Gobustan- Majestic Kingdom of Stones
Gobustan is a place on the south-east of the Great Caucasian Mountains about 60 km far south of Baku. It is a semi-desert region with numerous gullies and ravines. The meaning of Gobustan in local language means “ravine land”. Here one can find amazing evidences of the past, rock paintings, caves- sites and objects of material culture.
According to the coverage of the historical periods, Gobustan has no analogue in the world. The findings from here describes the reality from X-VIII millennia BC. until Middle Ages. Settled since the Stone Age, the area is one of the main and most ancient museums of rock engravings (petroglyphs) in the world. The area petroglyphs contain very important elements of ancient lifestyle of stone age humans. The area is national historical landmark since 1966 to achieve better preservation of the rock paintings.
FOUR THOUSANDS YEARS OLD ROCK PAINTINGS
On the petroglyphs, the men are described as hunters while the women was perceived as the symbol of good. Animal paintings are the oldest paintings in the area. Moreover, the Azerbaijan national dance “Yalli” was widely reflected on rocks, as well as hunting, harvest, animal fights, etc. The engravings of sun, star, fish, snakes, lizards give a clear idea about the fauna diversity of the past here.
The boat engravings show the fact that local people were master sailors in their time. The world famous Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl visited Gobustan in order to get to know the boats of “Tigris” type. After, Thor Heyerdahl stressed that unlike other places, here the paintings of the sun are located in the front of the ship. Therefore, he suggested that relations between Azerbaijan and Norway existed already there.
Today, the site is open to visitors. The newly renovated local museum as has all features that tourists may ask. The museum staff is doing amazing job in preservation of the site while keeping it open to visitors. The State historical-artistic Gobustan is in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Interested to see this place? Join our Gobustan Petroglyphs tour