Gobustan Redux

Gobustan – Saturday, April 27^th

 

 We went to Gobustan National Park, which is also declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the quality and number of its petroglyphs.  It was our first real trip outside Baku and Sumgayit, which is a suburb like Bellevue is to Seattle.

We piled into a large bus, all 27 of us along with Peace Corps staff, a friend or two and some children.  At Gobustan, we split into two groups for a private tour of the museum that opened last year.  It is very nice.  The tour guide ran us through the two floors in record time. Then we went a short distance to another guide who took us on a path that gave us access to the petroglyphs.

After lunch we got back on the bus and drove to the mud volcanos.  The driver got lost, but got directions from a local and after driving on a dirt side road with ruts so deep that if wet would have been impassible.  We then had to hike half a mile up a hill to the volcanos.  One girl was standing on the edge of one and it collapsed and she got sucked into her waist.  Another girl, pulled her out and rescued her shoe which was sucked off.  Later a small mud fight ensued but I stayed out of it.  I had brought a change of shoes but not clothes. 

 

 

Back on the bus to Sumgayit and home.

This blog does not represent the views of the Peace Corps