Azerbaijan – Pearl of the Caucasus

Meeting at the airport
Transfer to the hotel. Hotel accommodation (check-in from 14:00)
Free Time

After breakfast we start to the Daghustu Park, where we get an impressive impression of the city of Baku, the largest city in the Caucasus. The Azerbaijani capital is a place of contrasts, the newer part of the city reflects the cool modernity of an important oil-producing country, which culminates, for example, in the complex of the newly built Haydar Aliyev cultural center, which was only completed in 2014 according to plans by the well-known architect Zaha Hadid. Baku Boulevard stretches for 25 km and is now the second-largest boulevard in Europe.
Visit of The old town Ichari Shahar is surrounded by a fortress ring and lies directly on the Black Sea. The walled part has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Its history can be traced back to the 11^th-century when Baku was still ruled by a Muslim dynasty, the Shirvanshahs. When strolling through the alleys in the vicinity of old palaces and caravanserais, as well as mosques and baths, you feel like you have been transported back around 1000 years and can guess how Baku was once a gateway to the famous Silk Road. You will see, among other things, the most curious monument in Baku, the legendary Qız Qalası (Maiden’s Tower), the 15^th-century palace of Shirvanshah “one of the pearls of Azerbaijani architecture” and the Juma Mosque. Also of interest is the very special, worldwide only museum of its kind, the Miniature Book Museum. Some of the books are no bigger than a thumb. The studio of the freelance artist Ali Shamsi is also worth seeing.
Overnight in Baku.

After breakfast, you will visit the Gobustan National Park, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2007. The area is a cultural landscape in the middle of the semi-desert, in an unusually open, unusually well-preserved, and unusual composition of unusual Stone Age stone paintings. They were created more than 5,000 years ago, but research doesn’t rule out a period of up to 40,000 years. Here we see rock carvings, prehistoric settlements, mud volcanoes, musical stones known as “hammer blows” and a modern-style museum. On the way, we see oil platforms in the Caspian Sea. Visiting the Bibi Heybat complex (including the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed) and the mosque which houses the tombs of notable people.
We will introduce you to one of the most important sights of Baku city – a kind of fairy tale place, the Carpet Museum. The shape of the museum resembles a rolling carpet by the sea. The clothes and jewelry of the Azerbaijani royal families are also exhibited here, as well as the traditional clothes that were used in the history of the Azerbaijani people.
Past the Mugam Center and ‘little Venice’, we continue to the Church of the Redeemer, a Lutheran church that was designed by the architect Adolf Eichler in the neo-Gothic style.
Then we will visit the National Historical Museum located in the Taghiyev Palace – a building created by Józef Gosławski. Besides all the historical places, there are many shops selling traditional souvenirs, scarves, and carpets, which are mostly handmade by local people.
Overnight in Baku.

After breakfast drive to the “Gala” ethnographic nature reserve.
The gala is a museum built on archaeological excavations. The 5000-year-old settlement has many surviving districts. We will get to know the old houses, the management of the time, the traditions and customs.
Then we go to Ateshgah. This place served as a monastery until 1883. The altar was fed by natural gas escaping here Inscriptions on the temple also indicate its use by Hindus. The once eternal fire can still be admired. Then drive to the Absheron peninsula. Even before our era, the peninsula was a center of the fire-worshiping religion of Zoroastrianism. Pilgrims from Persia made pilgrimages to them and from India, who revered fire as a symbol of purity. These ancient fires became part of Azerbaijani national pride and named their locations “Temple of Fire”.
Lastly, we will visit the village of Mehemmedi on the Absheron Peninsula, where the Yanar Dagh Mountain is located, one of the most spectacular natural attractions on the peninsula. The burning mountain region has been burning for thousands of years and cannot be extinguished by rain or sand. The word “Yanar” in Azerbaijani means “burning” and “Dagh” means “mountain”.
Overnight in Baku

Today drive inland to Sheki. On our way, we will visit the Diri-Baba mausoleum in the village of Maraza. Our next destination is Shamakhi – one of the oldest cities in Azerbaijan, with a rich heritage, here we see the magnificent historical Juma (Friday) Mosque.
Then we drive past the canyon of the Girdimanchay River to the ancient village of Lahij, located far from the main routes. The place is known for its characteristic, well-preserved buildings and craft workshops, specialized in the production of copper products and carpet weaving.
Drive to Nij Village. It is the only place where Udins ethnicity lives. This ethnic group is considered to be the descendants of the ancient Albanians, who managed to preserve their own traditions, language, material and spiritual culture until today.
We continue to the historic city of Sheki, which, with its sights and mild climate, resembles an oriental health resort.
Overnight in Sheki

The city of Sheki, in the 1st century was one of the largest cities in what was then the state of Albania (not to be confused with the state of Albania on the Adriatic!). Here you will find the famous, magnificent Khan’s Palace from the 18th century. We will also see a caravanserai – a former hotel for caravan traders. Then we will visit the Shebeke workshop, where we can get acquainted with the process of making windows with multi-colored glass filling them, created by Azerbaijani folk craftsmen from small wooden parts without glue and nails.
In the nearby town of Kish on the river of the same name, which also flows through Sheki, you will find the oldest Christian church in the Caucasus – the sacred building of the old country of Albania is said to be based on a previous building dating back to the 1st century. The current church dates from the 10th-12th centuries. Century, but still bears the nickname Mother of All Caucasus Churches.
Transfer to Ganja.
The city of Ganja, is 2500 years old !!! At the same time the second-largest city in Azerbaijan, which is also considered to be one of the oldest in the country. Its eventful history can also be read in the special buildings, among which the Shah Abbas mosque from the 17th century, the Orthodox church from the 19th century, and the mausoleum for the Azerbaijani national poet Nizami Ganjavi stand out. The architecturally unusual bottle house made of around 48,000 differently shaped bottles is also worth a visit.
Overnight in Ganja.

The next route takes us to Goygol National Park, where we will see one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in Azerbaijan. In the park outside the lake, it protected the dense forests and mountain meadows on the northern slope of the Lesser Caucasus. Thanks to its beauty, Lake Goygol has always inspired poets and artists
Drive to Goygol, until 1938 the town was called Helenendorf because it was founded at the beginning of the 19th century by German emigrants from Baden-Württemberg and was one of the most important colonies of the Caucasian Germans until the Stalin era. Here, in the midst of the Azerbaijani semi-desert and rather a Muslim tradition, the typical German architecture is still a specialty today.
Moving to Baku.
Overnight in Baku

Breakfast
Free time. Check out 12:00
Our tour comes to an end. If you want to book an additional day and explore the other side of the city, contact us. If not, then transfer to Airport with good impressions