At night the curvy facades turn into gigantic display screens for a spectacular light show featuring dancing fires, giant men waving the Azeri flag and the national colours of blue, red and green.

The dazzling skyline gave me butterflies and was such a great photo opportunity that by the time I got around to ordering a drink it was almost 10pm.

This radically transforming city with a striking skyline is the new must-see European hotspot.

All eyes will turn here this summer for the first European Games – 17 days of competition featuring 20 sports starting on June 12.

The country has spent more than £5billion on infrastructure and built five venues in and around the city centre including the National Gymnastics Arena, BMX Velopark, Baku Aquatics Centre, Shooting Centre, a colossal National Stadium as well as an athletes’ village.

The city is on an adrenalin rush following its success in hosting the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

F1 comes here next year, followed by the Islamic Games in 2017 and the European football championships in 2020.

At just 23 years old, it’s a former Soviet republic that is making a fresh start.

The nation sits with Russia to the north, the Caspian Sea on the east, Iran to the south and Armenia and Georgia to the west.

Its oil riches have allowed it to embark on an extravagant refurbishment.

But instead of creating monuments to its past it is designing a rock star city for the future with 30 skyscrapers planned every year for the next 15 years.

One that has already been built is the Heydar Aliyev centre with its ski slope roof fashioned to look like the president’s signature.

The Carpet Museum, with a roof shaped like a rolled-up carpet, not only catalogues the country’s heritage of weaving but also houses the largest collection of carpets and rugs in the world.

There are also plans to build the world’s tallest super-skyscraper – with 189 floors – on an artificial island in the Caspian Sea.

But for all its new developments, Baku’s star will always be its barebones beauty best seen in the walled Old City.

The 7th Century maze of narrow, cobbled lanes filled with street sellers and teahouses kept me busy all day.

Inside the fortress, which became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2000, I climbed the 110 original stone steps to the top of the Maiden tower.

It’s rumoured that centuries ago an ancient maiden threw herself into the sea to escape the king.

The 15th Century Shirvanshahs’ Palace belonging to the dynasty of the same name boasts dozens of rooms, courtyards, a crypt, bathhouse and mosque which, in its time, was another show of great wealth.

To step even further back in time, visit Gobustan National Park, a 30-minute drive away.

It has also been designated a Unesco site due to its mud volcanoes and prehistoric rock carvings that date back to at least 10,000BC.

After all my exploring, it was good to return to the five-star Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baku, where all my creature comforts were met – a huge bath, exquisite restaurant and spa.

Venturing out into the city for dinner, I hailed a distinctly purple London cab.

Not content with flame-shaped buildings, Azerbaijan’s pre-occupation with infernos (it is, after all, known as the land of fire) even stretches to its restaurants.

At Manghal Steak House the waiters caused a commotion when they brought the meat – and the flames – straight to our table.

But their approach to grilling gave the steak a perfectly charred outside and a sweet and succulent inside.

And if you want to burn the midnight oil, head down to Buddah Bar, the latest addition to Baku’s sophisticated party scene.

A melting pot of old and new, where east meets west, Baku is a fast-paced city with fi re in its belly.

Factfile

Return flights from Heathrow to Baku with British Airways and Azal start from £480 and £390.

Book at ba.com and azal.az. Hyatt Regency rooms cost from £130. Book via Baku.regency.hyatt. com.

Visa restrictions will be lifted during the European Games for those holding valid tickets. Admission to general sports events costs between £1.50 and £3.

Children under 16 go free if accompanied by an adult.

Tickets to the opening ceremony start at £13 while prices for the closing ceremony begin at £6.

 

(Daily Star)