Azerbaijan

A pentagonal stone shrine at Surakhany on the Absheron Peninsula, built around a natural gas flame that attracted Zoroastrian and later Hindu fire worshippers for centuries before industrial gas extraction finally exhausted the supply.

A semi-desert reserve west of Baku containing more than 6,000 prehistoric petroglyphs dating from 12,000 years ago, active mud volcanoes and a museum documenting the archaeological significance of the Absheron Peninsula.

An 18th-century summer palace of the Sheki Khans, famed for its extraordinary shebeke stained glass windows whose multicoloured geometric panels were built without mortar or nails using a compression-fit system that has survived more than 250 years.

An 8-storey limestone tower in Baku's old city, built on pre-Islamic foundations, whose original purpose remains debated and whose upper floors command views across the entire Walled City and the Caspian Sea.

A 15th-century royal complex at the highest point of Baku's Walled City, built by the Shirvanshah dynasty, featuring a mosque, mausoleum and elaborate carved stone portal set around a breezy courtyard.

Baku's ancient walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, contains medieval streets, caravanserais and historic monuments including the Maiden Tower and Palace of the Shirvanshahs.