The Maiden Tower in Baku: A Visitor's Guide

The Maiden Tower is the round stone tower at the sea edge of Baku’s Old City. In Azerbaijani it is Qız Qalası. The tourism board calls it a much-loved symbol of the whole country. Yet no one can say for sure who built it, when, or what for.

This page is about the tower alone. It sets out the figures, the main theories and the legends, as the Old City’s own reserve tells them. It also covers hours and the gaps in what is published. Facts come from the reserve, from azerbaijan.travel and from UNESCO.

The tower in figures

The reserve describes the tower as a large stone cylinder. It was built on a ledge of the old coastal cliff. That is why its height differs by side.

Feature	What the reserve states
Height	28 m on one side, 31 m on the other
Diameter	16.5 m
Wall thickness	5 m at the base, 4.5 m at the top
Floors inside	8, each with a stone dome
Inscription	Kufic script, 14 m above ground
Museum since	1964
World Heritage	Listed in 2000

The walls are thick enough to hide a well. The reserve says a water well sits inside the wall itself. You cannot see it from the first floor.

When was it built?

Here the sources agree on one thing only: the date is not settled.

The tourism board says the first building work may go back to the 6th or 7th century BC. It adds that the tower served as a fort in the 12th century AD, in the time of the Shirvanshahs. UNESCO’s listing gives the same picture. A 12th-century tower stands over far older parts.

The reserve’s own page goes further. The Kufic inscription reads “The tower of Masud ibn Davud”. Its letter forms point to the 12th century. Some scholars link Masud to the Seljuks, who ruled here then.

But the top of the tower matches a 6th-century fort in the Davachi area, called Chirag Gala. So one theory splits the tower in two. The lower 12 m, with a smooth wall, would be from the 8th or 7th century BC. The upper part, with its band of stone, would be later.

Five ideas about its purpose

The reserve lists the main ideas side by side. It does not pick one.

• A fort. Some think it was part of the Shirvanshahs’ defence line. Alarm signals from the top could warn other forts. Absheron once had up to 30 such forts. A few still stand, at Mardakan, Ramana and Nardaran.
• A fire temple. Fire worship is old on this burning shore. Some scholars think the tower is older than Zoroastrian temples.
• A Zoroastrian tower of silence. In this view, the dead were laid on top and their bones lowered through pipes in the wall.
• An observatory.
• A lighthouse.

The thick walls and the hidden well are the strongest points for the fort idea. Those details only make sense in a building meant to hold out.

The shape from above

The tourism board notes one more detail. Seen from the air, the tower’s outline looks like a buta. That is the paisley-like shape used as a symbol of Azerbaijan. Since the buta stands for fire, some read this as a sign of a temple. It is an idea, not a finding.

The legends

The reserve retells three stories.

In the first, a shah lays siege to the city for 90 days. A girl with a fiery sword kills him and saves the town. She then falls for an enemy commander. After his death she takes her own life at the temple gate, and the fire goes out.

In the second, a shah’s daughter loves a fisherman who walks on the sea to meet her. When he doubts, he sinks. She jumps from the tower to save him, and drowns.

The third ties the tower to Anahid, a goddess of water. The reserve adds a real find to this one. Digs on the shore side turned up a bronze fish with a dolphin’s head.

Visiting the tower

The reserve lists the tower as open every day, 10:00 to 19:00. Entry needs a ticket. We read that on 5 October 2026. We do not print prices, as the reserve sets its own.

The address is 99 Neftchilar Avenue. That puts the tower just inside the walls on the sea side, close to the Seaside Boulevard. From the seafront it is a short walk.

Inside, you climb through the floors. The reserve does not publish rules on lifts, steps or bags. If someone in your group finds stairs hard, ask before you buy a ticket.

The reserve’s Tourist Information Center is at 55 Boyuk Gala Street. It lists daily hours of 10:00 to 19:00. Staff there can help with guides and routes.

The dig at its foot

Just north of the tower lies the Sirataghli complex, also called Bazaar Square. Digs found it in 1964, the same year the tower became a museum. They uncovered a hall with many arches. The reserve thinks it served both for prayer and for public life. It is a short stop on the way in.

Pairing it with the rest of the Old City

The tower sits at the low, sea side of the walled town. The Palace of the Shirvanshahs sits at the highest point. Many people do both in one walk, uphill from the tower to the palace. Our Old City guide covers the lanes in between.

Arranging it

RH Travel can add the tower to a private day in Baku, with a guide who knows the theories and a driver nearby. Send us your dates and your hotel area. We will plan the order of the day around the tower.