Taste of Sheki Halva
Tour
Duration 7 nights / 8 days
Regions:
Baku-Shamakhi-Sheki-Guba-Absheron
Gastronomic tours in Azerbaijan are a unique opportunity
to get acquainted not only with your interests, but also with various dishes of
local Azerbaijani cuisine, which is rich in various meat and vegetable dishes,
as well as a huge selection of sweets of varying difficulty of cooking, using
local and imported spices. Many countries and nations can be famous for their
hospitality. Azerbaijanis can be proud of their hospitality. It is safe to say
that Azerbaijani cuisine is truly a brand of the country. Visiting Azerbaijan
in gastronomic tours, you cook on a special occasion and meals for every day.
It should be noted that dishes made of lamb, as well as a large number of
vegetable dishes and soups, occupy a special place in the Azerbaijani cuisine.
There is a large selection of dishes for each season. Time in trips around
Azerbaijan, in the culinary tour, never happens throughout the world and in the
region, in every region of Azerbaijan: Baku, Guba, Gabala, Ganja, Lenkoran,
Sheki, Zagatala, Nakhchivan create a diverse and unforgettable taste. Book a
tour now.
1 Day
Meeting at the airport.
Accommodation at the hotel 4 * in the city
19:00. Excursion. "Lights of the Evening Baku".
Tour "Lights of Evening Baku" begins with a visit to Mountain Park. It is here that the "City of Winds", as Baku is often called, opens to you in all its glory. The observation platform located on the highest part of the city, near the "Burning Flame Tower" shows the city with all its bright lights bordering Baku Bay reflecting the measured pace of life in the evening Baku. Further, we continue our excursion to one of the favorite places of the walk of the Baku guests of the city of all ages and social groups, a place where no one is in a hurry in the evening - "Baku Boulevard". The national park, sometimes called the "diamond necklace of Baku", stretches along Baku Bay for 16 km. At each time of the day the boulevard has its charm - in the morning you can walk in silence, feel unity with nature, go in for sports, during the day, especially on weekends, the boulevard is fully revived thanks to the small inhabitants of the capital, riding on attractions, rollerblades and bicycles, in the evening it turns in the magical world of dreams for all lovers. And the original illumination and illumination of the park, fountains and other innovations give our boulevard a special charm. At the end of our excursion "Lights of Evening Baku" we will go to the most lively and central street of the city of Nizami "Torgovaya street" as it is also called from the old times. Trading is the longest of Baku's streets (its length reaches 3.5 km). It is also called the most beautiful street in Baku - it has a large number of architectural monuments, beautiful houses, cinemas, parks, many modern boutiques and shops.
Transfer to the hotel and free time
Overnight at the hotel.
2 Day
09:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion.
"Baku City Tour".
The tour begins with a visit to one of the modern and most recognizable places of the "Heydar Aliyev Center". The center of Heydar Aliyev is a cultural center, which is a complex building, which includes an auditorium (congress center), a museum, exhibition halls, administrative offices. The project of the center was designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid. Baku is a city that combines modern and ancient, traditional and unusual. This applies to the religions represented here and our next attraction is the church of the "Holy Wives of the Myrrhbearers". In the Soviet period, the temple was closed one of the first in 1920. First there was a warehouse in it, and then a gym. In the days of the January events of 1990, two shells hit the bell tower of the temple, due to which it was partially destroyed, the floor sagged, the walls cracked, and the roof collapsed. In 1991, the dilapidated building of the church was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. On May 27, 2001, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia made a great consecration of the Holy Mother of God Church and conferred on him the status of a cathedral of the diocese. After inspecting the temple, we are on our way to the Nagorny Park. It is here that the "City of Winds", as Baku is often called, opens to you in all its glory. The observation platform located on the highest part of the city, near the sleeping "The Languages of Flame" shows the city with all its beauties and greenery bordering Baku Bay. After viewing the observation deck, we go down the stairs and head towards the "Bibi Abyat Mosque". Bibi-Heybat Mosque (Azerbaijan's Bibiheybət məscidi) is a mosque located on the shore of Baku Bay, in Azerbaijan. The existing structure, built in the 1990s, is a reconstruction of the mosque of the same name, built in the 13th century by Shirvanshah Abu-l-Fath Farrukhzad and completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1936, when a fierce struggle with religion was going on throughout the territory of the USSR. The Bibi-Eybat complex, in addition to the mosque, includes tombs and tombs of revered people (including the grave of Ukeima Khanum, the descendant of the Prophet Muhammad), as before destruction, and today is a spiritual center for Muslims of the East and one of the significant monuments of Islamic architecture of Azerbaijan. The mosque was once visited by Abaskuli-aga Bakikhanov, Alexander Dumas, Khurshudbanu Natavan. The local population in the past called it "the mosque of Fatima". Using the same name, described the mosque and visited it in the 40 years of the XIX century, Alexander Dumas. At the end of the modern Baku tour we visit the world's first oil well drilled in the Bibi-eibat oil-bearing region.
