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Published: April 16th 2007
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It was raining and windy when we arrived at our second bush camp near the mud volcanoes, we camped near the massive boulders common around the area of Gobustan.
It was our group to cook so we set up fairly quickly but the wind was blowing so hard it was very difficult to cook. We made a pasta with fresh mushroom sauce and fried chicken, I was just relieved when it was over. Earlier on the day we did lunch it was easier as the sun was out, we stopped on the roadside and the entire time we were watched by a shepherd, just stood at the top of the hill until we left, as if watching a soap opera and couldn't peel himself off from the telly until the very end. Truck drivers passing by honk their horns to greet and acknowledge us.
We have to walked very far to see the mud volcanoes, it rained so hard the night before the muck is unbelievable, the truck can't get any closer, it was a very good exercise, difficult to walk, we all pobably gained 2 feet each when we got back to the truck due to all the
GOBUSTAN
BUSH CAMP mud sticking to our boots. Then off to the ancient petroglyphs, it is so cool to see thousand year old drawings on big boulders.
We got delayed getting to Baku due to bad roads and being stopped by police, apparently there was a checkpoint that we missed stopping so we have to come back at the check point area and we got fines $150 for not stopping, it would have been $350 as the police was trying to get a bribe by claiming he can't read Toni's license number. We checked in at the Absheron hotel, we have 2 days here and then we take the ferry to Turkmenistan. We walked around the old town, quite nice, shops, parks etc. Then we headed for the Yanar Dag fire crater in the outskirts of town, Clive almost had a heart attack the way our taxi driver weave through traffic, it was worth it though as the crater was really impressive, orange and blue flames come out from the ground it seems. Oh one incident in a restaurant where we went for breakfast when a prostitute was harassing Nigel to no end, finally gave up when she got thrown out when
I threatened the manager we'll leave if she comes back again to our table, there was some screaming and shouting but at least we had our breakfast in peace finally.We eventually got on the ship called Professor Gul one day late as the ship did not turn up on the day of our departure. The ferry ride was 12 hours more or less, arriving at midnight in Turkmenbashi, it was windy we were a bit surprised we were allowed to dock, the sailing was fairly smooth, arriving at around midnight we were called in to be seen by a Doctor for a physical, which is silly, but what if one fails it does that mean we have to return to Azerbaijan? Anyway we were shooed away they dicided not to continue and we waited almost an hour on the truck trying to get to solid land, and when we did it took us about 6 hours to get through immigration and customs, thew sun was coming out when we finally drove towards Turkmenbashi and we changed some money for local dib dobs.
GOBUSTAN:
Gobustan State Reserve was established in 1966 when the region was declared as a
national historical landmark of Azerbaijan in an attempt to preserve the ancient carvings, mud volcanoes and gas-stones in the region.
Gobustan State Reserve is very rich in archeological monuments, the reserve has more then 600,000 rock paintings, which depict primitive men, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars, on the average dating back to 5,000-20,000 years.
The rock carvings and petroglyphs at the site 54 kilometers from Baku display mesmerizing images of prehistoric life in the Caucasus. The well-preserved sketches display ancient populations travelling on reed boats; men hunt antelope and wild bulls, women dance. The famed Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl returned many times to Azerbaijan between 1961 and his death in 2002 to study the site, which he argued to be evidence that modern-day Scandinavians migrated north through the Caucasus in prehistoric times. He found similarities in the drawings to those found in Scandinavia, particularly some in Alta, Norway. According to Icelandic Sagas, written in the 13 th century, the Norse God Odin (Wotan) migrated from the Caucasus in the first century AD. The tantalizing images have attracted legions of tourists to Azerbaijan,
particularly since the country became independent of the Soviet Union. And yet the site has been the subject of relatively little systematic professional archeological research.
MUD VOLCANO:
It's estimated that 300 of the planet's estimated 700 mud volcanoes sit Gobustan, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. Many geologists as well as locals and international mud tourists trek to such places as the Firuz Crater, Gobustan, Salyan and end up happily covered in mud which is thought to have medicinal qualities. In 2001 one mud volcano 15 kilometers from Baku made world headlines when it suddenly started spewing flames 15 meters high.
BAKU:
(Azerbaijani: Bakı; Cyrillic Бакы), sometimes known as Baky or Baki, is the capital and the largest city of Azerbaijan. It is located on the southern shore of the Apsheron Peninsula, at 40°23′N, 49°52′E. Modern Baku consists of three parts: the Old Town (İçəri Şəhər), the boomtown and the Soviet-built town. Population (January 1, 2003 census): 2,074,300. About 3 million people live in metropolitan area (due to large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons).
The layout of the oil-rich city is rectangular, only in the oldest part of the city within the
fortress walls the streets are crooked and narrow. The boomtown, south of the old city, was built after massive petroleum exploitation began nearly a century ago and has interesting beaux-arts architecture. Fine arts, history and literature museums are located there, all housed in the mansions of pre-Revolutionary millionaires.
Modern Baku spreads out from the city walls, its streets and buildings rising up hills that rim the Bay of Baku. Greater Baku is divided into 11 districts (Azizbayov, Binagadi, Garadagh, Narimanov, Nasimi, Nizami, Sabail, Sabunchu, Khatai, Surakhany and Yasamal) and 48 townships. Among these are townships on islands in the bay and one island town built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 50-100 km from Baku proper (the so-called Oil Rocks).
YANAR DAG:
(Azerbaijani: Yanar Dağ). translated as "Fire Mountain", is an ancient and visually-stunning fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea. Yanar Dag is a 10-meter (30 feet) wide wall of fire located on a hillside near Baku, the capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan. Only a handful of fire mountains exist today in the world and most are located in Azerbaijan. Due to the large concentration of natural gas
under the Abşeron Peninsula, natural flames have burned there throughout antiquity and been reported by historical writers such as Marco Polo. The naturally-occurring fire burns most impressively at dusk, when both tourists and locals sit at a nearby teashop in an attempt to derive inspiration from the spectacular sight. Azerbaijan's frequent link with fire in its folklore and icons is credited with a connection to the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, which first appeared in the region over 2,000 years ago.
INFO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA
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