Mardakan Castle

Absheron is scattered with defensive towers built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries as refuges against raiding, and the square keep at Mardakan is the best preserved of them. It stands about twenty-two metres tall inside a walled enclosure, with internal floors and a stair leading to the roof, from which the whole peninsula of gardens and dachas is visible. A round tower of similar date stands elsewhere in the same village, and the surrounding district is Baku's summer garden belt, planted with figs, olives and saffron.

What you actually see

• The square keep - a twelfth-century tower about twenty-two metres tall, with internal floors.
• The roof - a climb up the internal stair for the view over the Absheron gardens.
• The enclosure - the walled court around the tower, with a small lapidary collection.
• The garden district - fig, olive and pomegranate plots, the traditional summer belt of Baku.

When to go

April to June and September to November are the comfortable seasons. The Absheron summer is hot and the tower interior is airless. Mornings are quiet in any season.

Honest expectations

The visit is short and there is little interpretation. The stair inside is narrow and steep with limited light. It works best combined with the other Absheron sites rather than as a trip on its own.

Nearby

Ramana castle is a short drive southwest, and the Gala reserve is east on the peninsula.