Hello dear readers and visitors of Baku, Azerbaijan! Today after Azerbaijani books and Azerbaijani short movies, let’s explore a new face of the country through… its museums!

Thanks to my job and the fact that multiple people came to visit me in Azerbaijan, I had the opportunity to discover and enjoy many of the country’s museums! I didn’t have the time to visit all of them as I wanted, but still I can recommend a few of my favorites so far. I will try to share with you my impressions on the Baku “must-do”, but also recommend some regional surprises.

• The Carpet Museum in Baku

Located on the Baku Boulevard, the Carpet Museum is definitely worth a visit during your stay in Baku. First of all its architecture is quite original, as it is in the shape of a carpet itself (sorry to break your French dreams but no this is not a giant crêpe). Inside you can discover a very large space full of Azerbaijani carpets from different regions and different eras. Carpet weaving is one of the main speciality of Azerbaijan (alongside with tea and gutab) and therefore they are very proud of those handcrafted masterpieces. Most information are accessible in English which makes the visit quite rich. There is also a carpet-weaving-lady who is making a carpet in front of you, a process that I found a bit hypnotizing. Don’t miss the modern carpets on the top floor, especially the one everybody remembers: « Resistance ».

• Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku

I am never sure which one to put first on the list: the Carpet Museum or the Heydar Aliyev Center? To me they are kind of equal in terms of interest. Again, the building in itself is worth a visit as it has a very surprising architecture created by Zaha Hadid, a super famous architect. Inside, the exhibitions are diverse. You can discover the life of Heydar Aliyev, father of the nation, through a very well done multimedia installation. I also enjoyed the collection of diplomatic presents received by Azerbaijan. Somehow in the basement there is huge collection of cars, definitely worth a visit as well but you should pay an extra ticket for it. Finally, some temporary exhibitions with unequal interests are frequently displayed. Don’t miss Faig Ahmed modern carpets in the entrance and come with sports shoes as you will be walking A LOT.

• The Guba Genocide Memorial complex

It was probably during my first trip outside of Baku that I went to discover the Guba Genocide Memorial complex (I know, I know, just by its name you can expect the very depressing, nonetheless important topic of the place). Located near the city of Guba in the north of Azerbaijan, this museum is built under the ground on the place where a mass grave of Azerbaijani victims was discovered in 2007. It tells the story of 1918 so-called genocide of Azerbaijanis by Armenians in the context of ethnic conflicts during Bolshevik revolution. The museography is well done with an interesting immersion into these events through photos and testimony, and, reading how the history is told, you will understand that reconciliation is (sadly) probably not going to happen anytime soon.

• The Udi ethnographic museum in Nij

As I explained in a previous article, Azerbaijan is a country full of ethnics minorities living in different regions of the country. The city of Nij is home to the Udi minority, one of the Christian community of Azerbaijan. You can visit their museum in the Azerbaijan Udi Hearth Historical Ethnographic Park and Museum (yep, that’s a long name – there is also a nice hotel and restaurant to extend your stay) that will show you a traditional Udi house. It didn’t strike me as very different from any other house I visited but still the visit of the place in general is worth it for someone interested in minorities in Azerbaijan. Better to come with a local though as there is not much English being spoken around. I had the chance to go with my friend and blogger Cavid, who could give me so many explanations, thank you Cavid! 🙂

• National History Museum in Baku

The National History Museum is interesting for two reasons: for the museum itself, with ancient artefacts displayed as coins or pottery, and for the fact that it is located in the house of Haji Zeynal Taghiyev, an Azerbaijani petrol baron who lived in Baku until 1920 and the confiscation of his home by the Bolsheviks. You will discover the architecture of 19th century Baku, during booming development, and what wealthiness would look like in the region back in the days: beautiful handcarved wooden ceilings, handmade colorful carpentry, huge chandeliers… Sadly there is not much information about the story of the man who lived here displayed in the museum.

• Yarat! Center in Baku

Despite being one of the most impressive building of the Boulevard, entirely dedicated to contemporary art in Azerbaijan and mostly presenting local artists, completely free of charge and offering many cultural events, the Yarat! Center (Yarat meaning « create ») appeared to be not so well-known among the expat community. So, I urge you to pay them a visit and to take this opportunity to also have a look to the Painting museum, located right next to Yarat. Exhibitions are displayed with English translation, the museography is really well thought and you will have the chance to learn more about contemporary creation in Azerbaijan. There are only wins!

• Museum of Mountain Jews in Guba

The Museum of Moutain Jews is located in one of Guba’s district, called the Red Town, where used to live a community of Jewish Caucasians or Mountain Jews (who now mostly live in Russia or Israël). They decided to invest money in their homeland to create a very fancy museum about their history and heritage. It is a very interesting place with English information, a lot of multimedia installations and a lot of golden decorations. Sadly, it was not allowed to take photos inside when I visited the place.

• The Gabala Archaeological Center

Next to Gabala, you can visit an Archaeological Center with quite impressive infrastructures (although a bit empty inside) and an English speaking guide. The building of the museum is huge and showcase different artefacts found in the region, but the most interesting part is the car ride provided to visit the archeological search site as well as the ancient city doors of Gabala.

• Baku MoMA – Museum of Modern Art

The Baku version of the MoMA is a quite surprising place. Located near the Port Baku neighborhood, the museum offers to the visitor a kind of immersive experience through its collection as you feel that painting are litterally covering every-inch-of-the-walls. The architecture itself makes the result a bit oppressive and I found the artworks displayed mostly depressing to be honest (I did visit it during the night though so maybe that’s why I have a dark memory of this place). But, because of those facts, the place is interesting to visit as you probably haven’t ever seen such a place before !

• The National Art Museum in Baku

If you have never been in a post-soviet National Art Museum, it’s really worth visiting the Azerbaijan National Art museum. Amusing enough, the Azerbaijani one reminds me a lot of the Belarusian one where I have been working as a guide during my younger years. Both of them have the particularity to have an historical building joined with a modern one in a strange way, which makes the visitor confused with how to get around this huge place (you’ll understand what I mean when you’ll get there eventually) ; a rather eclectic collection including reproductions (but it’s not mentionned anywhere that it is not the original one) ; and confusing information sometimes in English. But we did organize one of our best project there so I have a special attachement to this institution : so take a look, see for yourself and let me know your thoughts 🙂 !

• Heydar Aliyev museum in Nakhchivan

If you have the chance to visit one day Nakhchivan region during your stay in Azerbaijan, well, Heydar Aliyev museum is not to be missed as it is entirely dedicated to the life and glory of the father of the nation. The place is full of objects that belong to the leader; but also historical photographs, an impressive collection of goodies made with his face on it, and even his own official portrait… on a giant carpet. Just the best museum.

• Mini-Book Museum in Baku

Last but not least, the Mini-book museum is a very small place with very small (but nonetheless, impressive!) artefacts. Located in the old town, the museum was created by Zarifa Salakhova on the 23rd April 2002 from a personal mini-books collection. The owner even have a Guinness World record certificate to prove it! Quite surprising and original museum, it is worth a stop as it is completely free of charge and an amusing break in the middle of old town exploration.

We are now done with museums exploration and I hope you are feeling inspired with so many opportunities (12 to be exact) to broaden your minds ✨ Please let me know which museum is your personal favorites in the comment section! See you soon 🙂