Flame Towers – Baku, Azerbaijan

Baku’s Flame Towers rising over the Old Town

From almost any vantage point in Baku, the most conspicuous symbol of Baku’s new oil wealth are the Flame towers, rising 235m above the city. Started in 2007, they were completed this year and featured prominently in the marketing for the Azerbaijan-hosted 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

The three towers range in height from 34-39 stories. One is residential, one is a hotel and the other is office space with a mall filling the area between.

Baku’s Flame Towers at night, viewed from the yacht club.

During the day the orange and blue tinted glass gives them a more fiery look in keeping with Azerbaijan’s religious heritage of Zoroastrian fire worship. The coast of Azerbaijan was once full of natural gas beds that would catch fire. These were referred to in Byzantine texts as “the eternal fires of Baku” and said to be visible from two days journey away.

Night Time Illuminations

By night, the towers are even more impressive. Ten thousand LED lights display a series of animated scenes. Whilst we were there they varied between flag waving, geometric patterns and most successfully a dancing fire.

That’s my video taken after a large meal, so a little fuzzy (me and the video).

Here’s a much more professional one from Emin Alidin, showing the current range of animations:

The Flame Towers were completely new to me and I was suitably impressed by their scale and the displays during my time in Baku. I also wonder if I’m a little out of the loop due to living in Asia and completely missing the Eurovision Song Contest. Are people in Europe and the US more aware of the Flame Towers?

This trip was arranged by the Azerbaijan Tourist Board, as part of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Silk Road Project.

Hopefully related posts:

Visiting Azerbaijan’s Crystal Hall – Baku Ateshgah of Baku: The Zoroastrian Fire Temple – Azerbaijan Our introduction to Azerbaijani Food – Baku, Azerbaijan In Photos: Icheri Sheher – Baku Old Town in Azerbaijan