7 WONDERS OF AZERBAİJAN! Perhaps, every corner of the world has its own amazing objects that possess only their inherent properties. And what features 7 wonders of Azerbaijan possess, namely: The Historical and Architectural Complex Inner City ("Icheri Sheher"), Pink Lake "Masazir", "Tower Castles" of Absheron, "Cities of Masters" Nij-Gabala-Sheki, Lake "Nokhur", Yeddy Gozal Waterfall (Seven Beauties), Gobustan Mud Volcanoes, Khizi Agate Mountains, Masazir Pink Lake, Gay Gel Lake, you will learn with us. _____________________________________________________________________________________ TOUR PROGRAM (7 Days / 6 Nights) 1 DAY - Airport Transfer Arrival in Baku, meeting at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport with a professional English - speaking guide Transfer to the hotel Information about the city and the country on the way to the hotel Check in and hotel accommodation Lunch in the restaurant Free time for leisure Dinner in the restaurant Overnight at the Hotel 2 DAY - Baku city tour Breakfast in the hotel Walk through the historical part of Old Baku - Icheri Sheher. If the city has an old city, then it has a heart. And it doesn’t matter how the metropolis is built and grows, this little piece of antiquity, like the roots of a tree, contains the entire crown of history. The historical complex includes many architectural monuments that have survived to _____________________________________________________________________________________ our times: mosques, towers, churches, squares and other important buildings of the Shah's reign. You will visit: Museum and palace complex of the Shirvanshahs (XV century) Maiden's Tower (XII century) . The Maiden’s Tower is the oldest symbol of the city of Baku. Most scientists believe that the tower was built in two stages: half in the V century, and the upper part in the XII century. But there are versions with dating that hint at the construction of the tower BC. Museum of miniature books. The world's only museum of miniature books is located on one of the streets of the Old City (Icheri Sheher) in Baku. All books are smaller than a palm. The size of many publications is not more than 1 centimeter, and the "area" of the smallest book in the collection is 2x2 millimeters. Workshop of Ali Shamsi. Tourists, walking along Kichik Gala street, have to stop near a 90-year-old tree with three female faces, take a picture with a lion on the facade of the workshop and go through the open door to admire Ali Shamsi's paintings, talk with the master and take a picture with him as a keepsake. Lunch in the restaurant Walk along the Seaside Boulevard and a boat trip (depending on weather conditions). Coming to Baku you should definitely visit the Seaside Boulevard. Visitors to the city will find _____________________________________________________________________________________ many attractive places here: museums, attractions, parks, cafes, restaurants and much more. The boulevard itself is unusually beautiful and diverse. Its central part amazes with the richness of greenery and flowers, and the steps of the coastal strip end right at the sea water. Visit to the Carpet Museum. It is a sort of fairytale place that promises you a journey in time full of enjoyments. The first charm that grabs the attention is the shape of museum being a rolled carpet on the seaside park. It’s a museum displaying carpet culture of Azerbaijan throughout the centuries. Here you can see mainly carpets, jewelries, traditional clothes and many other crafts, which represent Azerbaijani culture. As Azerbaijan has strong historical background, the carpet culture contains various schools and techniques with variety of motives and ornaments covering all parts of Azerbaijan in a different timeline. Walking through the museum allows traveling across the country as the exhibits in the museum are divided by regions. Apart from that, the structure of museum gives an opportunity of seeing carpets and other exhibits closely _____________________________________________________________________________________ Visit to Highland Park, from where a beautiful view of the city opens. Climbing the stairs higher and higher, you seem to climb the mountain. Your chest is filled with the cool and refreshing air of the highlands, your wings are spread, and you, like a bird, fly over this ancient, majestic city Highland park, well known as ‘’Viewing Square’’, and earlier in Soviet era as ‘’Sergei Kirov park’’ is one of the most favorite places in Baku to have walk, rest, and enjoy the sea view. There you can take rest by breathing fresh air, viewing the city, drinking tea in the Highland Park Café, while listening to the classic lounge music. It’s the best place to relax, that is located right in the heart of Baku. Transfer to the hotel Overnight at the Hotel 3 DAY – «Masazir» Lake and Absheron’s «Tower Castles» Завтрак в отелеBreakfast in the hotel Meeting at the hotel lobby with a friendly tour guide Transfer to Masazir lake Masazir is a small village