Mardakan is a small town on the Absheron Peninsula, about 30 km north-east of Baku. Named after the ancient tribe of the Mards, it sits among flat-roofed houses and old mansions — many now converted into sanatoria. In summer, Baku residents flock here to escape the city heat, renting dachas and spending long weekends by the Caspian shore.
The town's main draw is its two medieval castles. The Quadrangular Mardakan Fortress, dating from the 14th century, has a square tower 25 metres high and is visible from a distance as you approach. The Round Mardakan Fortress, built in 1232, features a cylindrical tower surrounded by a defensive wall — it was recognised by UNESCO as part of a Caspian Sea defensive heritage reserve in 2001. A fourth castle stands at Nardaran, further north on the peninsula.
The Tuba Shahi Mosque, built in 1481 and now abandoned but intact, is worth a look for its Shirvan-Absheron stonework. The Mardakan Arboretum, established in 1926 on the grounds of an oil baron's estate, covers 24 hectares and contains a small museum dedicated to the poet Sergei Yesenin, who lived here in the 1920s. The Caspian beach draws weekend crowds in summer.
Mardakan makes for an easy half-day trip from Baku, especially if you are interested in the peninsula's medieval fortifications.