Built on a site inhab­it­ed since the Palae­olith­ic peri­od, the Walled City of Baku reveals evi­dence of Zoroas­tri­an, Sasan­ian, Ara­bic, Per­sian, Shir­vani, Ottoman, and Russ­ian pres­ence in cul­tur­al con­ti­nu­ity. The Inner City (Icheri She­her) has pre­served much of its 12th-cen­­tu­ry defen­sive walls. The 12th-cen­­tu­ry Maid­en Tow­er (Giz Galasy) is built over ear­li­er struc­tures dat­ing from the 7th to 6th cen­turies BC, and the 15th-cen­­tu­ry Shir­van­shahs‘ Palace is one of the pearls of Azerbaijan‘s archi­tec­ture.