Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The State Tourism Agency has proposed to open a specialized mud therapy sanatorium in Azerbaijan.

The agency came up with the initiative to promote health tourism in the country, Sputnik Azerbaijan reported.

The sanatorium may appear on the basis of the Dashgil mud volcano. At the same time, it would be economically profitable to build sanatoriums that provide comprehensive treatment using Zykh and Masazir mud.

Now the Garangush sanatorium, which is under the authority of the Kurort joint-stock company, partially uses volcanic mud for medical purposes. However, the availability of the material and technical base would make it possible to comprehensively take advantage of the potential of Absheron's volcanic mud.

The department does not rule out the construction of a special hospital or a treatment and a rehabilitation centre.

Meanwhile, there are about 350 mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan. Despite the international recognition of the healing properties of local mud, there is still no specialized medical and health centre in the country.

Under the regional socio-economic development state programme for 2019-2023, the State Tourism Agency analyzed the potential of 14 mud volcanoes in Gobustan, the total area of ​​which is 12,000 square metres.

This square may include modern mud baths, recreation areas, observation decks, zip lines and much more.

The volcanic mud of Akhtarma-Garadag, Dashgil, Bahar, Masazir, Babazanan, Gaynardja is well-known for its medical properties. These mud volcanoes contain bromine, iodine, and other compounds. They are similar in composition to the mud in the Akhlat deposit in Georgia.

Unlike silt, peat and sapropel mud, deep volcanic mud is enriched with chemical microelements and organic substances that have a biostimulating effect.

NASA geologists studying Mars concluded that mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan are similar to uplands of the planet for their structure.

On September 5, 2004, the largest mud volcano on Azerbaijani territory was added into the Guinness World Records.

Researchers of the National Science Academy's Geosciences Division have recently developed an organic mineral fertilizer based on raw materials from a mud volcano.

The scientific invention was patented by Azerbaijan's Intellectual Property Agency.

Now the research is being carried out in the areas of geothermal, alternative and renewable energy. Work on creating the national atlas of solar energy is also underway.

Moreover, the activities planned for the coming years include the assignment of the status of a geopark to the territories where Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes are located.

Furthermore, it is planned to promote geo-tourism in these areas. In this regard, the legislation has been amended accordingly. The work is currently underway to select territories for geo parks.

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