Visit
to the old town of Icheri Sheher Very often Icheri Sheher is
called a fortress, as it is surrounded by a well-preserved fortress wall.
People in the territory of Icheri Sheher lived in the Bronze Age, and by the
8th-11th centuries it was completely populated. Behind the walls there are many
unique monuments: the palace complex of the Shirvanshahs with a burial vault, a
sofa, a mosque; "Gyz Galasy" ("The Maiden's Tower");
mosques and minarets, the remains of caravanserais, baths. Buildings of the old
fortress are of a special nature. Because of the lack of the territory of the
building, the wall to the wall was erected here from ancient times. There are
no gardens, the yards are extremely small and separated by "threads"
of narrow streets, lanes and dead ends. When the Shirvanshahs moved their
capital from Shemakha to Baku in the 15th century, massive buildings began in
Icheri Sheher. During this period the pearl of the fortress was built - the
Palace of the Shirvanshahs. It should be noted that Baku XVII-XIX centuries did
not go beyond the boundaries of Icheri Sheher. Here were located the palaces of
the rulers, and residential quarters. From 1747 to 1806 there was the capital
of the Baku Khanate. Only after the beginning of the oil boom, the city began
to expand and goes beyond the boundaries of Icheri Sheher.
The fortress wall itself is of interest. Once Baku had two of them, and they
were separated by moats, but at the beginning of the XIX century, the city grew
so fast that it was necessary to demolish and build the outer wall. Remained
only the inner wall. It has 25 towers and 5 gates. They say that back in the
30s. Twentieth century in the fortress there were more than 900 buildings, and
by the beginning of the XXI century only half remained. Lunch at one of the
restaurants - Bash Kent. Piquant lunch ends with a traditional tea party.
Free time
Overnight at the hotel.
3 Day
09:00
Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion.
"Shemakha + Sheki".
Shamakhi is an ancient Azerbaijani city.
Originated in the 5th century. BC. e. In the IX-XVI centuries. - the capital of
the Shirvan kingdom, the residence of the Shirvanshahs is one of the most
beautiful cities of the East. From the middle of the XVIII century - the center
of Shemakhan khanate.For a long time, Shemakha was one of the most important
points throughout the Great Silk Road. This is due to the fact that the city
for a long time was one of the centers of the Shirvan-Apheron architectural
school and the school of decorative and applied art (carpet making) and
miniatures.Located at the intersection of caravan routes, Shemakha was one of
the major trade and craft centers in the Middle East, occupying an important
place in the trade in silk, as early as the 16th century trade ties between
Shemakha and Venetian merchants were mentioned. In Shemakha, Azerbaijani,
Iranian, Arab, Central Asian, Russian, Indian and West European merchants were
trading, who owned factories there, had numerous silk-weaving, paper-spinning
and carpet workshops. The city became famous as the home of many prominent
Azerbaijani philosophers, architects and scientists, and poets such as Khagani,
Nasimi, Sabir. Famous sights of Shemakha
Diri-Baba. Diri
Baba is a unique monument, a two-story mosque-mausoleum of the 15th century,
located on the road from Baku to Shemakha in the village of Maraza opposite the
old cemetery. For a long time, local residents believed that this place was buried
and remained an imperishable saint named Diri-Baba. However, this monument is
associated with many legends and mystical details. Therefore, since the 17th
century, it began to attract many pilgrims and ordinary travelers. The
peculiarity of the structure is that the architect, as it were,
"built" the tomb in the rock, and it seems as if it is kept "on
weight", torn from the ground. The tomb admires the strictness of
architecture, the purity of the lines, and against the background of
irregularities of the dark rock the light and smooth surface of its walls,
standing out, seems solemn.
