The massive wall of the town's fortress, Arabic inscriptions at the gate. Inside the wall the streets were narrow and curved, like oriental daggers. Minarets pierced the mild moon. Through the labyrinth of streets camels were walking, their ankles so delicate I wanted to caress them", says Ali Khan as he looks over the glorious city of Baku.

In 1970, writer Paul Theroux discovered a lost treasure, Kurban Said's epic love story Ali and Nino. Their love breached class, religion, and ethnicity and documented Baku's most tumultuous period. Built on the philanthropy of its oil tycoons, Baku at the turn of the century was, says historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore.

But with wealth came inequality. Life was bleak for the oil workers living in the so-called, 'Black City'. Crime was rife, and the place was alive with the sparks of revolution. As events in the world began to turn, and the great powers were exhausted by war and revolution, the local forces in Baku made their moves. As different ethnic groups fought it out the city suffered. But in September 1918 secular and progressive Azeris were able to proclaim the birth of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan., says historian Irada Bagirova.

For almost two years democracy flourished, before it was cruelly and viciously extinguished by the Bolshevik thirst for Baku's oil. With the fall of democratic Baku, Ali and Nino's love was extinguished., wrote Said, as Ali fell on the battlefield, defending his home.

Under Soviet control for 70 years, Baku is now rediscovering its former glory as it draws on its position as the bridge between east and west, and its rich and varied history