Nakhchivan

Natkhchivan is a self governing province of Azerbaijan. It was separated from the rest of the country following a war between Iran and Russia.. A treaty was struck between the two countries and without consulting Azerbaijan gave Georgia, and the main part of Azerbaijan to the Russians. A second treaty in 1828 made the Aras river the boundary between the Natkchivan region and Iran. In 1920 the Russians gave the western part of Azerbaijan to Armenia ,guaranteeing the two countries would be constantly arguing as to who owns the territory.

Although the country is Muslim, the people are generally more pragmatic about their religion. They believe the human is the embodiment of God so all your actions are a prayer to god. Sorry , you still take your shoes off if you go into a mosque and you cover your head if you are female. Mosques have no minarets because there is no call to prayer . You get to pray during the day when it suits you but should go to the Mosque on Friday. Ladies you are out of luck. You can only do inside work as for example , in a museum or shop and preferably at home being a domestic goddess looking after the house and children. On the plus side , wear what you like as long as it is modest.

See that mountain on the left, that’s where we are heading. It’s called Alinjagala or the Machu Picchu of the Caucasus. You know you whizzed up the other Machu Picchu so this should be  no problem for you at all.

Okay I lied. There are 1071 steps. At the top is Alinja Castle.The fortress was to keep the ruler and his a family safe along with the treasures of the country. Because of the position and steepness of the terrain, the fortress served this purpose successfully until Mongols attacked. They lay siege for 14 years until the army ran out of food and water.

Only a few 100’s of stairs to go…… yes it’s hot…..have a breather …..look at the plants on the sides of the path.

It’s hot. You go on and show me your photos, I’ll catch you up.

The Mongols destroyed much of the actual castle leaving just the foundation of walls and the outer castle walls. It must have been a massive job getting the materials up the hill. They  built those steps  especially for you to climb and then repaired the building walls so you could see the layout of the fortress.

This is from the museum showing the restoration and artefacts from the site.

Do you know that Nakhchivan is believed to be the place Noah’s ark landed . The is a mausoleum to commemorate this right near a fortress.

 

The fortress was in a prime position and as with the Alinja Castle, it fell with the Mongol onslaught so only the outer walls remain.

On the other side of Noah’s tomb is the New Mosque. It stand where once there was a small mosque destroyed by the Mongols. The original mosque on allowed a few people to pray now 600 can pray at once. The carpet marks the space for each worshiper.

Rose gardens are everywhere. Rose hips and rose water are used extensively I believe. Me ,I just like smelling them.

Di you notice something quirky when we went to the Ladies?

Can you have a rest? No there is more to see, let’s go to the Khan’s palace. This building ,like all buildings during the Soviet period, was ransacked of its beautiful objects and used for other purposes than a residence.

The Khans male members were sent to Siberia and the woman to Kurdistan, Their surname was changed to Nakhchivan.It has been a home, an administrative centre and now a museum. The curators are all women! Inside jobs!

 

 

Only two more stops today so have a nap in the bus. I’ll wake you when we get there.

Muslim graves are marked by a stone with a quote from the Quran but in the past, graves were often marked by a statue of a ram. Rams are considered powerful and courageous so a perfect symbol for a soldier who had died. There were many examples near the mausoleum.

Last stop for the day….oops forgot to tell you we are here till tomorrow lunchtime when we fly back to Baku (only way back to Baku from Nakhchivan because of the Armenia embargo). This Mausoleum has a crypt(somewhere under this light opening) and an upper part for prayer.

The mausoleum is right next to the Iran border and its Iron Curtain.

Start groaning as there are more stairs today! First stop Asabu Kahf Caves. These caves are considered to be a holy place and many families come and spend the day. They walk around the black rock 3 times to pray for an intention or pray in the mosque or ( crazy people) climb up into the very high caves.

Another Mausoleum and Mosque and then you are being sent to the salt mines!

Ordubad is a very old medieval village. Houses here were made of clay and straw and then coated.

It was an important stop on the Silk Road.

 

Well it’s off to the salt mines for you….no protests.

You can stay in the government funded area or go private. There is even a library.

Time to return to Baku but fun fact….in Ordubad, and probably other cities, there would be two knockers on a door. The woman’s on the right and the man’s on the left. Use the correct knocker to get the person you want. They are designed to sound different.