Beş barmaq- 5 finger mountain

Considered a holy mountain (especially under Zoroastrianism), this peak-not too far from Baki- offered the perfect relaxed day’s outing. So off to the 5 finger mountain we went to gain holy energy and some fresh air.

Beş barmaq is a natural fortress. It used to guard the narrowest part of the coastal plain, where once a wall stood between the top and the sea to protect the commerce (caravanserai-silk route). Now, it is a pilgrim and tourist destiny.

After a relatively steep walk towards the peak (not too high), strong winds blowing us backwards, one big mud pool, quite a few cows, and the qəpik ladies, I was shocked to see that the name is really misplaced: it should be 6 fingers (alti-barmaq), unless this holy place did something really bad and one of the fingers was split into two... or perhaps that is just the place you are looking from. Below, part of the trip in pics:








Happy as three little bunnies we ascended again...
returning to Baki revived!




Did anyone mention it was really windy near the peak???

Xaçmaz - mid february

Invitation to Lucy’s hululu Hawaii birthday party took 4 of us to Xaçmaz, Friday evening after work. Traveling after work with people with different time schedules is never easy nor quick, so quite late we made it to the Titanic bus station (that’s not its name, it just looks like that). We were lucky to get the last seats on the last bus out. Some three hours later we arrived in town, another 15 minutes later at the house where the Hawaii party was in full swing.

Actually, full swing might be a bit much to say... most people there had been partying for a day or two allready, and were lounging, recovering, chatting or crashing. Nice to meet all the folks there though!

So- what about Xaçmaz? If you rely just on the travelers’ bible, there is not much to se in this town. The railway station, quite big and once the stop for all trains to and from Belarus, Russia and …. Is priced, but not much more is mentioned. The town, predominantly Lezgi has more to offer though. My highlights included the old Armenian church, now used as storage room for tables, chairs and the like, and the two old, rusty derailed wagons in the river. Apart from that, there is a funky animal statue park, and many mosaic structures, as this town competes with another to be the most pretty. Last but not least, the amount of Heydar Aliyev quotes surpasses many towns…