Today we explore all the outskirts and sights of Absheron peninsula. 

Transfer to the temple of fire worshipers – Atashgah (30 km far from Baku). 

Azerbaijan is one of the few places on the earth where even today one can observe elements of preserved fire cult and the ancient Zoroastrianism religion. For example, Atashgah that is known for such unique phenomenon as burning natural gas outlets (underground gas, coming onto surface, contacts oxygen and lights up). The temple in its present state was constructed in the 17th-18th centuries by the Baku-based Hindu community related to Sikhs. Pentagonal complex has an open courtyard with temple-altar in the center which was the place of pilgrimage for worshippers.

Our next point is Gala Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum Complex. This open-air museum was created on the site of archaeological excavations where there are still survived ruins of five thousand years old history. During the excursions you will be acquainted with ancient dwellings, burial mounds, tombs, water storages, the ruins of an ancient castle etc.

The road leads to the 22m square-plan Mardakan quadrangular tower that was built in the 14th century. It was mainly used for defending Mardakan on a temporary basis.

The final destination of today’s excursion is Azerbaijani exotic Yanardag (“burning hill”). And this is real a burning hill – not metaphorically, but literally. Meter-long tongues of fire cover the stratified earth approximately for 10 metres in width.