Aliagha Vahid and the Old City's Most Unusual Monument
A poet's head from which the characters of his verses seem to grow — you can't miss the Vahid monument in the Old City.
Walking through Icherisheher near the Shirvanshahs' Palace, you'll see an unusual monument: a large head of a poet in which faces and figures intertwine. It honours Aliagha Vahid.
Who Vahid was
Aliagha Vahid (1895–1965) was an Azerbaijani poet and master of the ghazal who carried on the tradition of Fuzuli. Khanende singers performed his ghazals, and many are still sung in mugham. He was called one of the last great romantics of classical Eastern poetry.
The monument
Sculptors Natig Aliyev and Rahib Hasanov showed the images of his poetry emerging from the poet's mind: lovers, musicians and characters from his ghazals cover the head. It was installed in 1990 in the garden by the Philharmonic and moved to the Old City in 2008.
Finding it
It stands in a small square on the way to the Shirvanshahs' Palace — a favourite photo spot, especially when lit up at night. It's on the route of our Baku city tour.
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