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Architecture of the First Oil Boom

From about 1870 to 1920, Baku experienced its first oil boom and investment flowed into Azerbaijan. As the city industrialized, oil barons began commissioning Russian and European architects to create expensive, modern, Western-style buildings in Baku. In the decades after Azerbaijan’s first oil boom, Azerbaijani architects mixed Safavid and other Azerbaijani architectural elements with elements from Italian Renaissance, Neo-Classical, Venetian Gothic Revival, Vienna Recession, and French Islamic Maghreb styles.
Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater
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Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and
Ballet Theater

The theater was built in 1911 by the foundation of Zeynalabdin Taghiyev (1838-1924), an Azerbaijani oil baron and philanthropist. In 1987 the theater was renovated and re-opened to the public.

Azerbaijani Radio Hour: The Voice of the Karabakh Foundation, October 2, 2011, focused on the State Opera House. Access any of the shows of the Azerbaijani Radio Hour: The Voice of the Karabakh Foundation at www.KarabakhFoundation.org.


AZERBAIJANI Architecture

Old City BakuModern Azerbaijan is both a dynamic, progressive nation and an ancient civilization with vibrant traditions and culture. Nowhere is this combination of old and new more evident than in Azerbaijan’s built environment. For example, the architecture of Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku, beautifully showcases this legacy. While Baku’s office buildings, apartment complexes, and glass skyscrapers mirror modern European design, ”Old City” Baku, known as  Icheri sheher,  features medieval Islamic domes, minarets, and ancient stone walls.

Azerbaijani Radio Hour


The Voice of the Karabakh Foundation, October 2, 2011. Access any of the shows of the Azerbaijani Radio Hour: The Voice of the Karabakh Foundation at www.KarabakhFoundation.org.