MAY 8

Baku city tour

Bus City Tour

This comprehensive tour makes an ideal introductory taster for first-time visitors to the city, cramming most of Baku’s top highlights into 2 hours. 

Option 1

  • 15:00 Departure for Bus City Tour.
  • 15:45 Stop at the panoramic terrace of the Highland Park.
  • 16:15 Continue the tour towards the Art City.
  • 17:00 Return to the hotel.

Option 2

  • 16:00 Departure for Bus City Tour.
  • 16:45 Stop at the panoramic terrace of the Highland Park.
  • 17:15 Continue the tour towards the Art City.
  • 18:00 Return to the hotel.

May 9

Heydar aliyev center

Modern and Astonishing

Visit to Heydar Aliyev Center

Designed by superstar architect Zaha Hadid, it’s one of the world’s most extraordinary contemporary constructions, a symbol of Baku’s ambition and dynamism and a breathtaking experience for anyone who steps inside.

Timetable

 

  • 09:00 Opening Ceremony at Heydar Aliyev Center.
  • 12:30 Lunch break with the delegates.
  • 13:15 Welcome cocktails at Heydar Aliyev Center.
  • 13:45 Start exploring the exhibitions.
  • 15:30 Return to the hotel. 

may 10

arts and crafts of baku

THE LEGEND OF FLAME

Option 1

Arts and crafts of Baku

 

Following the breakfast at the hotel we will head to Icheri Sheher Old city to explore the UNESCO Heritage site. The ancient heart of Baku is Icheri Sheher, a magical maze of narrow lanes and alleyways that’s still mostly ringed by battlement-topped defensive walls erected in the 12th-century. 

 

  • 09:00 Departure to Icheri Sheher (Old City).
  • 09:15 Icheri Sheher walk.
  • 10:45 Visit to the Center of Traditional Arts. Underglaze painting with ornaments masterclass at the Center of Traditional Arts in the Old City. During the class participants will get theoretical knowledge and practical skills on pottery craft, ceramic products, dyes, kilns etc. and get chance to prepare own product from zero to the end.
  • 12:00 Cooking master class with a professional chef learning how to make variety of Kutabs (traditional flatbreads with different fillings) and Shekerbura (traditional dessert with walnuts and spices)
  • 13:00 Lunch at a traditional restaurant tasting local cuisine.
  • 14:00 Visit to Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. Right on the Boulevard near the funicular and Mugham Centre, it has been designed to give the impression of a partly unfurled roll of rug. 
  • 14:45 Carpet weaving master class.
  • 15:45 Floristics master class. Floristics is the magic art of making flower compositions, the area where you can always be a discoverer and we invite you to explore the workshop of LILAC flower boutique and meet the famous top florist of the country. 
  • 17:00 Visit to Menzer Hajiyeva Showroom. Silk has always been the most expensive textile in the world and through centuries it is known as the symbol of wealth and luxury.
  • 18:00 Return to the hotel. 

Option 2

Azerbaijan’s nickname, ‘Land of Fire’ is far more than a marketing slogan as you’ll see at these fascinating sites.

 

  • 09:00 Departure to Yanardag.
  • 09:30 Visit to Yanardag (‘Burning Mountain’). While hardly a ‘mountain’, this windswept hillside 25 kilometres northeast of Baku has been burning for as long as anyone can remember, and the fire isn’t showing signs of going out any time soon. 
  • 10:00 Departure to Ateshgah Fire Temple.
  • 10:30 Visit to Ateshgah. A relatively short drive to the south of here in the town of Surakhany, Ateshgah is a rare example of a well-preserved fire temple. Restored in the 17th and 18th centuries by Indian merchants its central fire-hearth sits above a natural gas vent and glows with ever –burning flames.
  • 12:00 Dancing master class at Ateshgah. Our class starts with a beautiful performance followed by detailed explanations of simple movements by choreographer.
  • 13:00 Lunch at Ateshgah Restaurant tasting local cuisine.
  • 14:00 Departure to Baku.
  • 14:30 Visit to the Icheri Sheher (Old City). Explore medieval alleyways and caravanserais beckon. Alluring cafes, exotic tea caverns, suave restaurants, great jazz clubs, carpet peddlers, fine museums, cutting edge galleries and sweet little curio shops are all a short stroll away.
  • 16:00 Local wine tasting in the Old City. You will get to savour a selection of award-winning local wines sipped in our salon.
  • 17:00 Departure to the hotel.
  • 17:30 Arrival

May 11

Legacy of Oil Barons

Option 1

  • 09:00 Departure to Legacy of Oil Barons walk.
  • 09:15 Legacy of Oil Barons walk. Believe it or not, at the beginning of the 20th century, Azerbaijan was producing more than half of the world's oil supply. And that ‘oil boom’ made millionaires of many landowners and businessmen who became known as ‘oil barons’. 
  • 11:30 Baku’s modern crafts shopping tour. Baku is awash with dazzling designer boutiques, international brands, and flashy shopping malls. 
  • 13:00 Lunch break.
  • 14:00 Departure to the hotel.

Option 2

Gobustan Rock Cultural Landscape

 

There are few places on earth where traces of ancient human history are so vividly apparent as at Gobustan. Rocky formations here that once formed part of stone-age cave dwellings, are richly inscribed with a wide range of fascinating petroglyphs. These have been scratched in styles that evolved over the millennia as tool technology changed. You’ll find depictions of animals, hunting scenes, shamen and group dances.

 

  • 09:00 Departure to Gobustan.
  • 10:00 Visit to Gobustan National Park.
  • 11:30 Departure to Baku.
  • 12:30 Arrival to Baku.