Baku Bay
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Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural
harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...
of the Baku port and local
yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...
, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
.


Description

It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20 km. The bay is bordered by Sultan Cape in the east, Shikh Cape on the south-west and the
island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
s of Qum, Dash Zira and Boyuk Zira in the south and south-east. These islands are part of the Baku Archipelago which lies mostly within the bay. These characteristics make it an ideal place for a harbor. There lies
Baku Boulevard Baku Boulevard (, also known as National Park) is a promenade established in 1909 which runs parallel to Baku's seafront. Its history goes back more than 100 years, to a time when Baku oil barons built their mansions along the Caspian Sea, Caspi ...
on the seashore. During severe storms with high winds, the height of the waves in the bay can reach 1–5 m.


History

From the 1st century AD till the 7th century,
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
bay was dry and the islands in the bay joined the land. In
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
’s map, Baku was described far from the sea. After the 7th century, the water level of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
rose until the 9th century and since then, the formation of Baku bay began. Severe changes happened at the end of the 8th century, when the Caspian Sea rose more than ten meters. A major earthquake occurred in 1306, the Sabayil Castle, built on an island in the Bay of Baku, was submerged and remained underwater for several centuries. It was only in the early 18th century, when the Caspian Sea retreated, that the island resurfaced. Mario Sanuto, an Italian geographer of the 14th century sadly noted that: "Water level of the Caspian Sea rises each year and most cities have flooded.", and according to words of Abd ar-Rashid al-Bakuvi, the geographer, in 1403 the Caspian Sea flooded the part of Baku and water stood near a mosque. At that time the sea was waving near the foot of the Maiden Tower, which confirms a legend about a girl, who threw herself from the top of the tower. At that time Sabayil Castle, which was built on the rock in Baku bay, was totally located underwater. During the next 600 years, the level of the sea was hesitatingly stood high till the beginning of the 20th century when it began to sink.


Ecologic condition

According to a statement of a representative of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources there are a lot of reasons of pollution of Baku bay. Wastes from industrial, dwelling and domestic objects located on the seashore and also exploitation of vessels, oil and gas deposits are the main factors that worsen the ecological condition. Works on investigation of depth of Baku bay began after 1996, and later works on extraction of metallic constructions and sunk vessels from water were begun. In 2007-2009's, large scale works on cleansing of the bay of sunken vessels, metallic constructions and non-exploited hydrotechnical constructions, non-serviceable subsea pipelines began. In all 4500 tons of scrap metal and approximately 412 tons of wooden waste were extracted from the sea.


Ports and bridges

Trade port is stretched along the northern and western shores of Baku bay. The port is fully re-equipped, all loading and unloading works in it are mechanized. There is a port for ferry quay in the north-western part of Baku bay. There is discussion on the need of construction of a bridge through Baku bay, - from Lokbatan to Zikh highway. It is considered that length of the bridge over the sea, from Shikh to Zig is 14,5 km. Total length of the bridge, which will be connected with encircling highway is 26 km. The sea bridge will be constructed on high piers, for not impeding movement of vessels. Automobile highway through Baku bay will be paid. Construction works will last for 3,5 years.


Entertainments

Foreign companies plan to open a recreational center in Boyuk Zira and Pirallahi islands of Baku bay. In Azerbaijani newspapers is reported that a Turkish company which is preparing an appropriate project will hold the construction of the recreational center in Nargin Island. It is planned to open modern hotels, entertainment places and other buildings on the island. It is also planned to open one of the biggest lunaparks in the CIS, which will be constructed by German specialists. It is expected that the island will be one of the centers of tourism in the future.


Interesting facts

* There is a flooded city around Sabayil Castle under the waters of Baku bay. * A salad was named after Baku bay.


Gallery

File:Yacht club.jpg, Yacht Club. File:Bakubulvar 467.jpg, Yacht Club. File:Yaxt Klub.jpg, Yacht Club. File:Yaxtklub.JPG, Yacht Club. File:Pleasure boat in the bay of Baku, Azerbaijan.jpg, Boat Tour in the Baku File:Bakinskiy port.JPG, Baku Port. File:Baku, Caspian Sea.jpg, Baku bay in outskirts of Baku. File:A view of the Baku bay, Azerbaijan.jpg, A view of the Baku bay, Azerbaijan


References

{{Authority control Ports and harbours of Azerbaijan Bays of Azerbaijan Bays of the Caspian Sea Geography of Baku History of Baku