Special tour through Old City surprise city's guests

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Special tour through Old City, the historical center of Baku, was organized as part of the Festival of Cultural Heritage "Fantazia".

The two-day tour was conducted with the participation of historians and professional guides, during which guests viewed architectural gems dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century, Trend Life reported.

The project aims at re-discovering an important part of the cultural and architectural heritage of Baku.

The festival's art director Konul Rafiyeva stressed that many historic buildings in the central part of the city were designed by European architects.

"Most of the eclectic historic buildings in the central part of the city, on the street that used to be called Sovetskaya, were designed by European architects during the oil boom period and are not included in tourist routes. Some of these buildings today are private houses, usually closed to the public. Some of these sites were opened during the Fantazia Festival as part of specially designed thematic excursions," she said.

Konul Rafiyeva noted that the Festival of Cultural Heritage "Fantazia" aims at raising the importance of preservation of cultural heritage in Baku and Azerbaijan.

"From November 1 to 10, United Cultures presents a diverse calendar of events, including concerts, excursions, workshops, film shows, exhibitions, art installations, competitions and debates with experts at the international and local level," she added.

Notably, the Festival of Cultural Heritage "Fantazia"  is organized by the European Union Office in Azerbaijan in cooperation with the embassies of Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Croatia, the Netherlands and Hungary, with the participation of diplomatic missions of Mexico, Moldova and Morocco and the support of United Cultures.

The official partners of the festival are the State Tourism Agency, Administration of the State Historical-Architectural Reservation Icherisheher, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Maksud Ibrahimbayov Creative Centrer, Yarat Contemporary Art Center, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, ADA University, Azerbaijan National University of Culture and Arts, The Landmark Hotel and Baku Business Center.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az.