Juma mosque. This
Azerbaijani mosque is the oldest and largest in the Caucasus. According to
legend, it was founded in the 8th century, when Shemakha was chosen as a residence
by the Arab caliph. The exact date of its construction is 744, which was
established as a result of research conducted by the geological commission
arrived from Tiflis, headed by Prince Shakuli Kajar. This date was determined
by the Arabic inscription on the facade of the Juma mosque, which indicates the
126th year of the Muslim calendar as the date of foundation. It was at this
time that construction of new religious buildings (mosques) began in the
territory of modern Azerbaijan. The Juma mosque in Shemakha is the earliest
mosque in the Caucasus after the Derbent Cathedral Friday Mosque, built in 734.
4
Yeddi Gumbes. The
mausoleum of Yeddi Gumbes or the "Seven domes", the appearance of
which dates back to the 15th century, is located at the foot of the fortress of
Gyulistan. This is the name of the Shirvan rulers' tomb in Shamakhi. Here noble
representatives from the Shirvanshah dynasty are buried. Seven domes - that's
how many tombstones are in the crypt. At present, they represent dilapidated
stone domes, as if grown directly from under the earth in the middle of a
deserted cemetery district. That's why the very atmosphere of this place seems
fabulously mysterious.
Lagich.
Lahic is a village named after the name of the lagic tribe that came here in
the 4th - 5th centuries from the territory of Iran. This historical and
architectural monument was built in the 5th century on the territory of the
canyon of the river Girdimanchai. Old mosques and baths, medieval water supply
and sewerage system are preserved here.
Despite the fact that
the village is declared a historical and cultural reserve, the local population
is still living here, mainly engaged in handicrafts: the manufacture of elegant
household items made of copper (kazan, trays, jugs), leather, carpet weaving
and agriculture. From time immemorial, the Lagich tribe traded with its
products, which became known throughout the Middle East. And today in special
workshops and souvenir shops visiting tourists can buy a variety of handmade
products: carpets, dishes, daggers and much more. In the afternoon we will have lunch in Lagich
and get acquainted with the specific cuisine of the inhabitants of the village.
Departure to Sheki
Overnight in Sheki
4 Day
09:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion.
"Sheki+ Kish".
Sheki is one of the most famous and ancient
settlements of Azerbaijan. It is located 700 m above sea level and as an
amphitheater is surrounded by mountains. This ancient city has long been known
as the center of silk and an important transit point on the Great Silk Road. We
will begin our tour to Sheki with a visit to the Summer Palace of Khan with
magnificent frescoes and exquisite handmade window decorations. Then we'll
visit the workshop, where we can get acquainted with the process of
manufacturing "Shebeke" by local artisans. Next, we will visit the
workshop for cooking the delicious "Sheki Pahlavas", famous
throughout Azerbaijan.
Excursion
to Kish. Our acquaintance with Sheki continues with a
visit to the Albanian church, which is located in the village of Kish.
According to the legend, this church is the first Christian church built not
only in the territory of Caucasian Albania, but in the whole of Transcaucasia.
This place is also remarkable, as burial places of people were found on the
territory of the temple, which in their structure are very different from the
current inhabitants of this region. In 2003, the church was restored to the
money of the Norwegian government thanks to the personal efforts of Tour
Heyerdahl. Here, next to the territory of the Church, you can find a memorial
bust, in honor of a famous researcher set as a token of gratitude from local
residents and the state. Lunch at the restaurant "Chalyabi Khan" where
we will try traditional dishes for this region.
Return to the hotel.
Overnight in Sheki
5 Day
09:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
Return to Baku free time.
Overnight in Baku
6 Day
09:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion.
"Glorious Guba Khanate".
Guba is one of the northern regions of
Azerbaijan, due to its favourable location (168 km from Baku) and rich
infrastructure, the Guba district is one of the favourite tourist destinations.
