Mud volcanoes of Qobustan

Located less than an hour south of Azerbaijan's capital of Baku is the town of Qobustan. The town itself is rather unremarkable. Although it does have a pleasant setting, wedged between the Caspian Sea and some desertified hills. The town of 14,000 people has some basic amenities, like a cafe or two and a couple of shops, but really that's about it. However, it's not the town that tourists come here for. It's not even the sea views, or even the hills. And it's definitely not the cafes. But it's two ancient attractions, located in the nearby hills that bring people here.

To get to Qobustan, you can take a public bus from the centre of Baku (80 kopek). Once you arrive in town, you will surely be surrounded by dozens of local taxi drivers asking to take you to the mud volcanoes. As your ill-equipped Lada traverses the terrain you hold on for dear life as it starts to climb one of the hills. Although the hill seems, at first, quite ordinary, you soon come to realize the attraction. Dozens of 1 to 3 meter tall mounds gurgle as you approach. These are mud volcanoes. The term mud volcano or mud dome is used to refer to formations created by geo-excreted liquids and gases. As the gases get trapped in the Earth, they seek the easiest way out. And here is where they like to vent. Now temperatures are much cooler than igneous processes, so it's certainly not like lava or anything, but interesting none-the-less. It is estimated that 300 of the planet's estimated 700 mud volcanoes sit in Eastern Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. Even in their less active periods, they still bubble-bubble. I couldn't help but giggle as the Earth belched at me. So with flatulence properly photographed, i scrapped the caked on mud from my shoes and headed to the other of the attractions nearby.

Established in 1966, the Qobustan State reserve is very rich in archaeological monuments. The reserve has more than 600,000 rock paintings, which depict primitive men, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars, on the average dating back to 5,000-20,000 years. Today Gobustan is the most popular state reserve and is an invaluable treasure-house of Azerbaijan. The tour is highly suggested, even at a price of 6 Manat. However, unless you absolutely love rock carvings, you could probably miss this one. All in all, Qobustan makes for an interesting day trip out of Baku. It's not so expensive, and it's easy for even the most inexperienced traveller. Just remember to bargain hard for the taxi. It should cost 20 Manat. And DO NOT take a taxi from Baku, as they have no idea how to find the volcanoes. There are no signs, you'll definitely need a local driver.

Ashura in Baku

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four months of the year in which fighting is prohibited. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar. Muharram is so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month; the word is derived from the word ‘haram’ meaning forbidden. The month, itself, is rather unspectacular to the average observer. There are no parties, no celebrations or other similar events. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. Some Muslims fast during these days.

The tenth day of Muharram is called Yaumu-l 'Ashurah, meaning, ‘the tenth day’, and it is a day of voluntary fasting. Fasting differs among the Muslim groupings; mainstream Shi'a Muslims stop eating and drinking during sunlight hours and do not eat until the evening. But even more interesting, is the commemoration of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. Husayn ibn Ali the grandson of Muhammad and the third Shi'a Imam. This means that he's rather important to the religion. At the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680), Husayn was killed. So Ashura is somewhat similar to Remembrance Day in the west. But that's about where the similarities end.

The practice of self mutilation is officially banned by the Qaran (the Muslim holy book). And therefore it is also banned by the government of most Muslim countries. However, during Ashura this seems to go right out the window. Some faithful followers, in an act of remembrance/devotion will whip themselves with sharpened chains or cut themselves with large knives. All the while chanting Husayn. It is something that i had not previously witnessed. And while the ritual in Azerbaijan pales in comparison, in both numbers and blood, to that in Iran, it was still something to see. There were about 20 or 30 men, some old some young performing the ritual, with several hundred on-lookers.

Without question i was the only foreigner, or non-Muslim there. And even though i drew looks of attention, i never felt threatened or in any danger. That was until 1 p.m. This is the symbolic time to remember the war and Husayn. It was a this point that the faithful attempted to re-enact the battle at Karbala. They lunged forward in aggressive movements waving their knives in the air. Then suddenly cut themselves on the head. It was anarchy. Men grabbing and tussling trying to avoid being cut themselves. I was caught in the middle as I wasn't sure of the exact ritual. By the end several men were cut, all of which were on purpose. Then all was calm. The chanting stopped. The "injured" left. With the spectacle finished it was also time for me to go. Although the government officially tell the people to simply donate blood at this time, i think the ritual is WAY more interesting. While my original plan was to go to Iran and see it in full scale, I was content to see anything at all. The power of love, death and religion never cease to amaze me. This was yet another example, which i will not soon forget.

After the snow

When I arrived in Azerbaijan, over 2 months ago, one of my first questions was "How's the winter?" I was assure by a number of sources that while the winter was cold and windy. There was rarely ever any snow. Or at the very least, it snowed a little, but melted nearly right away. I was greatly disappointed as it has been some while since I've lived in a country with a "proper" winter. But i accepted my fate and held no expectations. Sure enough since the winter season has set in, the skies have been overcast, and a strong, biting wind blows in off the Caspian Sea. With the New Years' holiday upon I had originally planned to head down to Iran. But with my visa denial, I moved on the Plan B which was see some of Azerbaijan. But just after Christmas it started to snow. Luckily, as predicted, it didn't stay around long. That is until New Years' Eve...


