Several local restaurants in Old City, Icherisheher (Old City), Shirvanshahs’ Palace, Maiden Tower, Ancient caravanserais Multani & Bukhara, Souvenir shops in the Old City.
WHAT TO EXPECT? Walking along the UNESCO heritage sites, you will get acquainted not only with the historical part of the Old City but also with the national cuisine of Azerbaijan and its rich culinary traditions, acquire a knowledge of all its subtleties and some features. Hand-cooked dishes will reveal not only the secrets of the cuisine but also local traditions: welcoming guests, table layout, specialties of serving meals. Master-class is conducted by experienced and charismatic chefs. Welcome to the world of Azerbaijani delicacies!
Our walking Yummy Excursion will start at Gosha Gala gates – the entrance in the fortress walls of Icherisheher (Old City), a portal which will take us from Baku of the 21th century to Baku of the 12th century.
There is a saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so our gastronomic journey will begin with delicious late-breakfast in one of the local restaurants of Icherisheher (“Old City”). Traditional Azerbaijani breakfast consists of sweet butter, various types of homemade white cheese, cream, butter, honey, ‘tandir’ bread and tomatoes fried with eggs.
You will continue getting acquainted with the original culture of Azerbaijan through its national cuisine and in the next restaurant chef will show how to shape ‘dushbara’. According to tradition, dushbara dumplings should be small enough to fit ten of them in one tablespoon! Making these tiny meat dumplings boiled in a broth with a touch of vinegar and garlic sauce may be time-consuming, but it’s a great winter warmer. You will have a chance to participate in the process before you taste it.
Then we will move further and learn how to choose right ingredients for ‘dolma’. It is the pearl of Azerbaijani cuisine traditionally made of grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice, enriched with herbs or nuts. Its name comes from the verb ‘dolmaq’, meaning ‘to stuff’ in Azerbaijani. Traditionally, dolma is served with ‘qatiq’ (sour yoghurt).
In the end you will participate in the traditional tea ceremony. In Azerbaijan tea is the most popular drink. It is served to guests before a meal, it helps to pass the time in the numerous teahouses, and every feast also finishes with tea. Azerbaijanis prefer black long leaf tea and the drink itself must be very strong. Tea leaves are brewed in large teapots, and then the drink is poured into `armudu` (pear-shaped glasses). To make the tea even more aromatic, oriental spices like cloves, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom are being added during the brewing.
After you are done with food you will have a walk around Icherisheher, known as a “Fortress” or “Old City”, a unique historical and architectural conservation area in the center of Baku. This is one of the most ancient places of the country where archaeological excavations revealed burial vaults of the Bronze Age. Maiden Tower (12th century) and The Palace of Shirvanshahs (13th-16th centuries) are the best known historical monuments located in the Old City. Besides, there are a lot of other unique monuments such as mosques, minarets, the remnants of caravanserais “Multani” and “Bukhara“, ancient baths, etc. Stroll down the paved streets of this ancient city and drop to some of the numerous souvenir shops where you can buy national clothes, kerchiefs, scarves and caps, dishes and handmade carpets.
Professional guide (English, Russian)
Visiting several local restaurants in Old City to try local cuisine
1 Breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 tea ceremony with local sweets
Cooking master class from chef
Tickets to the museums in Old City (optional)
Any tips at the sites
Pick-up time: 11:00
Pick-up / drop-off point: Gosha Gala gates
The organizer reserves the right to change the order of the places to visit in case of necessity.
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