Gobustan is one of the most famous historical and archaeological reserves in the world, an open-air museum with a huge collection of priceless historical exhibits. It is located on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 60 kilometers from. Gobustan is a region of the extreme south-eastern spurs of the Greater Caucasus to the west and south-west of the Absheron Peninsula. The absolute height of the terrain is up to 1047 meters, the ridge-hilly relief in folded structures of sand and clay rocks, marls and limestones. In the south are mud volcanoes. Semi-desert landscapes prevail here; there are winter pastures.
From Azerbaijan, “Gobustan” is translated as “Land of ravines” (“gobu” - “hollow, ravine, well”, “stan” - “land, land”).
The reserve was established on September 9, 1966. The purpose of his activity is the protection of cave paintings, barrows and housing objects and their careful study.
Cave paintings of Gobustan
The Gobustan Nature Reserve is especially famous for its cave paintings made during the Mesolithic. Every year, tourists from all over the world come with their own eyes to see the numerous works of art that were once made by primitive artists. Cave paintings, a site of primitive man, tombstones and many other evidence of the past Azerbaijani people of the Stone Age and subsequent periods can be seen in the mountains of Gobustan Beyukdash, Kichikdash, Jingirdag, Shongardag and Shykhgay. The most significant of the entire list, of course, are the petroglyphs carved by primitive people on the walls of caves, rocks and stone blocks. They are able to tell the traveler about the culture, economy, worldview, customs and traditions of ancient people who already at that far time settled this fertile corner of Azerbaijan.
Research
The works of art by ancient artists were discovered quite by accident during the work in this place in a stone quarry. Previously, this place was littered with stone blocks. So, during the work, one of the workers noticed some images on the rock. The area began to be cleared and as it was cleared, more and more images became available to the eye. A large number of drawings were found in caves.
Thus, another attraction appeared in Azerbaijan. Archaeologists began a thorough study of the area. As a result, more than 6 thousand drawings on 1000 rocks were discovered, ancient dwellings - caves and sites, about 40 barrows, more than 100 thousand objects of material culture. The most ancient drawings belong to the Mesolithic, however, it is assumed that life existed here before, which allows us to consider Gobustan as one of the cradles of civilization. Research is still ongoing here.
Ancient art
All the cave paintings in Gobustan appeared at different times and belong to different eras - from 10-8 millennia BC. and up to the Middle Ages. According to the coverage of such a large historical period, they occupy a high place among other rock collections in the world. Images differ from each other in a variety of themes, style, structure, and technique. A very interesting fact is that over time they overlap each other. The subjects of these samples of art were largely a reflection of the everyday life of people. Here you can see scenes such as horse and foot hunting, scenes of battles, scenes of collective labor, reaping. Drawings depicting people in a dance reminiscent of the modern Azerbaijani folk dance “Yalli” (from the word “yal” - “food”) have also been preserved. The dance performed in the form of a round dance apparently preceded the hunt. Presumably, these rituals were performed to the sounds made by a special musical instrument of the Stone Age. It was called "Gaval-dash" ("Tambourine Stone"). By striking various points of the stone boulder, ancient musicians achieved various sound tones, and could perform various melodies. It is very likely that the ancient Gobustans danced and performed their rites to similar music.
In addition, on the walls of the caves of Gobustan you can see numerous images of wild animals that lived here during the last 10 thousand years - gazelles, wild goats, deer, wild pigs, horses, lions, etc. Also found are images of birds, fish, snakes, lizards and various insects.
There are also images of men and women in Gobustan. The silhouette drawings of people almost life-size belong to the most ancient period of time and date from the early Neolithic era (8 millennium BC), when the mother was the head of the genus. During the creation of these images, the woman was a symbol of good and kindness and prosperity, a continuer of the clan. The men in the figures are depicted in a hunting guise with bows and arrows. They are tall, with slender bodies, belted belts, with well-developed muscles. Male figures are depicted mainly in leggings, and some female figures are decorated with tattoos.
