You have now arrived at Bazar Square, the heart of medieval Baku. As the city grew over the centuries, this trading center was gradually buried. What was at street level is now a stone bowl of history. Look around. Rows of pale limestone arches line the square.These arcades once housed market stalls and shops. This was the city’s main hub, also known as the Khanqah complex. It linked trade, worship, and daily life near Kichik Gala Street and the Maiden Tower. The arcades you see were uncovered during excavations in the mid-twentieth century. Archaeologists revealed original paving stones, arches, and walls that had not seen daylight for centuries. And they found something unexpected. Beneath the market lay fifty-two graves. People once chose to be buried here because this ground was sacred. This was the custom when distant holy sites were out of reach. Near the graves, archaeologists found a round stone well and a large eight-pointed column standing on a raised platform. These finds suggest this was not only a place of trade, but also of gathering, ritual, and possibly pilgrimage too. In medieval times, the bazaar stretched far beyond this square. Around the Juma Mosque was Ashagibazar, the Lower Bazaar, filled with grocers, tailors, and hat makers. Closer to the Maiden Tower was Yukharibazar, the Upper Bazaar, partly covered with arcades and home to cloth merchants and larger traders. Think of it as an early shopping district. This marketplace was plugged into the Silk Road. Traders arrived from Persia, Central Asia, and Europe, sending goods from Baku’s port across the Caspian Sea. Even in the early nineteenth century, it had over seven hundred shops and workshops. Now, further into the old town and you will see some domes that indicate that you have found our next stop.