Description
Excursion tour
Baku-Sheki-Baku
7 nights/8 days
Program
⠀
- 1
Day
Baku
Meeting the group at the airport. Transfer to the hotel.
Overnight at a hotel in Baku.
- 2
Day
Baku
After breakfast the tour begins. First, tourists will get acquainted with the spectacular panorama of the city and Baku Bay from the observation deck of Nagorny Park. After that, the excursion in the Old City (Baku Fortress) will start. The Old Town complex, which covers the area of the old fortress, is included in the list of historical monuments protected by UNESCO. The tour begins at the entrance to the Baku Fortress. Tourists enter the fortress through the ancient “Double Gates”. While walking with a guide along the ancient streets of the fortress, tourists will visit the Palace of the Shirvan Shahs, enter the ancient Caravan Sarai, look at ancient mosques and medieval baths, climb to the roof of the Maiden Tower. The Maiden Tower is one of the mystical structures of the ancient East. At the end of the excursion, tourists will visit the place where the famous comedy film ‘The Diamond Arm’ was filmed. After lunch, the next excursion will be in the Heydar Aliyev Center. It is a complex structure that includes auditoriums, museums, and exhibition halls. The construction of the center was designed by the legendary Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in 2007. In 2014 the Design Museums’s Desigh of the Year Award for 2014 has been awarded to Heydar Aliyev Center. as recognized as the best building in the world and awarded the Design of the Year 2014 award. There is an interactive museum of national musical instruments, a museum “Masterpieces of Azerbaijan” that includes a collection of national clothes and household items, an exhibition of Azerbaijani carpets, etc. Overnight at a hotel in Baku.
- 3
Day
Absheron peninsula
Today we will have an excursion around the Absheron Peninsula. The first object that tourists will visit will be “Yanardag” (Burning Mountain). The place is distinguished by the eternal fire blazing on the hill. The flame appears due to the subsurface natural gas. Due to such amazing natural phenomena, Azerbaijan is often called «The Land of Fire». The tour will proceed to the temple of Ateshgah, also called the «Fire Temple of Baku». At the beginning of our era, the Zoroastrian temple was built on the territory of the village of Surakhani at the site of the release of flammable gases. After the acceptance of Islam by the inhabitants of Azerbaijan, the Zoroastrian fire temple fell into decay. The worship of fire in Surakhani resumed in the 15th century, after the restoration of the Temple by Zoroastrians of India. After the excursions, guests will return to Baku. Overnight at a hotel in Baku.
- 4
Day
Baku - Sheki
08.00 Departure to Sheki (300 km).
After leaving Baku, tourists will move to the north-west. The first stop will be at the mud volcanoes. The volcanic mud itself is used in the treatment of certain diseases, as well as in cosmetology. Thenextstop The next stop - Sufi mausoleum «Diri Baba» (XV c.). This place is considered sacred, and people still come here to worship. In the Middle Ages, Sufi dervishes meditated in nearby caves. After the mausoleum there will be a stop in the Shamakhi Juma Mosque (early 20th century). The architecture of the mosque is very interesting. The guide will share the history of this mosque. On the way, there will be a stop for tea at a roadside cafe, where tourists can enjoy tea with local jams. After lunch, excursion to the open-air museum «Ancient capital of the Caucasus Albania». Arrival in Sheki.
Overnight at a hotel in Sheki.
- 5
Day
Sheki - Baki
After breakfast, tourists will walk on the old streets of Sheki. Theywill visit the Palace of the Sheki Khans, built in the 17th century, without a single nail and held on a 20-centimeter foundation. In the palace itself, tourists will see frescoes depicting battle scenes of the warswaged by the Sheki khans. There are craft workshops near the palace, in the fortress. We definitely recommend visiting local sweets shops, the workshops on making “Shebeke” - wooden jewelry, the medieval Caravan Saray, which, just like many years ago, welcomes guests. After lunch, excursion to an ancient temple in the village of Kish, which was founded in 62 A.D. by Apostle Yelisey and became a spiritual center and place of enlightenment of the people of the East. In the courtyard of the temple there are burials of people who are more than 2 meters tall. One of versions of the stories, suggested by the famous Norwegian traveller and writer Thor Heirdal, says that they are descendants of the Atlanteans.. Overnight at a hotel in Sheki.
- 6
Day
After breakfast, departure to Baku. On the way, tourists will visit the ancient Albanian church in the village Nij. The descendants of the tribes that inhabiting ancient Caucasian Albania live here. After visiting this village, tourists will rest at Lake Noor and continue on the way to Baku. Arrival in Baku. Overnight at a hotel in Baku.
- 7
Day
Gobustan
After breakfast, an excursion to the Gobustan Rock Art Museum. Here tourists will visit an interactive museum and an open-air museum. Rock paintings of Gobustan belong to different eras and date from 10-8 millennia B.C. to the Middle Ages. In terms of the span of such a large historical period, they occupy a high place among other rock collections in the world. Gobustan is included in the list of historical monuments protected by UNESCO. After Gobustan, tourists will head to mud volcanoes. Most of the mud volcanoes are located in Azerbaijan, mainly on the Absheron Peninsula. Volcanic mud is considered curative and is often used in cosmetology. Overnight at a hotel in Baku.
- 8
Day
Breakfast at the hotel. Trip to the market «Green Bazaar». Excursion to the market, purchase of spices, fruits and other Azerbaijani products. Transfer to the airport.