Bayir Shahar: Demolition of historic quarters in Baku and 'Year of Architecture' paradox
Demolition of historic quarters in Baku
In Baku’s historic quarter known as Bayir Shahar, large-scale demolition works have been under way over the past year, drawing public attention. The destruction of these old neighbourhoods in the city centre — particularly around the Teze Pir Mosque area — has sparked strong discontent among local residents.
Prominent rapper Elshad Khose, who criticised the demolitions in Bayir Shahar, was also arrested and sentenced to 15 days in detention on charges of “resisting police”.
Meanwhile, the authorities have declared 2026 the “Year of Urban Development and Architecture” in Azerbaijan. The officially stated strategic goal is to highlight national traditions in urban development and modern planning. Architects note that when announcing the initiative, President Ilham Aliyev placed particular emphasis on the need for “Baku to preserve its historical character”.
The paradox, they argue, is that while officials stress the preservation of historical and architectural heritage at the national level, it is precisely these values in Bayir Shahar that are now under threat of destruction.
Demolitions and residents’ protests
Amid an intensification of demolition works in Bayir Shahar, residents and urban activists have launched a protest campaign. In June last year, local architects issued an online petition calling for an end to the destruction of the historic quarters.
The petition, published on Change.org, quickly gathered hundreds of signatures. It set out the following specific demands:
- immediate halt to the demolitions;
- preservation and restoration of the historic quarters;
- transformation of the area into a pedestrian cultural centre (an open public space for city residents);
- end to the forced relocation of residents.
The petition describes Bayir Shahar as “one of Baku’s ancient and distinctive quarters”, stressing in particular that streets around the Teze Pir Mosque are “under serious threat of demolition”.
City residents and professionals who signed the petition say these areas are not merely a collection of old buildings but represent “the memory and character of Baku” — carriers of the capital’s historical memory and unique atmosphere. In their view, preserving Bayir Shahar is essential both for protecting cultural heritage and tourism potential, and for passing these values on to future generations.
Protests against the demolitions have gone beyond the petition alone. A large-scale campaign is under way on social media, with residents and urban activists posting videos on Facebook and Instagram showing demolitions continuing in Bayir Shahar even at night, in an effort to draw attention to the destruction of historic homes.
For several months, local architects have been sending appeals to official bodies, warning about the fate of Bayir Shahar. Some residents openly describe what is happening as the “erasure of Baku’s history”, a phrase that has been widely shared on social media.
Сompensation issue and threat to historical heritage
The compensation mechanisms offered to residents whose homes are slated for demolition have also sparked discontent. According to official information, residents have been offered payments of between 2,200 and 2,700 manats (approximately $1,300–1,600) per square metre upon resettlement. However, residents themselves say these sums are insufficient, as the compensation makes it virtually impossible to purchase comparable housing in the city centre, close to their previous place of residence.
Many families are unwilling to leave homes in which they have lived for many years and which have often been passed down from generation to generation, at what they see as a below-market price. As a result, some property owners have refused to accept the proposed compensation and sell their homes.
At the same time, the historic fabric of Bayir Shaher is under serious threat. The area is rich in residential buildings and architectural monuments dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, under the city’s master plan (Baku Master Plan 2040), Bayir Shahar and the area around the Teze Air Mosque have the status of a “Special protection zone”.
Formally, this status means that large-scale demolition work in the area is prohibited and that only conservation and restoration measures are permitted. In practice, however, this principle is reportedly not being observed.
Architects point out that in 2015–2016 a number of historic buildings in Bayir Shahar, aged 120–130 years, were suddenly removed from the state register. As a result, these buildings, which are no longer officially recognised as protected heritage sites, can now be demolished without any obstacles.
Such cases have already occurred. On 25 May last year, part of a historic building constructed in 1887 and located at 89 Leo Tolstoy Street was demolished.
Although the building had previously been listed in the state register as a protected historical monument, its removal from the list has led architects and residents to describe the demolition as “illegal”.
Official bodies, for their part, have issued denials. Baku’s Main Department of Architecture and Urban Planning has said that buildings registered in the state register as historical monuments will not be affected during the demolition process.
Architects, however, question what will happen to those buildings that were once listed in the register but were later removed from it.
Official line: “Urban improvement” and Year of Architecture strategy
Officials and state-aligned media are framing what is happening in Bayir Shahar in a different light. Local executive authorities claim that the works underway are not demolitions, but so-called “urban improvement measures”.
In an official response letter sent by the Yasamal District Executive Authority of Baku to the Presidential Administration, it is stated explicitly that the activities being carried out in Bayir Shahar are “urban improvement measures aimed at creating healthy conditions for living, work and leisure in line with legal requirements, ensuring public safety, and improving existing conditions”.
Translated from bureaucratic language, this implies the renewal of the area’s infrastructure, the repair of building facades and improvements to the living environment. In other words, it is argued that the demolition of old houses does not contradict the urban development plan but, on the contrary, constitutes a necessary “improvement” measure within the framework of the city’s modernisation.
However, the public has remained dissatisfied with these explanations. Architects have also described it as “disappointing” that the official response came not from the Presidential Administration itself, but from a district-level executive authority.
Architects note that if the true aim is to improve the living conditions of local residents, it remains unclear why residents themselves — including people living in buildings that have protected heritage status — are being forcibly evicted from their homes.
This question has gone unanswered by the authorities.
Nor has there been any official response to claims that the works being carried out in Bayir Shahar contradict Baku’s approved master plan. As a result, despite official strategies on paper declaring a commitment to preserving historical heritage, practical actions suggest the opposite.
A particular approach to the issue is also evident in official media coverage. While pro-government television channels and news websites acknowledge the fact of demolitions in Bayir Shahar, they place the main emphasis on residents’ dissatisfaction with compensation terms.
A report by Xəzər TV states that the demolition process has been delayed precisely because of residents’ objections to the compensation offered. In this way, responsibility is partially shifted onto the “self-willed actions” of dissatisfied citizens.
Some commentators presented as experts, for their part, describe the demolition of these neighbourhoods as an inevitable process, viewing the issue not through the lens of preserving historical heritage, but primarily from the perspective of the real estate market.
Protests online
The fate of Bayir Shahar is being widely discussed on social media. Independent architects and urban planning specialists have taken an active stance on Facebook and other online platforms.
For example, architect Dilgam Ismailov, criticising media coverage, notes that some websites are trying to present news about the “start of demolition works in the Təzəpir area” as something routine. According to him, such material — which normalises the destruction of historic streets — is based not on the views of specialists, but on unprofessional comments by individual real estate agents presented as “property experts”.
As a result, information manipulation is taking place in the public sphere to justify the demolitions, while the destruction of architectural heritage is portrayed as a secondary issue.
Photographs and videos circulating on social media vividly show the current state of Bayir Shahar: half-demolished houses, streets on the verge of collapse, and families forced to leave their homes. Hundreds of comments appear under these posts, with citizens expressing protest against what they see as the destruction of a historic neighbourhood.
The well-known rapper Elshad Hose, who spoke out against the demolitions in Bayir Shahar, also triggered a strong reaction on social media. Shortly after his critical Instagram story was widely shared, the rapper was arrested for 15 days. The official explanation cited the use of obscene language in public and failure to comply with police orders.
