Day 3 April 29, 2026 Baku Azerbaijan
We have the guide and driver again today. The journey will take us to the Burning Mountain. This is a protected area so their is a fee. As usual foreign visitors pay significantly more than nationals. The site has a small section of flames coming from a thin layer of sandstone. The flames can reach as high as 9 feet. The fuel is natural gas and has been burning for at least 4,000 years. We did take time to purchase a t-shirt.
The next stop was the Fire Temple. The temple was home to the Zoroastrians. An Indian religion with belief in fire, water, air and earth. Inscriptions in several dialects are found throughout the complex indicating it was probably used for different purposes over the centuries. It was located on one of the silk roads and had been used as caravan lodging as well. The main alter has a fire burning in the middle and at some time flames came from the upper four corners of the structure. The temple is built much like a fort with walls all around. Lots of rooms surround the main altar. At one time more of the fires were around the area. A group of young women were visiting the site. They wanted to have a picture with us included. They were having a wonderful time. We went inside some of the rooms. They were surprisingly warm even with no heat. The walls are made of limestone which stays warm in cold times and cool in hot times. The museum had life size statues depicting some of what life would have been like. The point was made that several religions exist here and yet they all get along. Perhaps because the Russians were more successful at destroying religion than thought. Even though there are churches, synagogues, and mosques I don’t think religion plays as large a role here as in Armenia.
We drove to a castle that is one of the few ones remaining. We could only look from the outside as restoration work is continuing on the inside. This is the Ramana Castle and Tower. It was built in either the 12th or 14th centuries. Scholars seem to disagree. The tower would most likely have been used as a warning system to other castles along the coast. If an enemy approached a bonfire would be lit on top of the tower to warn the next castle. During the day smoke might be used in order to be more visible.
A view point was next to the castle. Great views back to the city. Two young men were practicing kicking a ball back and forth similar to soccer.
Back in the city we stopped at the Cultural Center. This is a large ripple shaped building. Not sure what is inside but outside were some interesting sculptures of animals dressed as humans doing human type things. Someone must have been on some kind of drugs. Also visible from here is the Ritz Carlton Hotel which used to be Trump Tower 1.
We returned to the hotel about 1:00 pm. Not wanting to eat lunch in the hotel we went to the small grocery store at the end of the block. There are always interesting things here. Coke, Pepsi and Fanta are always there along with other unknown to us flavors. The energy drinks are here too. Water comes in bottles anywhere between the standard 16.2 ml up to about 5 gallons. Some of the water containers look like weights. The potato chips are in different flavors but usually have English words as well. A large section had bottles with various kinds of fruit in liquid. Not sure what this was since the English was missing. We are sometimes brave but not today. The locals definitely like mayonnaise and ketchup. Mustard is virtually nonexistent. Pasta is more prevalent than rice. Sliced lunch meat is only salami. Cheddar cheese doesn’t exist. Oreo cookies are popular but no other American brands. Plastic bags cost extra. Hard liquor is sold in grocery stores. People buy for the day not the week or month.
Spoffords Travel 