The Maiden Tower is a Baku landmark, a much loved symbol of the city and of Azerbaijan. It looks dark and enigmatic, looking out to sea from the southern edge of Baku´s old, walled city, the Icheri Sheher.Along with the Shirvanshahs’ Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms a group of historic monuments listed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property,The origins of the tower are shrouded in mystery – no-one knows for certain when it was built or what it was built for or even how it acquired its name Maiden Tower (Qiz qalasi). No written sources survive that record its construction or original function.The structure of the tower leads some scholars to date it to more ancient times. They connect the Maiden Tower with Zoroastrianism and the goddesses Mitra and Anahita. The tower may have been a Zoroastrian temple, built under the influence of the Caspiana and Midiya temple towers, part of the ancient fire city Ateshi Baquan which stood amid the naturally occurring fires on the Caspian coast.
