made Baku one of the richest cities in the world at the dawn of the 20th century. The museum presents a comprehensive history of Azerbaijan from prehistoric times to the present day, with a particular focus on the pre-Soviet period, the era in which Ali and Nino is set. The collection includes over 300,000 exhibits, including ancient coins, manuscripts, weapons, jewelry, ceramics, and textiles.

Particularly fascinating is the collection relating to the oil boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Baku produced half of the world's oil. It was then that the city became a melting pot of cultures - Azerbaijani aristocrats, Russian industrialists, Armenian merchants, Persian craftsmen, and European engineers formed a unique cosmopolitan community. It is this Baku—multicultural, rich, full of contrasts between tradition and modernity—that is the backdrop for the love story of Ali and Nino. The museum also has a rich collection of photographs from that period, showing what the city looked like before the Bolshevik Revolution and how dramatically it changed during the Soviet era.

Ismailiyya Palace is a masterpiece of neo-Gothic architecture with Venetian elements, built in 1913 by Musa Naghiyev in honor of his deceased son Ismail. The building is distinguished by its characteristic red sandstone facade, pointed windows, and rich sculptural decoration. In pre-Soviet times, the palace was a symbol of the wealth of the oil barons and their aspirations for a European lifestyle. Today, it houses the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, but its exterior architecture remains one of the most beautiful examples of architectural eclecticism in Baku. Walking down Istiglaliyyat Street, where the palace is located, you can feel the atmosphere of the Belle Époque - a period when Baku was called the 'Paris of the Caucasus'.

Each of these places tells a fragment of a larger story - the story of a city that for centuries has been a bridge between East and West, a meeting place for different cultures, religions, and traditions. Pre-Soviet Baku, so beautifully captured by the author of 'Ali and Nino', was a city of contrasts: the ancient walls of Icheri Sheher stood side by side with modern European-style villas, mosques with churches and synagogues, Azerbaijani traditions with European fashions. It was this diversity and openness that made Baku a unique place, where a love story transcending cultural boundaries was possible. Today, walking through the streets of the Old Town, visiting museums and monuments, you can still feel the spirit of those times and understand why this city became the backdrop for one of the most beautiful novels about love and cultural identity. Baku is not just a collection of monuments—it is a living story of how history shapes the present and how the past is still present in the everyday life of the city.