Among the many drawings characteristic of both Asian and European cultures, images of boats with rowers attract particular attention. This may mean that at that time the inhabitants of Gobustan were good sailors. The sun depicted at the stern of the boats allows us to draw an analogy with similar drawings found in Sweden, the Urals, and Egypt. According to ancient beliefs, the sun, setting in the east, moves by boat in the night to reappear in the morning in the west. Cave paintings of Gobustan were extremely interested in the famous scientist and traveler Thor Heyerdahl, who visited here several times. Studying similar images of boats in Gobustan and Norway, he hypothesized that the ancestors of the ancient Vikings arrived in Scandinavia in boats from the shores of the Caspian.
Time passed, people changed, their abilities improved, which, in fact, was reflected in Gobustan rock paintings. The technique of drawing has changed, contour images have replaced the silhouette. Unlike earlier images, often made full-size, in the Bronze Age, the size of the drawings began to decrease. Along with the development of fine art, this was also facilitated by the use of more advanced tools, including metal ones.
In addition to ancient drawings, in Gobustan, a Latin inscription found at the foot of Mount Beyuk-dash is very interesting. Its appearance dates from the first century AD, about 84 - 96 years, and is direct evidence that at that time Roman troops were located near Baku. In particular, the Roman inscription reads: Imp Domitiano Caesare avg Germanic L Julius Maximus Leg XII Ful.
Which is translated into Russian: "The time of the emperor Domitian Caesar Augustus of Germany, Lucius Julius Maxim, Centurion XII of the Lightning-fast Legion."
The Latin author of the second half of the 4th century, Eutropius, reports that the emperor Domitian, nicknamed "Fulminata" ("lightning-fast"), made four campaigns, and during one of them his legion with the commander was exterminated. Apparently, here, in the Gobustan inscription, the same detachment of the XII legion is mentioned, which was destroyed by the locals of Absheron.
The presence of the Roman troops on Absheron in the 1st century is probably indicated by the name of the village of Ramana or Roman. The name of the city of Ramana in Asia Minor, mentioned by Bar Ebray in the 13th century, is also associated with the Roman conquest. The presence of Roman troops in Gobustan indicates the presence near a large settlement or city, which could be Baku at that time and where the Roman troops were likely to be sent.
Not far from the place of the Romans’s stay is the “Gaval-Dash” (which was already mentioned above) - the original tambourine stone, which is a huge flat slab set flat. By tapping it, rhythmically clear motives can be extracted. It is believed that these sounds were accompanied by ritual dances and rituals.
There are also inscriptions carved in the Arabic alphabet, and related to the 12-14 centuries.
Gobustan (Qobustan) is an archaeological reserve located along the E112 highway 60 km south of Baku. For convenience, we immediately separate the interactive museum and the rocks themselves with images from mud volcanoes, as these attractions are located at a distance of about 13 km from each other. Yes, and some may be interested in the drawings of the ancient inhabitants of these places, and the other only volcanoes or vice versa. But, if you still decide to visit Gobustan, I recommend to visit there and there.
Rock paintings in Gobustan
The museum complex of rock paintings, located 4.5 kilometers from the Gobustan bus stop, includes a small two-story interactive museum of petroglyphs, opened at the end of 2011, and the rocks themselves with images located on a hill 2 km from the museum. The cost of admission is 2 manat plus 1 will have to pay for parking to you or the driver, as agreed. Be careful, tickets are checked both below and above.
A common line runs through the entire composition of the exhibition - the connection of cave paintings with the life of an ancient person. The museum provides information not only about petroglyphs found on the rocks in Gobustan, but also about other similar historical monuments around the world. The exhibition should appeal to children, for them there are several interactive stands, for example, one needs to guess what kind of animal is depicted in a particular figure of an ancient person.
After you go around all the halls and remember the drawings depicted on the local rocks, you can go upstairs. Here you will have a short half-kilometer walk with the task of finding petroglyphs and admiring the cliffs, steppe and the sea. Also pay attention to the white stones with indentations, one is located at the end of the route (walk along the rocks and exit to the cliff), the other is already on the way back, this is a gavaldash - a “stone-tambourine”, when struck, sounds are made that are similar to sound drum.
