Eternal fire and flame
Yanar Dag ‘fire mountain’
Just north of Baku the monotonous rugged landscape of the peninsula is interrupted by a curious natural phenomenon: a hill ablaze with fire. The gas flowing from the hills has been on fire since time immemorial. The reservoirs are so huge that they may continue to burn for centuries. The first descriptions about this location, Yanar Dag (which means ‘burning mountain’), were found in the 13th century manuscripts of explorer Marco Polo. It is worth getting up early to watch this phenomenon: just before sunrise the orange flames contrast beautifully against the blue of the sky.
The mud flow of a mud volcano
Mud volcano
Although mud and fire rarely go together, there is such a thing as an explosive mud volcano. This unusual geological phenomenon occurs in just a few places around the world, but never as frequently as here, along the Caspian coast of Azerbaijan. You will find several just outside of Baku. A mud volcano is created when an underground bubble of gas and mud finds a way through a weak spot in the earth’s crust. Sometimes this is accompanied by an enormous explosion. In 2001 an Azerbaijani mud volcano suddenly spewed out a 300-metre-high flame.
The fire temple of Atashgah
Holy fire
You will find more flames in the fire temple of Atashgah, located near the train station in the suburb of Suraxani. For centuries, the omnipresent fire has been worshipped by the Zoroastrians, followers of one of the oldest religions in the world. The temple only fell into disuse in 1883, when the development of modern gas exploration in the region disrupted the natural flow of gas to the temple. Today this is a national monument.
