TODAY.AZ / Sports

Formula 1 tourists enjoy insetting tours in race weekend

06 June 2016 [11:05] - TODAY.AZ

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

In less than two weeks thousands of foreign tourists will rush to Azerbaijan's capital to watch the long-awaited 8th round of the most popular racing sport -- Formula 1 European Grand Prix.

The hosting of the continental sport festival is turning out to be a historic event for the country.

Currently, everything in the capital is getting ready to host the event and make the race weekend in the Land of Fire unforgettable for tourists.

To familiarize Europeans and the whole world with its ancient history and antique architecture, beautiful nature and delicious cuisine appropriate agencies are preparing fantastic entertainments.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry is already cooperating with tourism enterprises of the country to prepare interesting tours for the guests this June.

One of them will be bus tours around the city, which includes a two-hour tour in three buses on special route in Baku, prepared by Baku Tourist Information Centre.

Moreover, the tourists will hardly forget excursions on the routes such as the Baku-Gobustan-Baku, Baku-Gala-Baku, Baku-Atashgah temple-Baku and Baku-Yanar Dag-Baku.

Gobustan State Historical-Artistic Reserve

An open air museum and one of the oldest historic sites in Absheron peninsula --Gobustan, located in 70 kilometers southwest of Baku, is a geographical area, which consists of ravines located between the south-eastern foot of the Great Caucasian Mountains and the Caspian Sea.

Here, the history fans will be impressed by 6,000-year-old rock engravings and the evidence of human habitation that spans 25,000 years, inhabited caves, settlements, and burials -- all reflecting the extensive use of the area by ancient people.

Gobustan carvings consist of the pictures of animals, bulls, goats, wild horses, deer, gazelles, pigs, lions, wolves and others. Pictures of animals mainly were shown by contour lines. Gobustan rock carvings are also rich by their different compositions.

Gala State Historical-Ethnographic Reserve

Gala, located in 40 km outside of Baku was founded in 2008 in the Gala settlement, the reserve is devoted to the history of the Absheron Peninsula.

The visitors can get acquainted with the lifestyle people enjoyed in between the 16th-19th centuries here. The complex features cave paintings, gavaldash, pottery, household items, jewelry, weapons and coins, and ancient settlements dating back from the III-II millennium B.C. to the Middle Ages.

The Museum of 1.2 hectares square preserves the antique monuments in the open air. In total, the village of Gala hosts 216 monuments.

Atashgah State Historical-Architectural Reserve

With a history that stretches back millennia, Baku is home to the Baku Ateshgah or "Fire Temple". The temple is located on a place well known for its natural burning-gas phenomenon.

The history of the temple goes back to the Sassanid Empire, when Zoroastrianism was the main religion in this region. But when the army of the Caliphate broke into the South Caucasus in 643, the Fire Temple fell into decay. In the 15-17th centuries the Indian fire worshipers, who came to the Absheron with trade caravans, began to make pilgrimage to Surakhani.

Atashgah, included in the UNESCO’s preliminary World Heritage list and considered as one of the most interesting monuments due to its historical value and modern appearance, was built in the 17-18th centuries.

Yanar Dag

Yanar Dag or the Burning Mountain is the real representation of the well-known epithet of Azerbaijan. This place magically attracts visitors especially in the dark time.

It’s situated on the Absheron Peninsula in some 25 kilometers northeast of the capital city Baku. It is a 116-meter hill with a continuous natural gas fire eruption, which jets out into the air three meters high from a porous sandstone layer.

A 10-meter wall of fire on Yanar Dag burns notwithstanding weather conditions, in snow and rain, thus creating the most spectacular view at night.

The constant Absheron wind makes this place even more mysterious, by creating a bizarre form of fire flames.

Unlike mud volcanoes, which are widespread around Azerbaijan, there is no seepage of mud or liquid at Yanar Dag. It burns simply and gorgeously.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/sports/151442.html

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