Вилла Тагиева, Villa in Mardakan, Azerbaijan

Villa Taghiyev is a manor house in Mardakan that combines European architectural forms with local building traditions across multiple stories and rooms. The building sits on an extensive grounds with gardens, paved pathways, and a mix of trees that shape the outdoor spaces.

The two-storey villa was built between 1893 and 1895 in Mardakan as the summer residence of Baku millionaire Hacı Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, on a plot of five hectares. After the Soviet takeover it was nationalised; during the Second World War a military hospital occupied it, and from 1955 a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients operated in the building. In 1996 President Heydar Aliyev returned part of the estate to Taghiyev's heir Safia Abdullayeva-Taghiyeva, and a stone wall now divides the sanatorium from the heirs' dacha.

The villa was the summer residence and dacha of Hacı Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, who spent his last years here. Its metal gates, set in a stone frame, carry carved stonework in an eastern architectural element and seven lion heads cut from stone. A stone wall now divides the estate between the sanatorium and the heirs' dacha.

The estate covers a large area best explored on foot, with paved pathways connecting different sections throughout the grounds. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since much of the experience involves walking through gardens and outdoor spaces.

The entrance gate was metal lattice in diamond patterns set in a stone frame, its upper part carved in stone with seven lion heads, an element of Eastern architecture. In the yard stood a stable and outbuildings; the two floors held 50 rooms.