Baku's skyline is dominated by three flame-shaped glass towers that rise between 160 and 190 metres above the city, visible from almost every neighbourhood and from well out to sea on the Caspian. The Flame Towers were completed in 2012 and have since become the defining symbol of Azerbaijan's oil-fuelled transformation — a deliberate architectural nod to the country's ancient reputation as the 'Land of Fire', where natural gas seeping through the ground once ignited eternal flames worshipped by Zoroastrians for centuries. The tallest tower holds a five-star hotel, the second a residential block, and the third commercial office space, making this as much a functioning city as a landmark.
Monument