Visitors have long taken a liking to the place of Gyachresh, where you can
relax in the shady forest, Tengealty Gorge, where the Velvelichai River, the
famous Afurdzha Falls, which is listed in the "Nature Monuments of
Azerbaijan", carries stormy waters. In Guba there is also the famous
village of Krasnaya Sloboda, in which one of the largest communities of
Mountain Jews resides in the world. The famous Guba and its apples, which have
long been transformed into its symbol. In addition, the Guba is a recognized
center of carpet weaving. In the vicinity of Guba there are many architectural
monuments. At one time, Guba was visited by the famous French writer Alexander
Dumas, the writer Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, the famous Norwegian travel scholar Thor
Heyerdahl. there
is also the famous village of Krasnaya Sloboda, in which one of the largest
communities of Mountain Jews resides in the world. The famous Guba and its
apples, which have long been transformed into its symbol. In addition, the Guba
is a recognized center of carpet weaving. In the vicinity of Guba there are
many architectural monuments. At one time, the famous French writer Alexander
Dumas, the writer Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, the famous Norwegian travel scholar Thor
Heyerdahl, visited Guba. And today Luba hospitably opens the doors for guests
from all over the world.
Excursion to Khinaligh. About an hour drive along a new road from Quba is Khinalug, the oldest village in Azerbaijan. At 2,100-2,200 m (6,900-7,220 ft) above sea level, Khinalug has developed its own culture and traditions, and even its own language. The villagers call the place Kyat, and consider themselves to be direct descendants of the biblical Noah. Khinalug is over 5,000 years old. For centuries, this village was cut off from the rest of civilization by the tall mountains and dangerous rocky cliffs. Due to the isolation, the villagers were able to preserve their own unique language, which doesn’t belong to any other language family, as well as their traditions and customs, found nowhere else. There are about 2,000 people living in the village, divided into 4 families. Each family has its own graveyard and its own patterns for carpets and clothing. Today, the people are Muslim, but before they converted to Islam they were Zoroastrians. There are some temples and semi-pagan traditions that have survived.
The first records of these people date back to the 1st
century CE, in the writings of the historian Pliny and the famous Strabo’s
Geography. The history of the village is also recorded in the 8 large
graveyards, whose area is much larger than Khinalug itself. The graves, made in
3 and even 4 layers, bear inscriptions in different alphabets on their
gravestones. The villagers of Khinalug build their houses one on top of the
other. In general, they resemble a multi-story house, where the roof of one
house is the courtyard for the one built above it. There are 360 stone houses
in the village, each of which is about 200-300 years old. The windows are
covered with a polyethylene film, and the ceilings are fitted with a smoke
flap, through which the villagers can also talk to each other. The floors and
walls are covered with colorful and warm carpets, sometimes woven by the women
who live there. These carpets not only decorate the houses, but protect from
the cold winter weather. The winters are cold and come early, and temperatures
can drop to -30°C (-22°F). Bricks made of straw and manure are used as fuel in
the winter. They not only burn well but also provide sufficient heat. Khinalug
residents make these bricks all year long, and dry them wherever there is free
space. Firewood is a luxury there, since the village is so high up that there
are very few trees around. The soil is generally rocky and barren, but locals
manage to grow onions and potatoes in small plots, and cucumbers and tomatoes
can be grown in planters, like houseplants. For animals, cows and goats are
common, as well as poultry, but sheem are less common. Keeping sheep is
difficult because then pens would need to be built to hold the sheep in the
winter. The food is rather simple: vegetables, bread (called churek), milk,
cheese, mountain honey, and dried goat meat (made each autumn).The
residents of Khinalug are very religious. There are a lot of holy places not
far from the village, such as the graves of saints, caves, and unexplored
archaeological sites. Some of them were built as early as the Middle Ages.
Dedicated explorers can find the Hydyr Nebi Tomb, Sheikh Shalbuza Mosque, Abu
Muslim Mosque (12th century) and the Pirdzhomyard Mosque (1388). The local
culture is preserved in the Historical and Ethnographic Museum of Khinalug,
where visitors can find items used in traditional life and small exhibits about
the history and customs of the local villagers. And
today Guba hospitably opens the doors for guests from all over the world. Lunch
at one of the picturesque restaurants of Lip Bay "Ainur" where we
will try one of the traditional dishes of the multinational region of Guba and
finish with a tea ceremony with the famous Guba baklava.
