Enjoy walking at New Boulevard
By Nazrin Gadimova
The first thing we want to see while traveling to different countries is to find and to visit its most famous sites and attractions, whether it's the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Rome with its Coliseum, or Rio de Janeiro with the statue of Christ the Redeemer.
Well, what do you imagine when it comes to Baku? Our capital city has many attractions, but the most famous place is the Seaside Boulevard, beloved not only by residents of the city, but also by foreigners. Being an ideal place for walking, the Baku boulevard is able to isolate from the worldly vanity, to give an opportunity to stay alone with the sea and to awaken romantic feelings.
Starting our evening walk from the National Flag Square and the famous Crystal Hall, me with my friend headed towards Azneft Square where the old part of the boulevard, which celebrated 100 years in 2009, begins.
Azerbaijan's flag towering over the city impresses with its huge size. Fluttering in the wind, the grandiose canvas of the flag created a sound like the flapping of wings of some unknown miracle bird from the Arabian Nights. Slightly away from the Flag there was a charming building - Crystal Hall, which became world-famous after there Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
The new part of the boulevard is an expanse for those loving roller skating. The guys on skates and bicycles sped past us - they were quite free here to do what they like. Moreover, one of the interesting features of the new boulevard is a bike path, where you can rent a bike and ride for fun on a smooth track.
After riding our bikes full of the charm of a spring breeze, we decided to continue our pedestrian walk.
As the evening fell, the city began to increasingly transform, and bright lights made the panorama of Baku more vivid and colorful. The well-known TV tower let off colorful rays to the sky, while the grandiose "spurts of flame" on sparkling Flame Towers have enthralled my friend.
At the seaside we saw recently built new observation wheel dubbed "Baku eye", which shimmered with purple, orange and red colors.. The height of the new "ferris wheel" is 60 meters. The wheel has 30 cars, each of which can fit eight people, thus the wheel can serve some 240 people at the same time.
Next we met another unusual building - International Mugham Center, shaped as the parts of tar - Azerbaijani national musical instrument. The three-storey building has a concert hall for 350 people, the club, recording studio, rehearsal rooms and a restaurant.
Interestingly, the International Mugham Center, in addition to mugham concerts and festivals also hosts jazz events. Not so long ago it hosted an international jazz festival, which was attended by well-known jazz musicians of our time.
The famous new building of the Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and Applied Arts, resembling a huge rolled carpet, appeared before us afterwards.
Next to the museum there was a free platform where the local skateboarders had a get-together, showing an incredible agility. More experienced showed newcomers steep techniques, however, each of their "tricks" left us gasping - it is a very dangerous hobby, as to me.
At the entrance to the new boulevard we saw cute little walking trains traveling to the Crystal Hall and back.
We were very pleased with our walk and being under the impression, my friend wanted to walk around the old boulevard then, but we left it for later enjoyment.