The Port of Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. Lying on the western shores of the Caspian Sea about 700 kilometers east-southeast of the Port of Batumi, in Georgia, the Port of Baku is blessed with the best harbor in the Caspian because the bay is sheltered by the islands of the Baku Archipelago to the east and the Abseron Peninsula to the north. In 2007, over 1.1 million people lived in the Port of Baku.

Men have known about the oil in the Port of Baku region for many centuries. In the 15th Century, oil for their lamps came from surface wells. Thus, petroleum is the base of the local Port of Baku economy. Most of the surrounding towns are drilling centers that are linked to local refineries by a network of pipelines. Oil is piped to the Black Sea Port of Batumi or shipped by tanker across the Caspian to the Volga River. With its busy petroleum industry, the Port of Baku has also become a center for manufacturing oil industry equipment. Other important industries in the Port of Baku include shipbuilding and repair, metalworking, food processing, and the manufacture of electrical machinery, chemicals, and construction materials.

Archaeological evidence suggests human settlements in the area of the Port of Baku several centuries before the coming of Jesus, but the Port of Baku was first noted in written records from 885AD. In the 11th and 12th Centuries, the Shirvan-Shahs made the Port of Baku their capital. During the 13th and 14th Centuries, it was overrun by the Mongols.

Peter the Great captured the Port of Baku in 1723, but it came back to Persia in 1735. Finally in 1806, Russia captured the city. It became the capital of the Azerbaijan Republic in 1920.

Commercial exploitation of the Port of Baku's oil resources began in the early 1870s. By the early 20th Century, the Baku oil field was the world's largest, and it continued to be the Soviet Union's biggest oil field until the 1940s.

By the end of the 20th Century, most of the easy-to-get oil reserves in the Port of Baku area had been taken, and drilling underground and into the seabed began. When Azerbaijan won its independence, foreign oil companies bought rights to explore for and develop oil-rich sites near the Port of Baku. New refineries appeared, and many oil derricks rose in the gulf in front of the city.

The center of the modern Port of Baku is dominated by the ancient old town fortress of Icheri-Shekher. Still standing are the walls that were reinforced after the 1806 Russian conquest and the 27-meter tall 12th Century tower of Kyz-Kalasy. The old town is beautiful and quaint, with narrow alleys and ancient buildings lending an air of mystery. The walled city, the Palace of the Shirvan-Shahs, and Kyz-Kalasy are today part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Today's Port of Baku rises up the hills that surround the bay with regular streets and modern buildings. The waterfront boasts a beautiful park, and most of the industrial areas are to the east and southwest of the city. Today, the city almost covers the entire Abseron Peninsula and off-shore islands.

The Baku International Sea Trade Port has been the biggest and busiest port on the Caspian Sea since it was established in 1902. Beginning as a humble two-jetty port with a few workers, it has grown to be the gateway for water-borne traffic to Azerbaijan.

Open all year on the ancient Silk Route, the Port of Baku is an important transit point for trade between Europe and Asia. When the rivers of Russia are open from April through November, the Port of Baku serves ships carrying cargoes from Western Europe and the Mediterranean to inland Russia. Its importance has grown with increasing trade of oil in the trans-Caspian region and growing offshore drilling in the last decade.

The main cargo terminal in the Port of Baku serves vessels carrying containers and bulk and general cargoes. The largest share of goods is in general cargo, and the Port of Baku's main cargo terminal has capacity to handle two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year. The terminal contains six berths totaling 866 meters in length with alongside depth of seven meters. One of the berths is the Port of Baku's roll-on/roll-off quay. The berths are fully equipped with 16 cranes to handle up to three vessels at one time, and they are served by eight kilometers of railway. The main cargo terminal offers 24 thousand square meters of open storage and about 10 thousand square meters of covered warehouse.

Near the Port of Baku's main cargo terminal is the Container Terminal with capacity to handle 15 thousand containers per year. The Container Terminal has 1.6 thousand square meters of warehouses and is linked to the Port of Baku's main railway system.

Some 35 kilometers to the east-northeast of the Port of Baku is the Oil Terminal at Dubendi. The Oil Terminal handles oil from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan that is destined for ports on the Black Sea and the international market. The Port of Baku Oil Terminal has two piers that can handle four tankers at the same time. The Oil Terminal has capacity to handle 15 million tons of cargo per year. When the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan oil pipeline is completed, the Port of Baku will serve as a transit point for significantly larger volumes of oil to international markets. The Oil Terminal is equipped to receive contaminated waters and to clean up accidental discharges of oil.

The Ferry Terminal at the Port of Baku serves passengers, vehicles, and cargo traveling between Baku and Iranian ports. Each ferry can accommodate 28 wagons or 40 trailers as well as over 200 passengers and as many as 50 cars. The Ferry Terminal at the Port of Baku has capacity to handle up to eight million tons of cargo per year. As an important stop on the Tracea-Restoration of the Historic Silk Route project, the Port of Baku anticipates a dramatic rise in traffic through the Ferry Terminal over the coming years.

The Port of Baku's port fleet includes 20 vessels that are housed at the Port Fleet Terminal. The terminal is also the arrival/departure point for cruisers used by the municipal government and the citizens of Baku.

The Passenger Terminal in the Port of Baku contains a 340-meter long berth used by passenger ships moving between ports on the Caspian Sea. It is also used for transporting oil workers to and from their duty stations.

The Port of Baku is the biggest city in the Caucasus. It consists of three major divisions: the ancient city of Iceri Sohor, the Soviet-built city, and the new modern district. Summers in the Port of Baku are hot and humid and the winters are cool and wet. Temperatures do not vary as much as many similar regions due to the Port of Baku's proximity to the Caspian Sea.

Visitors to the Port of Baku will want to see Yanar Dagh, a mountain that has been ablaze for a thousand years due to natural gas vents that spew hot flames even during rainstorms. The mountain is hard to find, so it's best to take a taxi. Once there, visitors enjoy the small café that serves snacks and tea.

The Atashgah Fire Temple is a religious building in the Port of Baku suburb of Surakhani. This 18th Century pentagonal structure has a courtyard surrounded by monks' cells with an altar in the middle. It was abandoned when oil and gas plants appeared in the area in about 1883. Now a museum that gets 15 thousand visitors per year, the temple is a State historical-architectural reserve. It is called a fire temple because it sits on a natural gas field (now depleted) that used to cause natural fires. Today, the fires are piped in for visitors.

The Hamam Hehellisi public baths are located inside the walls of the old city of the Port of Baku. Men and women have their own days at the baths.