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Baku ((アゼルバイジャン語:Bakı), ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal parts: the downtown area and the old Inner City (21.5 ha). At the beginning of 2009, Baku's urban population was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku's metropolitan area. Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on islands in the Baku Bay and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, away from Baku. The Inner City of Baku along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet's ranking, Baku is also among the world's top ten destinations for urban nightlife. The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial center of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there, including SOCAR, one of the world's top 100 companies and others. The Baku International Sea Trade Port, sheltered by the islands of the Baku Archipelago to the east and the Absheron Peninsula to the north, is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Port of Baku )〕 In recent years Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 and the 2015 European Games, and will host the 2016 European Grand Prix and UEFA Euro 2020. The city is renowned for its harsh winds. This is reflected in the city's nickname, the "City of Winds". ==Etymology== The name Baku is widely believed to be derived from the old Persian names of the city باد-کوبه ''Bād-kube'', meaning "Wind-pounded city", in which ''bād'' means "wind" and ''kube'' is rooted in the verb کوبیدن ''kubidan'', "to pound", thus referring to a place where wind is strong and pounding. Indeed, the city is renowned for its fierce winter snow storms and harsh winds. This is also reflected in the city's nickname as the "City of Winds". A less probable folk etymology explains the name as deriving from ''Baghkuy'', meaning "God's town". ''Baga'' (now ''بغ'' ''bagh'') and ''kuy'' are the Old Persian words for "god" and "town" respectively; the name ''Baghkuy'' may be compared with ''Baghdād'' ("God-given") in which ''dād'' is the Old Persian word for "give". Arabic sources refer to the city as ''Baku'', ''Bakukh'', ''Bakuya'', and ''Bakuye'', all of which seem to come from a Persian name. Various different hypotheses have been also proposed to explain the etymology of the word ''Baku'' to suit a given political agenda . According to L.G.Lopatinski〔Ган К.Ф. Oпыть объяснения кавказских географических названий. Тифлис, 1909〕 and Ali Huseynzade,〔.(The Name “Baku” )〕 for example, ''Baku'' is derived from Turkic word for "hill". Caucasian history specialist Kerope Patkanov also explains the name as "hill" but in the Lak language.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Baku」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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