Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Have you ever wished to start your day waking up with chant of birds in a forest of ancient trees, take a meal near a lively river, observe a waterfall of dozens meters height, pass from enormous gorge and then climb to a mount of thousand meters, visit buildings that were used as residences of great rulers, have a snack of ripe apples and drink a cup of tea on a carpet of 500 years old? You can enjoy all this in a great district of Azerbaijan – the region of Guba.

Guba, landmark region of the Land of Fire, remains to be a favorite destination of hundreds of tourists every year – it is one of the most visited Azerbaijani districts in general.

Mount Shahdag with its snowy peak and intensively flowing Gudialchay river, starting from Tufandag mount and stretching over 108 kilometers, embellish this prospering region of Azerbaijan since antique times. There are over 100 more rivers in Guba, with the most gorgeous being Agchay, Qarachay, and Velvelechay. Gudialchay bridge -- a glorious bridge built over the main river of the district in 1910 -- is still one of the longest and ancient bridges of Azerbaijan. The bridge made of annealed bricks is 275 meters in length and 8 meters in width.

One of the main exported goods of Guba district is apples. They are famous not only in Azerbaijan, but also in other countries. Guba is known for its healing herbs as well, that are widely spread all over the region. Griffon vulture, an eagles’ species habitating in the district, is listed in the Red Book.

Khinalig is the most popular place to visit in Guba. Almost every tourist visits this settlement when coming to the district. It can be said that Khinalig is located right under clouds – at the height of 2,100-2,200 meters above the sea! Another interesting fact is that the population of the village has its own language that is very hard to understand for strangers, even for the ones who know Azerbaijani – the language they talk is unlike with any other language.

Glorious history

Guba rose to prominence in the 18th century. In 1747 Hussein-Ali, the Shah's designated ruler of the region, decided to unify the Azeri khanates as an independent kingdom. One of his first steps was moving his capital from the less defensible Khudat in the Caspian lowlands to Guba where he built a fortress. Hussein-Ali died in 1757 and his son Fatali Khan carried on the expansion with Guba reaping the riches of its status as the capital. However, upon Fatali Khan's death in 1789, the city's fortunes began to turn. In 1806, the khanate was occupied and soon absorbed by the Russian Empire. Some years later Guba could gain independence within Azerbaijan, taking its honorable place in the country's politics.

Unique culture

Modern Guba contains at least 134 historical and archeological monuments. These include the temple of Fire-worshippers near Khinalig, tombs of Aghbil village (of 16th century supposedly), the Mosques, such as Sakine Khanum, Hadjy Djafar and Djuma of Guba which dates back to the 19th century, and the Gumbezli bath house.

Overall, red colored buildings can be met almost at every step of the district. This fact highlights the region among other parts of Azerbaijan. A famous French writer, Alexandre Dumas, who was keen on visiting Azerbaijan, was in Guba as well. He bathed in Chukhur Hamam, another pearl of Guba’s architecture made of red brick.

The region is rich with carpets which are being made here from ancient times. It would be hard to find a single tourist who comes to Guba and leaves it without a carpet. Their sizes vary much – from fairly miniature rugs to enormous carpets. “Zeyve”, “Golu-Chichi”, “Alpan”, “Oruj”, “Khan”, “Yerfi”, “Jimmi”, “Pirabadil” are just a little piece of all the quantity of Guba carpets made for centuries. All of them are weaved by a traditional national method. “Golu-Chichi”, which was woven in 1712, is stored in “Metropolitan” museum of New-York now. Furthermore, people from all over the world make offers to Guba carpets and rugs manufacturers.

Multiethnic society

Guba region spreads over 2,574 square kilometers and is located in the northeastern part of the country, quite close to the Russian-Azerbaijani border. The capital of the region has the same name – Guba, which is home for over 38,000 people. The number of the whole district’s residents is more inspiring – 161,434 by a census of 2014.

Guba presents a multiethnic society with rich demographics combining several ethnic groups. The main ones are Azerbaijanis, Lezgins, Tats and Khinalugs. Moreover, Guba district is home to Azerbaijan's largest community of Mountain Jews, who live in Krasnaya Sloboda (Red Town). The famous Azerbaijani writer, historian and philosopher of the 19th century, Abbasgulu agha Bakikhanov, and a well-known playwright, Sakina Akhundzadeh also lived in Guba.

Cuisine

Guba differs for its amazingly rich cuisine because of the variety of nations living there – Guba tıxması, spicy kebab, sac and tandir kebab. One of the main meals of the region is sac. This delicious meal is prepared from lamb, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and onion.

In conclusion, I would firmly recommend you to come to see this precious region of Azerbaijani nature, architecture and history. Guba and its people are always hospitable for tourists, some of which keep coming here for every year to enjoy its beauty. The number of Guba’s annual visitors is increasing rapidly, and a great deal of that figure is made up by foreign tourists. So, if you are yet to decide a place to visit for your vacation, choose Guba – a really splendid host!

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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