Full-day tour of Baku’s surroundings

Random learnings

The sights in the area surrounding Baku are a little hard to get to by public transport.  Rather than hire a taxi, it’s actually more economical to book a day tour.  I found one online that was cheaper than the prices quoted locally.  But prices pasted on the door of the tour company I used were even lower but may not have been updated.

A group of us left in a van around 1000 leaving the city heading southwest.  We drove past oil fields with their “nodding donkeys” working away pumping out the black gold that makes the world go round.

Next there were shipyards with ships being built and oil rigs.  Our guide told us that the Caspian Sea is very dangerous with high wind/waves and claim many lives each year.  He is a retired oil engineer and was also an army officer.  He also explained that oil produced here is lighter and exported and Azerbaijan imports heavier oil from Kazakhstan (for diesel).

Along the way, we saw the Azerbaijani flag along with the Turkish flag; that’s quite common.  But sometimes there’s also the Pakistani flag.  We learnt that these Turkey and Pakistan were the first and second countries to recognise Azerbaijani independence, and now have a special place in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people.  Israel came third and is also a special friend.

One fear of Azerbaijan is a civil war in Iran, causing Azeris there to flee and become refugees in Azerbaijan.

We also learnt that if hadn’t been for petroleum, we might have hunted whales to extinction for their blubber to meet the demand for fuel and lubrication.

Gobustan National Park

After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at Gobustan National Park which has rock art dating from 5000 years to 26000 years ago.  Parts of the cliff have holes and striations from water erosion, from an era when they were underwater in the Caspian.

The area has many snakes and we are constantly warned to keep on the path.  There are many cats here too and they are, apparently, quite skilled and catching and killing snakes.

Despite the scorching weather, it’s hard to believe that the Caspian Sea froze 10 years ago when the weather dropped to -18 degC.

Mud Volcanoes

Not far away were the mud volcanoes which squirt mud slurries from 26km underground.  The area was littered with such mounds and we were shown how fragile and bouncy they were closed to the edge.

Surprisingly, the mud was cool to touch, as it was being ejected by gas pressure rather than volcanic activity.  It also had a tinge of petroleum.

A resort is being built in the area for local tourists despite the mud being radioactive, coming from deep below.

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Ateshgah Fire Temple

We drove back to Baku and crossed to the north near Surakhany for lunch.  Surprisingly the lunch place that we were taken to was really reasonable and not a tourist trap.  Unfortunately we were pestered by a gypsy woman as we prepared to leave for the Ateshgah Fire Temple.

While Fire Worshippers have been known to be in the area since the 10^th Century, whatever structures would have been destroyed in the Islamic conquest.  What we saw is likely to be from the 17^th Century.  The site was used by Zoroastrians, Hindus and Sikhs.

While no longer an active temple but a museum, some pilgrims still come to pay their respect here.  The shrine is surrounded by rooms, like a caravanserai for pilgrims.  These rooms are now used for various exhibits for visitors.

The Zoroastrian religion prohibits begging.  Instead, the rich may ask the poor and need to pray on their behalf by paying them.

Fire Mountain

The Yanar Dag (Fire Mountain) area used to be full of openings in the ground that would leak burning gas.  Early Fire Worshippers came to the area before formally having a temple.

For tourists, the area is now rather disappointing.  We were taken to viewing area where there was just a small strip of fire.

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Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre

We returned to Baku, stopping outside the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre briefly for photos.  This magnificent museum was designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.

I plan to have a day of visiting the inside of various places I’ve only seen from the outside.  This would be one such place along with the Carpet Museum.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre.

Replan and regret

I grabbed a dinner of a chicken kebab and a kuku near the city wall, in a nice garden setting.  But my mind was pre-occupied and I wanted to get back to my room to sort things out.

With consecutive busy days, I haven’t had (nor will have) a chance to go to the railway station to buy the ticket for the night train to Sheki on Friday night (arriving Saturday morning).

I was tossing up whether to take the bus (daytime) on Friday or Saturday instead of the train.  If I went on Friday, I’d probably end up having a little too much time in Sheki.  If I went on Saturday, it would probably still not be short of time there.  Add to that, I felt like a change of scenery from my perfectly fine Baku room which I would have had for four days, plus another two when I return.

I decide to go on Friday and adjusted my accommodation to match the plan.  As soon as I had done that, regret set in.  I’ll know in the next few days as to whether it was the right decision.  Some people do Sheki as a daytrip from Baku (with about 5h drive each way).