Heydar Aliyev Center
Heydar Aliyev Center is a futuristic architectural masterpiece; one of the new symbols of the Azerbaijani capital, along with the famous Flame Towers. Every year Baku looks less and less like a gray post-Soviet city. Thanks to oil revenues, the typical high-rise buildings and faceless concrete boxes are being replaced by extraordinary buildings that form the image of an ultra-modern metropolis.
Video: Heydar Aliyev Center
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Tourists and guidebooks compare the Heydar Aliyev Center to a giant sea wave, a sand dune, a spaceship from the distant future or an alien flower. The author herself in an interview with the BBC emphasized the organic fusion of her brainchild with the surrounding landscape. And indeed, the building seems to be a non-man-made continuation of the hill on which it stands. However, it is impossible not to notice it – the smooth surface seems to radiate its own light even in gloomy weather, and on a sunny day this explosion of dazzling whiteness leaves a truly indelible impression.
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In the fall of 2013, the Heydar Aliyev Center was met with rave reviews from experts at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore, and a year later the project won the London Design Museum’s Design of the Year 2014 award, i.e. actually recognized as the best in the world.
.Heydar Aliyev Center inside
It goes without saying that such a grandiose structure as the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center cannot be empty. According to the creators’ plan, it unites several cultural facilities under one roof: a complex of exhibition halls, the Heydar Aliyev Museum and the Auditorium Congress Center.
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The first museum exposition is a collection of government cars used first by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and later by the President of Azerbaijan from 1969 to 2003. Other exhibits are arranged to reflect the history of the country, the formation of statehood, national achievements in the field of economy, culture and sports through the prism of the political leader’s life. In addition to the recreated interior of the cabinet, awards and gifts, visitors to the center can see interesting photo chronicles and visit the interactive hall where Aliyev’s meetings with heads of other states are visualized with the help of a globe.
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The salons of the highest part of the building house permanent and temporary exhibitions. Since its opening, the Heydar Aliyev Center has hosted exhibitions of works by American pop-art artist Andy Warhol, outstanding Azerbaijani painter Tair Salahov, German naturalist photographer Theo Allofs, Mexican sculptor George Marin, thematic exhibitions of famous representatives of contemporary art, exposition of art dolls from 16 countries and others. At any time you can visit the halls dedicated to cultural heritage: folk costumes, crafts, utensils and musical instruments (the latter accompanied by a sound recording). If you don’t have time to see all the country’s sights, the exhibition “Mini-Azerbaijan” – fifty masterfully made models of iconic architectural monuments such as Tezepir Mosque, Maiden Tower, Baku City Hall – offers a peculiar tour of them. And thanks to Peter Lippman’s magnificent photographs, even those who care about their figure can really get acquainted with the richness and variety of national cuisine.
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The Heydar Aliyev Center often becomes a concert venue. Actors from Moscow’s Helikon Opera musical theater, Vienna Strauss Orchestra, eight-time Grammy Award winners Take 6 vocal sextet…
have performed under these unusual vaults.In short, it would be an unfortunate oversight for an inquisitive and open-minded traveler to come to Baku and not visit the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center!
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Visitors
The Heydar Aliyev Center is open on weekdays from 11:00 to 19:00, on weekends from 11:00 to 18:00.
.Entrance to the surrounding area is free, and to visit the center you need to purchase a ticket. A standard ticket costs 15 AZN (discounts are available for Azerbaijani citizens). To get to the car exhibition, you will have to pay 10 AZN. You can buy tickets online, as well as see the schedule of upcoming events on the official website of the Heydar Aliyev Center heydaraliyevcenter.az.
.How to get there
Address: 1, Heydar Aliyev Avenue, Baku. The nearest metro station is Nariman Narimanov, from which you can walk for a quarter of an hour or take one of the city buses #1, 11, 14, 116, 136, 207 for two stops.
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