Gobustan Reserve
In three tens of kilometers south of Baku is the Gobustan Reserve. He is known, first of all, the fact that several thousand petroglyphs of 4-5 thousand years are compact on its territory.
Interestingly, Gobustistan is one of the most popular offers of tourist firms in Baku. First, it is very easy to get to Gobustan: almost all the way lies about the beautiful high-speed highway, where you can easily accelerate to 130-150 km / h. Secondly, Gobustust is not far from the city and even taking into account traffic jams the road will not take much time. Nevertheless, the main tourist frequency is sent to the place closest to the capital of Azerbaijan, for example, in Atshgets, Mardaca or Zagulbu (let’s talk about the latter below).
But Gobustistan is also interesting in its own way. It is unlikely that it is so close to a major city you can find a huge collection of petroglyphs, and the desert landscapes of the reserve contrast sharply in the usual scenery of the Caucasus.
South of Baku stretches wide (10-20 kilometers) a desert strip between the Caspian coast and spurs (in these places low) Caucasian mountains. Vegetation here is approximately such, rare grass with lowland soil and spiny
Having unscrewed from the Baku Tbilisi highway (the right place is a huge billboard with Qobustan inscription and stylized petroglyphs), you need to drive 3-4 kilometers to the museum. The museum has attached efforts to Ilham Aliyev himself, which greatly increases him (museum) status. Though. in Azerbaijan almost all name Aliyev (senior or younger), the duty inscription is not surprising.
Outside the museum looks stylish. If you look from afar or from the mountains, it seems like 3-5 standing very close to each other Yurt nomads.
From the inside there is still more interesting, there is a bunch of all projection and electronic, a wonderful game of light, 3-D panorama and other. Two-level museum, and the second level below the first. Foyer collected, probably, all typical samples of local petroglyphs.
Further, tourists are invited to walk around the halls with a twilight, where the only source of lighting is the exhibition itself, in my opinion, this is a very interesting find of designers.
In almost all the halls of the museum there is an interactive panel, on which tourists can learn more on the subject of the hall.
Detailed maps indicate in which part of the gobustan, which monuments are found.
For those who do not like two-dimensional cards, it is possible to virtually fly over the surroundings of Gobustan on a stereo-3D projector. The photo, of course, could not correctly convey it "Stereo-Zd", But the effect of seeing the impression of watching a good 3D TV or stereokino.
The museum also stands the figures of the ancestors of contemporary Azerbaijanis in the natural value of living in these places in the III-II millennium BC.NS.
However, the main thing in Gobustan is not the museum itself, but the Petroglyph District, which is located on a mountainside of about 1.5 km from the Museum itself.
Here among huge stone collaps marked tracks for inspection, to go for which it is strictly not recommended.
Almost immediately you can see the first petroglyphs, which depict people and boat.
Some petroglyphs (their very little, but there are) are subject to. Why – I have no idea. But sign "Do not touch" there is paint right on the stones, and regularly repairs
Scenes of hunting or running flock of bulls:
Here the stones themselves are so interesting that they are worthy of filming. Centuries-old erosion and weathered turn the stones into something amazing.
Again cattle:
– In the gallery do not intercepted further allowed!
– See, here she is antiquity, only hand!
Found an amazing petroglyph that can not be touched. He is surprisingly similar to the figure "49"! 🙂
There are petroglyph "92", but next to him there are more ancient.
If you look in the side of the sea, the amazing view of the stone jets:
Here from the observation deck in general, a beautiful view of the Caspian opens, but the sea is seen only early in the morning and late in the evening, at another time everything is in the smoke
The last look at the stone dawns and go on. In Gobutan!
5-8 kilometers from the Gobustan Museum there is a plateau with a group of mud volcanoes. There is difficult to get there on a passenger car, the road is very broken, but if you arrived, then we will see an incredible beauty of a desert landscape that would go to Central Asia, and not to the Caucasus.
Tourists here carry on minibuses, because of them quite a bit.
Here are mud volcanoes. They are funny bouffacent, and the dirt, extinguishing from them little by little dries on the summer forty-graduate heat, forming curious "expensive"
Drying volcanic dirt
Here they are mud volcanoes Gobustan
Zhero one of them:
Volcanoes "Bulk" Almost constantly, once in 1-2 minutes. For three to five minutes you can catch 2-3 eruptions on each of the volcanoes.
Pathways of dirt from a volcanoon sometimes resemble octopus
In the area of the Plateau with mud vulcans full of abandoned oil infrastructure facilities. Some of them look very pretty like this. device. What is it and why they threw it here – not clear.
Here, in Gobustan, saw something unusual: puddles of real oil. And oil came here not from the broken oil pipeline, but leaked through the ground from the bottom. On the touch oil is warm and very pleasant, although very oily.
In general, in Gobustistan for general development to go very helpful, what I wish everyone. Moreover, it is possible not only for Petroglyphs to see, but also at the real Roman inscription: in the Gobustan area almost 2,000 years ago there was not someone, but the XII Himself Lightning Legion. But I could not see her. The best time to visit the reserve – Morning, to inspect everything before dinner.
But what to do after lunch? After lunch, it is best to go to the other side of the Absheron Peninsula, in Amburan Beach Club, which is located in the village of Zagulba not far from the village of Azerbaijan.
By this time, Caspian at the beach warms up so well that water takes the perfect temperature. And not like the sea – so here and the pools are full. This is an extremely glamorous place, if not scares the fee for the entrance in the amount of 25 euros.
In general, if you already get out of hot and dusty desert, then best here.