In 2007, the cultural landscape of the rock paintings of Gobustan was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Gobustan Mud Volcanoes
Mud volcanoes are located 13 kilometers from the museum of petroglyphs. The road to them by car takes about 25-30 minutes, since most of it falls on a broken primer, so in rainy weather you probably should not go into it. When you drive onto a hill, on which here and there small towers rise, there is a feeling that you are on some other planet, but certainly not on Earth. The view is fascinating. You walk between small knolls, and then on the one hand, then on the other, a “gurgle-gurgle” is constantly heard and a little dirt escapes from the nozzle, which then flows down. In general, than to paint, better look.
In addition to photographs, he shot a short video with mud volcanoes.
How to get from Baku to Gobustan
Most likely, each Baku hotel offers tours of Baku and the surrounding area. My was no exception, the cost of an excursion to Gobustan in 2016 was 50 manat, but the price did not include visiting mud volcanoes, and there was no information about the number of people in the group and the vehicle. Now an individual excursion with a licensed guide to Gobustan with visits to both attractions can be pre-order online. I myself did not consider the option of an organized excursion, because I wanted to get to the village at least on my own, and then I had to choose a taxi and go, but what came of it and what I’ll not tell below.
Searches on the network for the query "how to get to Gobustan" gave outdated information about bus number 20, which you need to take on Neftyanikov Avenue and go to the stop where you can take the 195 route, which will already take you to your destination. But now, after the modernization of the Baku bus system and the launch of BakuBus, this route does not exist. Therefore, in order to get from Gobustan to Baku on your own, you need to take bus 5 (following Neftyanikov Avenue) or bus 6 in the direction of 20 Sahə and get to the final stop and transfer to 195 bus there, which will take you to Gabustan, where You will be expected by many taxi drivers who want to show you both the museum of petroglyphs and mud volcanoes.
And now a little from personal experience. 195 the bus from the bus circle 20 Sahə 100% goes to Gobustan - this is the penultimate village on its route. It is not necessary to clarify this information with the conductor or driver, otherwise it can happen as with me, the driver will first offer the services of a trusted taxi driver, and if you refuse (I argued that there will be many offers in place, I’ll figure it out), then it can just stop at the entrance to the village at the intersection, where a museum will be visible in the distance, and pointing to it, it is strongly recommended to go out here, where a lonely taxi driver is waiting for you, which he will definitely bring. Only now bargaining with him is no longer normal, because he is completely alone. In my case, this story was supplemented by the fact that the taxi driver the young guy did not speak Russian at all, but here, by chance, about a miracle, there was a man who knew the language normally and helped us make contact, although he assured us that they were not familiar. And of course, we then threw this stranger to the central stop of Gobustan, where I was supposed to get on the bus. Initially counting on 15-20 manats, a taxi cost me 25 + 1 for parking at the museum. The fare on the 20 Sahə - Qobustan bus is 80 qepiks.
Three dozen kilometers south of Baku is the Gobustan Nature Reserve. It is known primarily for the fact that several thousand petroglyphs 4-5 thousand years old are compactly located on its territory.
In addition to petroglyphs, Gobustan has a curious plateau with a group of mud volcanoes and, of course, a museum made with the latest technology. Well, let's visit all these unconditionally interesting places.
It is interesting that Gobustan is one of the most popular offers of travel agencies in Baku. Firstly, it’s very easy to get to Gobustan: almost all the way lies about the beautiful freeway, on which you can easily accelerate to 130-150 km / h. Secondly, Gobustan is not far from the city, and even taking into account traffic jams, the road to it does not take much time. Nevertheless, the main tourist flow is directed to places closer to the capital of Azerbaijan, for example, to or Zagulba (we will talk about the latter a bit later).
But Gobustan is also interesting in its own way. It is unlikely that where so close to a large city you can find a huge collection of petroglyphs, and the desert landscapes of the reserve sharply contrast with the usual landscapes of the Caucasus.
To the south of Baku stretches a wide (10-20 km) desert strip between the Caspian coast and the spurs (in these places not high) of the Caucasus mountains. The vegetation here is approximately the same, a rare grass with poor soil and thorns
Having turned off at the right place from the Baku-Tbilisi highway (the right place is a huge billboard with the inscription qobustan and stylized petroglyphs), you need to drive 3-4 kilometers west to the museum. Ilham Aliyev himself made efforts to organize the museum, which greatly increases his (museum's) status. Although ... in Azerbaijan, almost everything is named after Aliyev (senior or younger), the duty inscription is not surprising.