New Years' Eve itself was rather uneventful for me. I went to a friends house and, rather quietly, rang in the New Year. Around 2 we headed to a club to celebrate a little more. However, it was the weather that made it memorable. It snowed. Now I'm not talking catastrophic-blizzard-conditions-with-thousands-left-dead kid of snow, but it was substantial for Baku. New Years day was much the same. It snowed for the majority of the morning, and right into the evening. So i buckled down watching TV and playing video games. And even with cabin fever setting in, I remained optimistic. I was still hopeful that I would be able to leave town for a couple of days.

As i woke up in the morning, anticipating leaving for the Regions (what the call anything not Baku), I was pleasantly surprised. The snowed had stayed. And not only had it stayed, but the sun was shining, the birds were singing and there was a happy joy-joy feeling. It was a winter wonderland. I came to the realization that these conditions were unlikely to present themselves again, so I put off the trip into the countryside and pick up my camera to head into town. Not only was I blessed with nearly perfect weather, but the locals were too afraid to head into town. I had the whole place to myself. As i live near the UNESCO listed "Old Town" it was my main area of focus. Some of the buildings there are nearly 1,000 years old. Although they have all been heavily restored recently. Still the sense of history still hangs heavily in the air and the freshly fallen snow made for an excellent contrast. Even as i wandered into the trendy, central Fountain Square, there was no one to be seen. I walk this square nearly everyday on my way to work. I had NEVER seen it so empty. Even the children rides smiled through the new coating of the white stuff. But as the afternoon sun started to hit the snow, it turned to slush. The people got brave enough to leave their homes, tramping whatever remained. The paradise was short lived, but a pleasant experience all the same. Sure enough, as the night fell, it froze whatever snow survived, turning Baku into a city-sized skating rink. I never did make it out of town. I figure the "regions" will always be there. The snow, on the other hand, has since all but disappeared, but the photos remain.

Have a Muslimy Christmas and a Soviet New Year

Brilliantly lit evergreen trees ignite the night sky. Carols blast from the MacDonald's loud speaker system. Santas fight for the attention of passers-by. People frantically shop for last minute presents. Children glow with greedy anticipation of a toy bonanza. Greetings of "Merry Christmas" or "Happy New Year" or "Joyous Kwanzaa" or "happy Hanukkah" fill the streets. This could be any "western" city in the world. They are the tell-tale signs that the holiday season is upon us. This is a "sacred" time of year for a lot of people around the world. And Baku is no different. Or is it?

I have spent the last few years in countries that should, theoretically, not celebrate Christmas. Communist/Atheist China, Buddhist Cambodia, Orthodox Russia and Muslim Turkey just to name a few. Yet the commercialism of the holiday has spread like a wild fire to all corners of the globe.

Azerbaijan is a, predominately, Muslim country. While Islam acknowledges Jesus as a prophet of Islam, he is not considered the Saviour as in Christianity. December 25th is considered by the general population as the birthday of Christ the Saviour. While many may dispute this date, like the Orthodox church, it is the most widely accepted day. Now Azerbaijan has no reason to celebrate this day. Yet all of the same traditions that one might see Christian countries are everywhere to be seen. Why is this? Well, it actually has nothing to do with Christ. And it has nothing to do with Christmas. During the days of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan "adopted" many of the same traditions as Mother Russia. Officially, all communist republics are atheist, so shouldn't celebrate any religion, including Christianity. But the U.S.S.R. was never one to be "left out in the cold" and adopted many of the Christian holiday traditions and called them New Year traditions. A Christmas tree was replaced by the New Years tree. Father Christmas was replaced by Father Frost. And Christmas present.... well you get the point. So i guess that explains why Azerbaijan follows these rituals, right?

Well actually, not really. Azerbaijan was always one of the more different USSR republics. The religions, languages and culture or the region is vastly different from that of, say... the Baltics. As in Central Asia, one of the largest celebrations of the year is Nowrus. Nowrus is the traditional Iranian new year holiday. Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian year. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (start of spring in northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. It was also a Zoroastrian (an early religion of Azerbaijan) holiday. So even though they celebrate their own "New Years", they have kept the traditions of the USSR, even 17 years after Independence.

I am certainly not saying that they should abandon the idea of partying this time of year. At the end of the day it's all good fun!! I guess we should just chalk one up as a "victory" of globalization. Everyone seems more than happy to keep these traditions of their Soviet past. Smiles and enjoyment are what holidays are about. So I'll just play along with the Blue (not red) Santa. Not to mention, it certainly makes the city pretty. They government as strung thousands of lights from the tree and light posts, turning it into a winter wonderland. Although as I live in the centre of Baku, all the shiny lights are right outside my window, and my curtain suck!! Happy Holidays!!!