Azerbaijan - Mud volcanoes or the moon effect.......

Eruption 

 Azerbaijan is in the first place in the world for the amount of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes broadly spread in Azerbaijan. There are about 350 of 800 volcanoes of the world in Azerbaijani Republic. Local people call them “yanardagh” (burning mountain), “pilpila” (terrace), “gaynacha” (boiling water) and “bozdag” (grey mountain) alongside its geographical name – mud volcanoes.

Eruption of mud volcanoes .

Underground and submarine mud volcanoes also famed in Azerbaijan. There are more than 140 submarine volcanoes in the Caspian Sea. Eight islands in the Baku Archipelagoare mud volcanoes by origination. The other kind of mud volcanoes is found out in wells. Their activity can be observed among strata of various ages. According to the information, mud volcanoes initially began their activity in the territory of Azerbaijan 25 million years ago.

About 200 eruptions occurred in 50 volcanoes in the territory of Azerbaijani Republic since 1810. Eruption of mud volcanoes is accompanied by strong explosions and underground rumble. Gasses come out from the deepest layers of the earth and immediately ignite. A height of a flame over volcano reaches 1000 meters (Garasu volcano). Toragay volcano erupted 6 times from 1841 to 1950.

Mud volcanoes associated with oilfields by origination. Rich oil and gas fields were found out in the territories of mud volcanoes (Lokbatan, Garadgh, Neft Dashlari, Mishovdagh and others). In addition, lava, mud and liquid erupted by mud volcanoes are used as raw materials in chemical and construction industries and also in pharmacology.

Interesting facts

• Geologists of NASA studying Mars planet, concluded that mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan are similar to uplands of the planet for their structure.

• Mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan took the 5th place in an international competition held by a Swiss non-commercial organization called “Seven wonders of nature”
• On September 5, 2004 the greatest mud volcano in the territory of Azerbaijan was added into the Guinness World Records

Me with my tourists from USA

The man who is still alive.....

Diri Baba Mausoleum (Azerbaijani: Diri Baba məqbərəsi) – is a mausoleum of Sheikh Diri Baba, located in Maraza city of Gobustan Rayon of Azerbaijan.

Architecture

                                              

The mausoleum was described in diaries of K. de Bryuin and A.Oleariy, and also in a work of B.Dorn. The mausoleum stands in a square located on a glyptic cliff. The building is two-storeyed. The first store has a hall covered with an ogive, which has a passageway to an octahedral cupola from a small vestibule. Stairs leading to the hall of the second store have been carved on the cliff. A spherical cupola with a pointed top has squinches decorated with plant ornaments.

There is a fragment of a ligature, indicating a date – the year 1402, and also a part of the architect’s name – “…the son of ustad Haji” – in one of the squinches. Many legends and myths are connected to this place. Diri Baba mausoleum was decorated with a mosaic and effective ligature by a calligraphist called “Dervish”.

There is a unique monument – a two-storeyed mausoleum-mosque of the 15th century called “Diri-Baba”, located opposite an ancient cemetery – on the way from Baku to Shamakhi. For a long time, local residents believed in a legend that a sacred person called Diri Baba was buried here and remained imperishable. However, many legends and mystic events are related to this monument. That is why the mausoleum attracts many pilgrims and curious people since the 17th century. Peculiarity of the construction is that it was embed in the cliff by the architect. Allegedly it is “hanging” alienated from the ground. The mausoleum delights with austerity of its architecture, purity of lines, bright and smooth surface of its walls against the background of the rough and dark cliff, and it is also distinguished by its grandeur. It is notable that, not the first, but the second store is considered the main part of the building. A small corridor covered with an octagonal cupola, where guests take their shoes off, is followed by the hall. There is an entrance to half-dark stairs carved on thickness of the cliff and these stairs lead to the second store of a burial vault. A hall – with an area of 15 quadratic meters – is covered with a spherical cupola. A funeral text which indicates the name of a ruler of the Shirvanshahs – Ibrahim I of Shirvan, is carved in the wall. A decorative tier, with a ligature as if surrounding the building, detaches the floors. The mausoleum is closely adjoined the cliff, on a massif of which is carved a grotto. This place is where the Saint was buried. A narrow entry in the northern wall leads to this place.

Architecture of Diri Baba mausoleum harmonically fits into picturesque surroundings of the building – view against the background of rocks and greenery of trees. The building of the mausoleum is a masterpiece of the architectural school of Shirvan and a beautiful creation of arts of ancient masters. The monument is protected by the government.

