AZERBAIJAN

Location - Caucasus, Europe; Capital - Baku; Population - 10 million; Currency - Manat MORE AZERBAIJAN

Baku is situated on a claw of land known as the Absheron peninsula, and I took an excellent day-tour of its sights with Vadim via indy-guide, as well as spending a half-day in Sumqayit - October 2018.

An outline of Azerbaijan. Note the region of Nakhchivan separated from the 'mainland'

An old, post-Soviet note displaying the Maiden Tower in Baku's Old Town

But first up were the mud volcanoes near Qobustan, about an hour's drive south of Baku

There's a collection of these volcanoes belching out gas about 10km south of Qobustan

Light the gas for a temporary fire, but watch your fingers! And everything else.. - Qobustan

There's nothing quite like mud, mud, glorious mud, but you can also dip your hand in as it's cold to the touch - Qobustan

Check out the Caspian Sea oil rigs from the volcano site - Qobustan

Head back north to the Qobustan Petroglyph Reserve at Qobustan

The reserve is home to ancient rock carvings which are 5,000-20,000 years old - Qobustan

Can you make out the reed boat above some (much larger) humans? - Qobustan

The presence of shells in the rocks indicates the area was under water at one time - Qobustan

Here I stand on a rock outcrop at Qobustan

On the return to Baku and the Absheron peninsula we stopped at Shixov beach

Old oil drilling platforms lie just off the beach - Shixov

Close by is Bibi-Heybat Mosque, recently reconstructed after the original was destroyed in 1934 as part of the Soviet anti-religious campaign - Bibi-Heybat

The mosque overlooks an area known as the James Bond Oilfield after scenes were used in The World Is Not Enough - Bibi-Heybat

Nodding donkeys are used to extract oil - Bibi-Heybat

Much of the Absheron peninsula is dominated by the black stuff in some form or another: nodding donkeys, oil derricks, rigs & platforms, run-off pools etc - Bibi-Heybat

The site of the 18th century Suraxani Fire Temple (aka Ateshgah Fire Temple) was used as a Zoroastrian, Sikh and Hindu place of worship - Suraxani

The gas is now piped, the natural gas beneath the temple having burnt out - Suraxani

Next up was Mardakan Tower, a square 22m fortress tower rebuilt in the 14th century - Mardakan

Take in views of the Absheron peninsula from the tower - Mardakan

A shrine with a strange story is Pir Hasan, where people have bottles smashed over their heads as a cure for nerves. I didn't see this in action but I'm sure I heard the sound of breaking glass; I'll stay nervous thanks! - Mardakan

The other fortress tower in Mardakan is the 13th century, 15.5m-high round tower

A few kms north is Mardakan beach, a popular public beach with facilities - Mardakan

But on a cool October day this was the only guy braving the sea - Mardakan

Ramana Fortress is perched on a hilltop, providing views of oil mess - Old Ramana

Oil derricks and polluted run-off pools form a depressing landscape in front of the castle - Old Ramana

And let's throw in a nodding donkey on the roadside - Old Ramana

Yanar Dag, or Fire mountain, has been burning natural gas since the 1950s

A shepherd accidentally set it alight with a discarded cigarette, so the story goes, and it's been burning ever since - Yanar Dag

Waiting for the train to Sumqayit - Baku

Sumqayit is Azerbaijan's third-largest city and lies on the north western side of the Absheron peninsula

The dove sculpture lies on the top of the promenade steps leading down to the beach - Sumqayit

There was a lot of building work going on close to the beach when I visited. Hopefully it's to make the beach a focal point as it's a good, wide stretch of sand - Sumqayit

It was a sunny day but except for a few couple of dog walkers there was noone on the beach - Sumqayit

Between the promenade and the beach are a couple of tree-sheltered cafes - Sumqayit

This memorial commemorates the Xocali massacre by ethnic Armenian forces on 26 February 1992. Xocali (or Khojaly) is a town in Nagorno Karabakh, a disputed region belonging to Azerbaijan but occupied by Armenia - Sumqayit

Next to the Xocali Memorial are lines of martyr gravestones, many of whom died in 1993 during the summer. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm guessing they died during the Nagorno Karabakh War of the 1980s & 90s - Sumqayit

One more picture of former president Heydar Aliyev before I leave - Sumqayit

I bought a Soviet-era note (with the head of Lenin) in Baku

On the reverse there's a list of Soviet republic currencies - Som, Manat, Ruble etc

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LINKS

www.advantour.com - Central Asian tour operator but website has a wealth of information

http://azerbaijan.travel - Azerbaijan tourism

https://caravanistan.com - Main resource for all things Central Asian - extremely useful

https://indy-guide.com - Central Asia website where tour guides offer their services

https://ticket.ady.az - Azerbaijan Railways

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