Ramana Castle

Ramana castle stands on a low limestone outcrop in the middle of an Absheron village, a rectangular keep with a walled bailey, generally dated to the fourteenth century and linked to the Shirvanshah defences. It has been restored and the tower can be climbed. What makes it worth the drive is the setting rather than the building: from the top you look out over derricks, nodding pumps and pipework, because this is the middle of the historic Baku oil field, and the two things in one frame say a good deal about the peninsula.

History

The castle was probably built by the Shirvanshahs in the 14th century for defence, though some researchers date it to the 12th; it is one of the Absheron fortresses, built from the 12th century mostly on the north-east of the peninsula, where the threat came from. A fort that sighted strange ships would warn the next with bonfires by night and smoke by day, and so on to the castle of Baku itself, and some historians once claimed tunnels linked all the forts (Wikipedia, Ramana Tower).

The main sights

• The keep - a rectangular tower on a limestone outcrop, restored and climbable.
• The curtain wall - the enclosure around the base, following the shape of the rock.
• The view - the oil field around the village, with pumps and derricks in every direction.
• The village - an ordinary Absheron settlement built up against the castle walls.

When to go

April to June and September to November for the weather. The light is best late in the day, when the derricks throw shadows. Summer is hot and the site is bare.

Things to know

The restoration is heavy and much of what you see is recent stonework. There is nothing else at the site and the visit is twenty minutes. The surrounding oil field is industrial and not attractive at close range.

Nearby

Mardakan castle is a short drive north, and central Baku is half an hour southwest.

Key facts