Praying into the tomb

Panaramic view from the top of the mousaleum

Gobustan - Historical Place of Azerbaijan

Gobustan National Park (Azerbaijani: Qobustan Milli Parkı) officially Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape is a hill and mountain site occupying the southeast end of the Greater Caucasus mountain ridge in Azerbaijan, mainly in the basin of Jeyrankechmaz River, between the rivers Pirsagat and Sumgait. It is located west of the settlement of Gobustan, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of the centre of Baku on the west bank of the Caspian Sea        The territory of Gobustan is cut up with numerous, sometimes rather deep ravines (in Azerbaijani: gobu). That is a suggested origin of the Gobustan geographical name.
In 1966 Gobustan was declared a national historical landmark of Azerbaijan in an attempt to preserve the ancient carvings, relics, mud volcanoes and gas-stones in the region. The mountains Boyukdash, Kichikdash, Jingirdag, and the Yazili hill were taken under legal government protection. These mountains are located near the Caspian Sea, in the southeast part of Gobustan.
In 2007 Gobustan was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value" for the quality and density of its rock art engravings, for the substantial evidence the collection of rock art images presents for hunting, fauna, flora and lifestyles in pre-historic times and for the cultural continuity between prehistoric and medieval times that the site reflects .The archeological value of Gobustan was discovered when a group of men went in to mine for gravel in 1930. While the zone is abundant in boulders and stone formations, one mine employee noticed the sacred carvings on the rocks. They also discovered man-made caves wherein more of the drawings can be found.Throughout many centuries under impact of the sun, wind, seismic activity and various atmospheric precipitation, blocks of stones broke away from the edges of a vast limestone layer and rolled down the slopes. Here, in the area displaying the fantastic scene of destruction, the huge blocks of stones and rocks chaotically pressed against each other, forming about 20 big and small caves and the canopies serving as a natural shelter to the inhabitants.Prehistoric carvingsGobustan is very rich in archaeological monuments. The reserve has more than 6,000 rock engravings dating back between 5,000 - 40,000 years. The site also features the remains of inhabited caves, settlements and burials, all reflecting an intensive human use by the inhabitants of the area during the wet period that followed the last Ice Age, from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. The site, which covers an area of 537 ha, is part of the larger protected Gobustan Reservation.
Most of the rock engravings 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.
The petroglyphs and rock engravings are an exceptional testimony to a way of life that has disappeared, graphic representations of activities connected with hunting and fishing at a time when the climate and vegetation of the area were warmer and wetter than today.
Iskhag Jafarzadeh who was one of the pioneers of Azerbaijan archaeology and ethnography, excavated over seventy artifacts on Azerbaijan's territory and studied the Gobustan rock paintings. In 1948 during the Gobustan expedition, he discovered the Latin rock inscription near mountain Boyukdash, some 70 km far from Baku, which is the easternmost Roman evidence to be known.
Petroglyphs from Gobustan are depicted on the reverse of the Azerbaijani 5 manat banknote issued since 2006.  As of 2011, The Petroglyph Museum functions in the park.Today Gobustan is the most popular state reserve and is an invaluable treasure-house of Azerbaijan. For other state reserves see State Reserves of Azerbaijan.
In the remote past, the flora and fauna of Gobustan were incomparably richer. Its landscape represented a kind of savannah with corresponding climate. Here were large herds of wild bulls, goats, deer, wild horses, donkeys, wild boars, and gazelles hunted by lions, wolves, wild cats and leopards.The presence of rare and wild flora testifies that the climate of Gobustan some tens of thousands of years ago was damper, and the atmospheric precipitation was sufficient, so springs were abounding with water.
FloraThe vegetative world of Gobustan has a character that is common for deserts and semi-deserts. It consists of ephemeris grasses and bushes, wormwood and similar long-term plants. Among heaps of stones and rocks a wild rose, a dwarfish cherry, Hibernian honeysuckle, a juniper, wild pear, wild fig, wild pomegranate, grapes and some other kinds of trees and bushes are rather often met decorating the stern landscape.
FaunaThe fauna of Gobustan has strongly grown poor for the last decades of years. The natural inhabitants of Gobustan now are rare foxes, jackals, wolves, hares and wild cats, mountain chickens, wild pigeons, larks alongside with numerous snakes and lizards and some others.
Gaval DashApart from petroglyphs, there is also this musical gemstone known as Gaval Dash. It makes a tambourine-like sound when it is hit in different points. Among the stone books there are a big flat stone formed out of 3 supports. Suffice it to touch the object with a small stone, musical sounds come from it. The Gaval Dash have been formed due the combination of unique climate, oil and gas which can be found in the region of Azerbaijan.The Gaval Dash can only be found in Gobustan, Azerbaijan.