located 15 km north of Baku along the road to Sumgayit, and the large salt lake bearing the same name as the village is its main attraction. Masazir Lake is the Dead Sea of Azerbaijan. Its area is 10 square meters. km The concentration of salt in it is very high, _____________________________________________________________________________________ so there are no flora and fauna. The pink color of the water provides large amounts of chloride and sulfate, concentrated in the composition of the water. Starting Absheron tour Firstly, to Atesgah (Fire Temple) it is the first main settlement of worshippers in Azerbaijan since the second century. Ateshgah often called the "Fire Temple of Baku" is a castle-like religious temple in Surakhani town, a suburb of Baku, Azerbaijan. Based on Persian and Indian inscriptions, the temple was used as a Hindu, Sikh, and Zoroastrian place of worship. Ateshgah – is temple of fire exotic of Azerbaijan. It is known almost all over the world. It is situated 30 km away from Baku, in Surakhani district. This territory is well known with it is phenomen - natural gas which comes from ground and and burns. The temple was built in XVII-XVIII centuries. It was built by a Hindu community in Baku, belonging to the Sikh caste. But the history of Ateshgah is more ancient. Long ago in this territory was located the sanctuary of Zoroastrians - fire worshipers (approximately the beginning of our era). Lastly, we will visit: Yanar Dag (Azerbaijani: Yanar Dağ, meaning "burning mountain") Fire mountain — is one of the most incredible natural sightseeings of Absheron peninsula. This is a mountain hill which is impossible to put out neither with rain nor with sand. And it is several thousand years that it burns. The frightening and simultaneously mesmerizing fiery landscape are actually explained very simply: From the _____________________________________________________________________________________ upper layers of the soil natural gas is released, and when it comes into contact with oxygen, it turns into a flame. Lunch in the restaurant Transfer to Gala The trip will start with a visit to Gala open-air museum. Gala Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum Complex is situated in the historical part of Gala village. There are 216 monuments in the territory of the village. You will see petroglyphs (stone carvings) dating back to the third and second millennia B.C and the Middle Ages, household ceramics and archaeological artifacts discovered in the Absheron Peninsula. Merchant’s house is a magnificent example of medieval dwelling houses existing in the village. Furthermore, tombstones, kurgans, various tools, such as “khana” (tool for carpet weaving) are demonstrated in the museum. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Then we’ll continue with the trip to see the tower in Mardakan village. Mardakan toponym is related to the name of tribe “Mard”. With the consolidation of the Shirvanshahs many towers were built in Absheron Peninsula. In addition to its historical significance, Quadrangular Tower in Mardakan is one of the majestic castles and a part of Absheron’s integrated defense system. The tower was located in such a convenient place, that seashore, Gala and Ramana fortresses were easily visible from the Tower. There are two castles in Mardakan and both have played an important role in Azerbaijan' history duting the 13th and 14th centuries. They are known as Mardakan Towers and they have different tower shapes, one is round and the other one is rectangular. The Quadrangular Tower is bigger than the Round Tower, being 22 m in height. It was built in the 14th century and it has 5 floors. Its purpose was defensive, its inner courtyard of 28m X 25 m could not host many people at once. It was mainly used for defending Mardakan on a temporary basis. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Dinner in the restaurant Overnight at the Hotel 4 DAY – «Cities of the Masters». Visiting the reserve cities of Lagich, Nij - Gabala and Sheki Breakfast in the hotel Meeting at the hotel lobby with a friendly tour guide. Check out from the hotel in Baku On the road you can visit Maraza village known for its unique monument - two-storied mausoleum-mosque of the 15th century called Diri-Baba, located across from the old cemetery Transfer to Shamakhi Visiting the oldest mosque in the South Caucasus – Shamakhi Juma Mosque; Yeddi Gumbez Mosque, the Shirvan Shah's family grave yard Diri-Baba Mausoleum-Mosque - On the way from Baku to Shamakhi there is Maraza village known for its unique monument - two-storied mausoleum-mosque of the 15th century called Diri-Baba, located across from the old cemetery. For a long time, the local residents have kept the legend that their imperishable Saint Diri-Baba had been buried. _____________________________________________________________________________________ On the way, you will have a stop in Shamakhi Juma Mosque that is built-in 743 which is the most ancient known mosque in the Caucasus region.