Outside, the museum looks stylish. If you look from afar or from the mountains, it seems like 3-5 nomads' yurts standing very close together.
It’s still more interesting from the inside, there is also a bunch of all projection-electronic, a wonderful play of light, 3-D panoramas and more. The museum is two-level, with the second level lower than the first. Probably, all typical samples of local petroglyphs are collected in the lobby.
Almost in all the halls of the museum there is an interactive panel on which tourists can find out additional information on the theme of the hall.
Detailed maps indicate in which part of Gobustan which monuments are found.
For those who do not really like two-dimensional maps, there is the opportunity to virtually fly over the surroundings of Gobustan on a stereo-3D projector. Photography, of course, couldn’t correctly convey this “stereo-ZD”, but the effect of what it saw surpasses the impression of watching a good 3D TV or stereo movie.
The museum also houses the figures of the ancestors of modern life-size Azerbaijanis who lived in these places in the III-II millennium BC.
However, the main thing in Gobustan is not the museum itself, but the area of \u200b\u200bpetroglyphs, which is located on a mountainside about 1.5 km from the museum itself.
Here, among the huge stone landslides, paths for inspection are indicated, it is strictly not recommended to go over them.
Almost immediately, you can see the first petroglyphs, which depict people and a boat.
Some petroglyphs (there are very few, but are) are censored. Why - I have no idea. But the “do not touch” sign is painted directly on the stones, and is regularly updated
Hunting or running scenes of a herd of bulls:
Something abstract:
Here the stones themselves are so interesting that they are also worthy of filming. Centuries-old erosion and weathering turn stones into something amazing.
Cattle Again:
Watch out, snakes!
Look, here it is, antiquity, just lend a hand!
Found an amazing petroglyph that can not be touched. It is surprisingly similar to the number "49"! :)
There is a petroglyph "92", but next to it there are more ancient ones.
If you look towards the sea, an amazing view of the stone piles opens:
Here from the observation deck in general a beautiful view of the Caspian opens, but the sea is visible only in the early morning and late evening, at another time everything is in a haze
Last look at the stone blockages and move on ... To Gobustan!
5-8 kilometers from the Gobustan Museum there is a plateau with a group of mud volcanoes. It is difficult to get there by car, the road is already very broken, but if you get there, you will see a desert landscape of incredible beauty that would suit Central Asia, and not the Caucasus.
Tourists are brought here in minibuses, because there are very few of them here.
Here are the mud volcanoes. They gurgle amusingly, and the dirt erupting from them gradually dries in the summer forty-degree heat, forming curious "roads"
Dried volcanic mud
Here they are - Gobustan mud volcanoes
The vent of one of them:
Volcanoes "gurgle" almost constantly, once every 1-2 minutes. In three to five minutes, you can find 2-3 eruptions on each of the volcanoes.
Ways of mud flowing from a volcano sometimes resemble an octopus
The plateau area with mud volcanoes is full of abandoned oil infrastructure. Some of them look very pretty, like this ... device. What it is and why they left it here is not clear.
Then, in Gobustan, I saw something unusual: puddles of real oil. And oil came here not from a broken oil pipeline, but leaked through the ground from below. To the touch, the oil is warm and very pleasant, although very oily.
In general, it’s very useful to go to Gobustan for general development, which I wish everyone. Moreover, there you can not only look at the petroglyphs, but also at the real Roman inscription: in the Gobustan region almost 2000 years ago there was not anyone, but the XII Lightning Legion itself. But I could not see her. The best time to visit the reserve is in the morning, in order to see everything before lunch.
But what to do after dinner? After lunch, it is best to go to the other side of the Absheron Peninsula, in the Amburan beach club, which is located in the village of Zagulba near the cottage of the President of Azerbaijan.
By this time, the Caspian at the beach warms up so well that the water takes an ideal temperature. And do not like the sea - so here and the pools are full. This is an extremely glamorous place if you are not discouraged by an entrance fee of 25 euros.
