Five days in Azerbaijan - Gebele, Baku
Five days in Azerbaijan - Gebele, Baku
My visit to Azerbaijan was in August/September 2022 for 5 days.
During the trip we covered versatile places across the country: Mausoleum -> Observatory -> Cable car -> Mountain Peak -> State reserve -> Waterfall -> Lake -> Palace -> Museum -> river -> Rock Art -> Mini venice -> Carpet Museum -> UNESCO Old city -> Fire mountain(Yanardag) -> Mud volcano
Day one: Visiting Shamakhi
We headed to Qabala first as it is the most beautiful natural area in Greater Caucasus mountain range. On the way to Qabala, we visited Shamakhi.
Diri Baba Mausoleum
Nestled into a hillside, this funerary monument was built in 1402 for Sheikh Diri Baba.
Shamakhi
We missed Astrophysical Observatory & Safari Park due to delayed flight.
Shamakhi Alpaca Farm
Alpaca Azerbaijan is the first alpaca breeder and farm in the country, specializing in alpaca fleece processing and production of high quality alpaca products as well as the first of it's kind interactive farm where you can bring your family and children to get to know our beautiful animals.Day two: Visiting Ismailli and Qabala
Ismailli
Ivanovka Village
The most famous Molokan village is Ivanovka, located in the Ismayilli region. This is the last place in the world where Kolkhoz (collective farms) from Soviet times are preserved. Producing its own milk and cereals, it grows wheat, sunflower, vegetables, produces dairy products - butter, sour cream, cheese, and honey.
Ismailli State Reserve
If you want to feel untouched nature, this is the place. There is also a river there, water is so cold and the atmosphere is amazing. We also saw a stream next to road.
The road R9 also passing through one corner of this state reserve with breath taking view, local food with wood fire cooking available in this area, we like the food and enjoyed their cooking style.
Qabala (Azerbaijani: Qəbələ)
Gebele / Gabala is a city in northern Azerbaijan. Qabala is a tourist destination due to the combination of its spring climate, mountainous landscape, and diverse fauna. The highest mountain peak of the republic- Mount Bazarduzu (4466 meters) is situated in this region.
Semerana Riverside Hotel Gabala
We stayed at the Semerana hotel. Its like many villas in a compound. Compound atmosphere is amazing with plenty of trees, plants, flowers, stream, rabbits, turkey etc. The highlight of their breakfast was it includes natural honey, as soon as they serves food, honey bees are taking their honey back :)
Balsam, Chicory, Marigold
Rosa 'Queen Elizabeth'
Rosa 'Mister Lincoln'
White poplar Tree
Breakfast
Yeddi Gozel Waterfall
The name means 'seven beauties' due to the seven stages of the falls. Waterfall is good, but multiple restaurants there covering the nature beauties, there are also many souvenir shops at the entrance.
Savalan ASPI winery
Savalan winery located around 30kms from Gabala. They offers Factory tour, wine and cognac cellar and tasting of various white and red wines and coniac (with light snacks, to interrupt the taste). Also they give a complimentary small bottle of white wine. Their factory tour costs $30 per person. (We prebooked the tour via email winetour@savalan.az)
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| Vineyards |
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| Fermentation |
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| Wine cellar |
Tour guide explains each and every facts about wine. A wine is considered “dry” when all of the grape sugar is converted to alcohol during fermentation, while a sweet wine still has some residual sugar.
Lavender Field / Essenso Lavanda Sahəsi
We missed this place as the season over (Festival 31st May - 30 June)
Nohur Lake/Gol
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| Nohur Lake |
Lake was created after WWII with a purpose to supply water to surrounding villages. Presently Nohur Lake has become a popular recreation spot. It has a large tree-lined body of water reflecting the Greater Caucasus Mountains in its green-blue waters.
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| Sunflower 'Orange sun' |
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| Apple tree |
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| Nohur Lake |
Malabar restaurant Qabala
There is a kerala restaurant in Qabala! serving multi cousin
Qabala Cable Car
Qabala cable car service operates between 5 stations - Qabala, Riverside, Tufandag, Duruja and Yatmish Gozal. Tickets to the stations are selling as ropeline route - Riverside, Gabala, Duruja and Yatmish Gozal - two stops costs 16 AZN / four stops 22 AZN. Each route looks unique so we tried all.
