Azerbaijan – Bellion Travels

Art in Baku

We travelled with my architect best friend Mimi and we dedicated one whole day to visit all the art museums and galleries. Little did we know that we picked the worst month to visit Baku. All the art galleries and museums were closed that month and we didn’t even know why. We walked a lot that day from one museum to another but the doors were locked and we even crossed a motor way LOL to get to one which was closed. Even the famous Museum of Modern Art was closed.

The main placed we wanted to visited were Museum of Modern Art, National Art Museum and YAY Gallery and all were closed in the month of October but we managed to check out some quirky cafes and witnessed amazing building architecture (especially Zaha Hadid) and statues.

Baku is one city that would be amazing to visit for Art Lovers. Hopefully, we get to visit it again and check out the art works.

July 8, 2018July 8, 2018

NissreenLeave a comment

Azerbaijani Cuisine

Azerbaijani cuisine is very similar to Middle Eastern, Russian and Georgian but it’s filled with BUTTER. On our first day, Noor took us to a restaurant called Dolma. Dolma is actually dishes which are stuffed with rice and minced meat. We of course ordered that and it’s similar to the Arabic one but the taste is slightly different and very BUTTERY.

Our favourite dishes are Dolma which is stuffed vegetables, Azerbaijani Plov (I kept removing the raisins) it’s a rice dish served with plum, Qovurma which is kinda similar to Indian korma and our ultimate favourite AZERBAIJANI CHICKEN SAJ. THAT DISH WAS AMAZING and it’s enough for 3 -4 people. Tim and I ordered it once and he ordered it again with Mimi. The picture will speak for itself.

Azerbaijani cuisine is quite interesting to try and if you ever visit, pleaseeee order the AZERBAIJANI CHICKEN SAJ.

June 23, 2018

Nissreen2 Comments

Places to visit in Azerbaijan

We booked a tour for the whole day which included the Mud Volcano, Gobustan Park, Fire Temple, Bibi-Hebyat Mosque and the Fire Mountain.

Mud Volcano

Land form that erupts mud and gas. There is no lava and the eruption is caused by hot water deep below the Earth surface. I highly recommend you visit it because it’s one of the most interesting places I’ve visited. Very unique experience.

Gobustan Park

In 1930, a group of miners discovered the stone formations, carvings and man-made caves which is now available for the public to see known as the Gobustan Park.

There are approx. 6000 rock engravings and it believed it dated back 50,000 years. The place shows settles, burials and inhabited caves which were held during the period of the last Ice Age.

The engraved art works on the rock consisted of men, animals, dances, warriors and pictures of sun and stars. There are more but we didn’t really get to see them. The park is preserved by Azerbaijan government and it is registered with the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Highly recommend to visit the Gobustan Museum which is located near the ancient park. Over there you will learn a lot about the history and the objects which were used by the Homosapiens and about animals that inhabited the land once upon a time.

Bibi-Heyat Mosque

The Bibi-Heyat Mosque is also known as ‘The Mosque of Fatima’. It is a historic mosque built during the 13th Century. The mosque includes the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and is now a spiritual place for the Shia Muslims.

Ateshgah

Baku Ateshgah also known as ‘The Fire Temple’. It is a religious temple in a town called Surakhani. The temple was a holy place for Hindus, Sikhs and Zoroastrian. The temple was built during the 17th and 18th centuries.