With one foot toeing the Middle East and the other set firmly in Europe, Baku Azerbaijan is a fascinating city of contrasts. Our trusty Lonely Planet guide described Baku as “the architectural love child of Paris and Dubai…with plenty of Soviet genes floating half-hidden in the background.” And, after two days of soaking in Baku’s flashy skyscrapers, its cobbled streets and its drab concrete high-rises, we found the description to be perfectly apt.         Baku is a true crossroads—culturally, geographically and architecturally—between East and West. The city’s historic core…