Each place is amazing and view was wonderful.
There are big swings at the top of Yatmish gozal station.
Khal-Khal Waterfall
This place located closed to Sheki. A great place to rest and relax among the trees, and enjoy the view of the small waterfall that descends from the top of the rocks to pour into the lake, you can see the golden fish swim in the lake.. The area is full of activities, including fishing (trout), boat rides, cafes and restaurants. Entry is 5 manat per person.Baku
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan and its a big city.
Dənizkənarı Milli Park (Baku boulevard)
Its a beautiful park with sea view with plenty of seating and activities around. Carpet Museum, Mini Venize etc are around it.
Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum
It was the first specialised museum of carpets in the world. The exhibition includes three floors: 1st floor: Development of Azerbaijan carpet and its role in traditions. 2nd floor: Azerbaijani carpetweaving schools. 3rd floor: Carpetweaving of the contemporary period.Mini-Venice
The Little Venice in Baku is the great & clean refreshing park with man-made waterways. You can take a ride in gandolas (venetian boats).Working Hours:
10 AM – 11:30 PM
The Ticket Price:
5 - 10 AZN
Dəniz Mall
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is sits on what looks like an ocean bed, and the water here is indeed salty.
Icherisheher / Baku old city
Old City or Inner City(İçərişəhər) is a historical core of Baku, surrounded by walls. 'The Palace of the Shirvanshahs' and 'Maiden Tower' are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Workshop Ali Shamsi / Мастерская Художника Али Шамси
Palace of The Shirvanshahs
Maiden Tower
Dolma restaurant
Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape
Mud volcanoes
A mud volcano is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Azerbaijan has the most mud volcanoes of any country, spread broadly across the country. Mud volcanoes are associated with oilfields. Rich oil and gas fields are found in the territories of mud volcanoes.Ateshgah
Ateshgah ('home of fire' - "Ātash" means fire, "gah" means throne/house) or the "Fire Temple of Baku" is a pentagonal complex, which has a courtyard surrounded by cells for monks and a altar in the middle, was built during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was abandoned in the late 19th century, probably due to the dwindling of the Indian population in the area. The natural eternal flame went out in 1969, after nearly a century of exploitation of petroleum and gas in the area, but is now lit by gas piped from the nearby city.
The inscriptions in the temple in Sanskrit (in Nagari Devanagari script) and Punjabi (in Gurmukhi script) with the exception of one Persian inscription.
Yanardag
Yanardağ can be translated as “burning mountain” and the hills here appear to be permanently ablaze due to the gas deposits under the surface of the sandstone found here.
Flame towers
Heydar Aliyev Centre
The Center, designed to become the primary building for the nation's cultural programs. The architecture is simply amazing. The inside has a lot of history for Heydar Aliyev's life, including his impressive car collection.
The "I Love Baku" sign is located a short distance.
Baku Congress Centre is another attraction just nearby.
Cuisine
'Pakhlava' is lighter in colour and baked on a copper tray over a campfire. It’s extremely tender and has a taste exuding hints of roses and saffron.
Sheki 'halva' (a local variation of pakhlava) made of layers of rice dough lattices stuffed with ground nuts, syrup, spices and saffron.
'Ganja dovga', a yoghurt-based soup with herbs.
'keta' / Qutab (Azerbaijani Stuffed Flatbread)
'shah pilaf', a rice dish resembling a massive pie packed with meat, dried fruit and onions and baked with a covering of lavash flatbread.
Azerbaijani Plov (Pilaf)
Dolma. Some types of dolma are made with whole vegetables, fruit, offal or seafood, while others are made by wrapping grape, cabbage, or other leaves around the filling. Wrapped dolma are known as sarma.About Azerbaijan
Geographically, Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. There are also three mountain ranges, the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains. The highest peak of Azerbaijan is Mount Bazardüzü (4,466 m).
Timezone GMT+4Language AzerbaijaniCurrency Manat (AZN)Tel code 994Airport Baku (GYD) [Heydar Aliyev International Airport]Visa https://evisa.gov.az/
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