4-7 Gobustan National Museum & Mud Volcanoes

This was a long day trip out of Baku City.  In the morning we drove out to see the two above sites.  Gobustan was first.

Inside the museum they explained about the Shaman -

and all the artifacts found nearby and also from Baku.  And all the stick figure engravings we would see on site.

The landscape was stunning.

See the boat filled with passengers at the top?  And three stick figures below.  A Shaman is at the left with two hunters.  They have wide muscular legs, small heads and arms.

There are Neolithic as well as bronze age periods engravings here.  Sometimes right on top of each other.

There is a horse below.

Right in the center is a "signature".

Oxen were very important in the lives of these people.

Another boat - do the crossing lines mean the passengers had oars?

Our guide called these caves - but all were open to the air.

I believe these are the Yally dancers.  They were an important part of their worship rituals.

These are all carved on sandstone - which is easily washed away.  A lot of the engravings are only partials because of this or have already disappeared.

Oxen

Horse

Our guide called this a net - but they had not been invented during this period.  Seems like all interpretation of long ago times - more uncertainties than not.

Wild pig - there was a dog chasing it, but I might have cut it off.

More oxen and a horse.

The Caspian sea is off in the distance.

This was supposedly a camel.  See the hump on top.  Gobustan lies near the silk road so a lot of other peoples came through here.

Per our guide the holes in the rock were carved to collect rain water. The markings leading to the holes were channels to guide the water to the hole.  The 66 is a number designation to keep track of all the sites.  I just thought it interesting a managed to get all our feet in the photo.

A lot more of the holes - they could also be used to cook in.  Soot was found in the holes.

There was always a question if we would make it to the Mud Volcanoes - especially since it had rained shortly before our timed arrival.  I think they purposely keep the road conditions poor to discourage tourists.  There are other areas of mud volcanoes that are too dangerous to get to and are also preserved by the government.

There are many roads to the same place.  As areas got too rutted the taxi drivers just carved out new routes.  The Medellin hanging from the mirror (an inscription from the Quran) swings wildly back and forth.

Finally at the top of a tall hill.  Our first mud volcano.

View of one volcano with nothing happening.

See the bubble off to the left side of the Crater.

Someone trying to light the methane gas - it did start on fire, I just missed the flame.

A row of mud volcanoes.

Another example - first one quiet.

Awe, a big blurp in the back of the Crater.

Another - larger volcano.  They made some interesting designs with the mud.

Especially as the mud dried or was refreshed with new spurts of mud.

Another interesting blurp explosion.

Not terribly many people here.  It was very muddy.  The hill up to the final accent was slippery and steep.

Here is our descent.  It was steeper than it looks.  Several taxis had to turn around as they could not make it up the hill.  We were in a 4x4 and had no trouble getting up the hill, but our driver went very slow.  There is a thriving taxi business from the small town near by.  The taxi drivers drive like hell to get as many people there as possible.  I imagine the taxis going back to the shop after a few trips.