Sights Archives ⋆ Page 9 of 141 ⋆ The Passenger

November 18, 2023November 19, 2023

Bürgergrotte

Gottfried August Bürger was a German poet who first studied law at the university of Göttingen. There his attention turned away fast from jurisprudence to literature and he became a writer. His most famous work is called Lenore and received attention even beyond German borders. Today the large street around the city center of Göttingen is named Bürgerstraße after him and a bust of him is standing next to. Probably most inhabitants believe that the street is named after themselves (Bürger means citizen in German).

October 7, 2023December 19, 2023

David Gareja

Directly at the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan you can find different orthodox monasteries dating back to the 6th century CE. While the archeological sites on Azeri land are unused, the David Gareja monastery in Georgia is still active and often visited by tourists. It is a a wonderful cloister built into the Udabno mountain in a beautiful scenery.

October 7, 2023December 19, 2023

Rainbow mountains

If you decide to take a tour from თბილისი to the David Gareja monastery at the border to Azerbaijan than it will be probably offered together with a stop at the so-called rainbow mountains. They are actually directly in front of the monastery and not known by this name – but they’re nevertheless absolutely worth a visit.

October 6, 2023December 19, 2023

Gamarjoba

West of the city center of თბილისი you can find Vake park, a large garden opened in 1946 to commemorate the victory in World War II. A long central axis leads you on red sand to the tomb of the unknown soldier surrounded by a mosaic of Georgian flags. Behind there is a water cascade that you can follow up to the central monument finished in 1981 by a Soviet sculptor.

October 6, 2023December 19, 2023

Turtle lake

One of the recreation areas of თბილისი is the turtle lake, named because of the amount of turtles found there. It is located at a height of 686 meters above the city quarter Vake of თბილისი. The turtle lake is an artificial lake created from a small mountain river called Varazis-Khevi. It has a maximum depth of 2.6 meters and you can swim in it – but most people come here just for taking a walk around or having a coffee at its shore.

October 5, 2023December 3, 2023

Atəşgah

A magic place outside of Bakı. The Atəşgah fire temple is a religious place formerly used by Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. It became so famous that even Jules Vernes and Alexandre Dumas visited it and wrote about it. Once you’ve passed the historic walls of Atəşgah you’ll see an eternal flame protected by a building at the center and rooms surrounding it but leaving a large courtyard around the fire.

October 5, 2023December 3, 2023

Yanar Dağ

Well, it is a burning mountain. As simple as that, as unusual as that. At Yanar Dağ near Bakı, natural gas is continuously floating out of the ground and there are different myths who first set it on fire. Now people travel to this burning mountain and admire the flames.

October 5, 2023December 3, 2023

Petroglyphs

The Qobustan area has seen human settlements rather early in history. Witnesses of that are ancient carvings from pre-historic times at the stones close to the Caspian sea, so called petroglyphs. These depictions of bulls, camels, ritual dances and riding humans date back to 5,000 to 20,000 BCE. The petroglyphs have been created by the people living in that area and they give insight into ancient life.

October 5, 2023December 3, 2023

Mud volcanoes

Muddy fields decorated with volcanoes that don’t produce lava but mud, that is the Qobustan area close to Bakı. Every now and then a large bubble appears in the mud and disappears again – that is because of natural gas streaming out of the ground and through the mud. While the rest of the world tries to get methane to heat their homes it is popping up here uncontrolled and vanishes into the atmosphere.

October 5, 2023December 3, 2023

Bibi Heybat mosque

Azerbaijan is a secular country not having a stake in religious matters. There are some Russian orthodox Christians, a large Jewish community focused on Bakı – but the majority of Azeris are Muslims belonging mostly to Shia Islam. Therefore you’ll find different mosques throughout Bakı; the biggest and most modern one is the Bibi Heybat mosque outside of the city.