The Dağüstü park of Bakı is located on one of the highest hills of the city and close to the city center. Most people get up there to enjoy nice views on the old town (İçərişəhər) and the Caspian sea. But the area has more to offer than that: up there you’ll find the parliament building, the Flame towers, a Turkish mosque with rich decorations and the alley of the martyrs (Şəhidlər Xiyabanı) which includes around 15,000 graves.
The alley of the martyrs was and is used to remember different events in the history of Azerbaijan. Currently it is dedicated to the victims of two conflicts: first, the Nagorno-Karabakh war happening between 1988 and 1994. In 1988 the parliament of the region officially belonging to Azerbaijan but populated mostly by Armenians established a referendum which led to the result that Nagorno-Karabakh should become part of Armenia. The Soviet Union didn’t accept this which led to long mountain warfare and many casualties. At the end the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was proclaimed which lasted until 2023 when Azerbaijan took back the region by force.
Second, the victims of the Black January in 1990: the Soviet Union wanted to end the independence movement of Azerbaijan, around 130 people died. An eternal flame remembers them, their names and sometimes even faces are preserved on tomb stones along the alley. To get up to Dağüstü park you can use the funicular which has its base station close to the carpet museum. For one manat it brings you up the hill and it is running quite frequently, but not in the morning and evening hours.
Dağüstü park
Bakı
Azerbaijan
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