In general, if you get out of the hot and dusty desert, then it is best here.
Or otherwise Gobustan State Historical and Artistic Reserve called the archaeological reserve of Azerbaijan, stretching across the territories of the Absheron and Karadag regions in the south of Baku.
Gobustan is a plain stretching between the Caspian Sea and the southeastern side of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range.
The name "Gobustan" itself comes from the Azerbaijani word "gobu", which translates as "beam". Thus, Gobustan is the land of ravines and gullies.
Gobustan Nature Reserve is famous for its cave paintings, preserved here since the Mesolithic period.
From year to year, tourists from all over the world visit Gobustan to see with their own eyes these diverse works of art of our distant ancestors.
The work of primitive artists, the parking of ancient people, prehistoric tombstones and much more can be seen in the mountains of Gobustan. All these testimonies of the life of the Azerbaijani people of the Stone Age are a great pride of modern Azerbaijan. 
Cave paintings
The so-called petroglyphs, which are carved on the walls of caves and rocks, are by far the most significant local artifacts.
This ancient writing is capable of telling modern people about how our distant ancestors lived, how they thought, how they kept their households, what they valued, respected, and what they feared.
Moreover, the walls of Gobustan caves are decorated with a huge number of cave paintings, on which you can see not only animals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish that have lived in this area for thousands of years, but also people - figures of men and women.
These figures are dated by the eighth millennium BC, that is, the Neolithic period.
At that time, matriarchy flourished in the tribes. These ancient people worshiped a woman, she was for them the personification of warmth, well-being and continuer of the clan. Human figures were depicted to their full height, men in the robes of hunters, armed with bow and arrow, women are often tattooed.
The figures show that people were then tall, slender and muscular. Of clothing, only loincloths were depicted on them.
The famous writer and traveler Thor Heyerdahl was so interested in rock paintings in the caves of Gobustan that he repeatedly visited these places.
Having studied various materials, in particular, how the boats are depicted in the drawings in Gobustan, he compared them with the images of boats in Norway. Having found quite a lot in common, he suggested that the ancestors of the Vikings moved to Scandinavia precisely from here, from the Caspian Sea.
Over time, people have evolved and improved, and, of course, this was reflected in their cave art. The changes affected the image technique and size.
When the Bronze Age came to replace the Neolithic period, the cave paintings significantly decreased, people stopped painting them in full size.
One of the most interesting sights of Gobustan is a tambourine stone, which locals call “Gavaldash”. It is located in the northeast, at the foot of Jingirdag Mountain.
It is interesting in that when it hits it it makes various sounds. Moreover, you need to hit it with other stones, and depending on the size of the stone, the ringing emitted by Gavaldash will vary. According to one version, this stone was a kind of alarm or even just a musical instrument that helps to conduct certain rituals.
Mount Boyuk Dash
Mount Beyuk Dash is also noteworthy. At its foot in the first century AD appeared an inscription in Latin. This is clear evidence that the Roman legions passed here at one time. This inscription looks like this:
Imp domitiano
Caesare avg
Germanic
L julius
Maximus
Leg XII Ful.
If you translate this into our language, you get the following phrase: "The time of the emperor Domitian Caesar Augustus of Germany, Lucius Julius Maxim, Centurion XII of the Lightning-fast Legion."
If we turn to Eutropius, an author who lived in the fourth century AD, you can find out that the emperor Domitian was destroyed along with his entire legion during one of his four campaigns.
From this we can conclude that this inscription was made by the centurion of the twelfth detachment of this very one, which was destroyed by the inhabitants of Absheron, the legion. 
Gobustan Nature Reserve on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Due to its significance for the whole world, the Gobustan Nature Reserve was submitted to the Government of Azerbaijan in 2002 for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Only 5 years later, in 2007, he was already included in this list of the most significant cultural and historical monuments of the world.
The reserve Gobustan and its attractions began to be studied back in the distant nineteen thirty-ninth year, and continue to this day.
Now Gobustan is a unique heritage of Azerbaijan with the status of a monument of world significance. It preserves the history of life, work, work and entertainment of primitive tribes.
