Baku, capital of Azerbaijan and well known as one of the early centres of the world’s oil industry. This is where the Swede Nobel, of Nobel Prize fame, won his fortune.

This building here is, I think, the Town Hall, and it is said to have been built by German prisoners of war. Lenin presides over the square named after him, while on the building opposite a benign Brezhnev waves to a non-existent crowd.

Away in the distance is a forest of cranes, while further out are the oil derricks from which this city’s wealth springs.

Baku means “windy city”, and I’m afraid it lives up to its name. If it wasn’t for the wind the walk along the waterfront here would be very pleasant.

In and around the old walled town, dating back to the 17th century, there are several old mosques, baths, courtyards and so on, mostly not in very good condition, an exception being the so-called Maiden’s Tower, which is, however, not very beautiful.

Baku is of course historically a Moslem town, inhabited mainly by Azeri Turks and Tartars and ruled for centuries by the Persians, till the Russians took it over early in the 19th century.