Free Time
Overnight in Baku
7 Day
09:00 Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Baku
Excursion.
"Fire worships Temple Ateshgyah + Burning Mountain Yanardagh".
The Temple of Eternal Fire - Ateshgyah - is an
authentic Azerbaijani exotic. It is well-known practically all over the world.
It is located 30 km from the center of Baku in the suburb of Surakhany. This
territory is known for such unique natural phenomenon as burning natural gas
outlets (underground gas coming onto surface contacts oxygen and lights up).
The temple in its present state was constructed in the 17th-18th centuries. The
Baku-based Hindu community related to Sikhs built it.
However, the history of the Temple is even longer. From times immemorial, this was the holy place of Zoroastrians- fire worshippers (approximately beginning of our era). They attributed mystical significance to the inextinguishable fire and came there to worship the relic. After the introduction of Islam Zoroastrian temple was destroyed. Many Zoroastrians left to India and there continued their worship. But in the 15th -17th centuries the Hindus-fire worshippers who came to Absheron with trading caravans began to make pilgrimages to Surakhany. The Indian merchants started erection of the temple. The earliest temple part is dated 1713. The latest - the central temple-altar was built with the support of merchant Kanchangar in 1810. During the 18th century chapels, cells, a caravanserai were added to the central part of the temple. On у can find carved inscriptions in Indian lettering there. In the early 19th century the Temple acquired its present-day appearance. Ateshgah is a pentagonal structure with a castellation and entrance portal. In the center of a yard the altar-sanctuary executed in the form of a stone bower on which angles some more centers are located towers. In the center of an altar - a well from which beat "eternally" burning gas.
Burning
Mountain Yanardagh
One of the most famous and popular tourist places of the "eternal flame” in Azerbaijan is the mountain of Yanar Dag. Actually, it is rather a hill than a mountain, with natural gas burning on its slope from ancient times. Meter-long tongues of fire are licking the stratified earth approximately for 10 m in width, searing those who approached too close. People occupy the benches to watch the blazing hill in the evening, when the its sight is most effective. Yanar Dag is located 25 km to the north from Baku, in Mehemmedi village. There are buses running to it from the city, so you can get there fairly cheap and easy. From the year 2007, Yanar Dag is declared a state-protected conservation area.Lunch in one of the fish restaurants "Shafa"
Free Time.
8 Day
09:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
Free time to visit the eastern market, shops with sweets and souvenir shops.
Transfer to the airport
Visa upon arrival at international airports of Azerbaijan can be obtained only
by citizens of Turkey, Israel, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait,
Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. For citizens of Russia and
the CIS (except for Turkmenistan), a visa is not required to Azerbaijan.
Citizens of other countries must obtain a visa prior to arrival, through the
consulates of Azerbaijan in their country or to issue an electronic visa
through our travel agency. To apply for a visa, contact our managers at least 4
weeks before arriving in Azerbaijan.
Local currency: Manat
The recommended currency for the exchange is: USD or EURO.
Where to exchange currency: Upon arrival at the airport, the guide will provide
accurate information on where and how to exchange cash for local currency.
Availability of ATM: Only in large cities.
Accept credit cards: Only in large cities.
The cost of the tour from 1140 USD per person for a stay in Double room
includes:
Accommodation in hotel 4 * double room on the program based on breakfast &
lunch.
Transfers and transportation according to the program.
Excursions on the program.
Services of a Russian-speaking or English-speaking guide.
Entrance tickets to museums.
Additional paid:
Dinner - from 20 USD (soft drinks are included)
Supplement for single accommodation: $ 199 per tour
The cost of a visa is 40 USD (if not citizens of the CIS),
Charges for photo - and video shooting in museums
The firm reserves the right to change the
order of visiting excursion objects, keeping the program as a whole. The company
reserves the right to change the cost of the tour provided that it is notified
in time.
Dear guests, please send inquiries for individual tourists and tourist groups
to e-mail: narmintour@gmail.com
, zaurnasibli@gmail.com
and contact us at +99412 4926116, +99450
5968477 Whatsapp: +99450 5895997