How to behave in the reserve:
If you decide to visit Gobustan, then you definitely need to remember these simple rules and follow them so as not to harm the nature and attractions of the reserve.
- Do not pick mushrooms, berries, plants, flowers. It’s better to leave it as it is - in its original form.
- As souvenirs, you can export only photographs of the surrounding beauties.
- Do not litter! Be sure to take all the trash with you. Otherwise, the cleanliness of the reserve will be in jeopardy.
- You can not leave any inscriptions on the walls of caves, rocks, even on signs.
The Gobustan nature reserve spread out over a vast territory and tourist routes for citizens of the whole world were laid along this territory.
Where is the Gobustan Nature Reserve
Gobustan is located at:
The city of Baku, the territory of the Karadag region, the southeast of the Gobustan massif of the Greater Caucasus. Lermontov kuc. 3, Baku, AZ1006
Gobustan National State Historical and Artistic Reserve, located 70 km south of Baku, is a unique monument of world significance and in 2007 was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
On the territory of the reserve with a total area of \u200b\u200b4537 hectares, one of the largest collections of ancient rock paintings in the world is concentrated - there are more than 4000 thousand petroglyphs covering the period from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages.
In the Gobustan National Historical and Artistic Reserve, you can also see settlements of ancient people, the remains of a large prehistoric cromlech, barrows and other evidence of the material and intangible culture of the region of the Stone Age and subsequent periods. Gobustan petroglyphs have been repeatedly studied by the famous Norwegian explorer and traveler, Thor Heyerdahl, who recognized the rock paintings of boats available here as the oldest known pie in the world.
These ships, similar to the ancient Scandinavian ships, prompted him to put forward a sensational hypothesis about the relationship between the Norwegians and Azerbaijanis. The tourist attraction is also a stone slab with a Latin inscription dating back to the 1st century AD. e., left by the XII Roman legion of the emperor Domitian, which testifies to the presence of this legion. As a rule, an excursion to Gobustan begins with a visit to the magnificent interactive museum located here, after which guests can take a walk around the reserve.
Museum of Gobustan State Historical and Artistic Reserve
The Museum of the National Gobustan State Historical and Art Reserve was opened in 2012 after a thorough reconstruction. Today it is a modern interactive museum complex, the fund of which has collected over 100,000 archaeological materials.
In 2013, the Museum of the Gobustan State Historical and Artistic Reserve was among the winners of the competition "Best European Museum of the Year", which is held by the European Museum Forum and is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world in this area.
Using the touch screen, visitors can get detailed information in various languages \u200b\u200babout the reserve and the museum’s structure, which is divided into thematic sections, in the information center of the museum. The exhibition part of the museum includes several rooms: “UNESCO World Cultural Heritage”.
“Flora and Fauna of Gobustan”, “Time Travel”, “Archaeological Discoveries in Gobustan”, “The Life of People of the Ancient Period ?,“ Art of the Ancient Period ”,“ The Meaning of Petroglyphs ”,“ Ancient Artists of Gobustan ”,“ Petroglyphs from the Ages ” , "Beasts and Hunters", "The Cultural Landscape of Gobustan Rock Art."
Their enumeration alone gives an idea of \u200b\u200bhow diverse the museum's exposition is. Many unique artifacts, tools related to the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, animated representations, video materials allow tourists to see the scale of what happened in Globusgan from the early period, natural changes, the geography of human settlements, get acquainted with the culture and representations of ancient people. The museum also has a cinema hall for 45 spectators, where you can carry out a virtual flight in 3D over the territory of the reserve.
At the disposal of visitors are interactive stands, educational and entertaining games, a library. You can also climb to the observation deck with an area of \u200b\u200b283 square meters. m, where two telescopes are installed. The complex has a meeting room, where all the conditions for holding various conferences, events of local and international importance, a photo laboratory and a research department are created.
Getting to Gobustan from Baku is easy. From the “20th section” (Sabail district) to Gobustan shuttle bus number 195. From Gobustan to the reserve can be reached by taxi (3-5 manats). Also, in the near future a special bus will be launched, which will deliver those who wish from Baku directly to the Gobustan reserve.