Gobustan's 20,000-Year Carvings, Mud to Take Home, and Zaha Hadid's Building

A guided day that runs from rock carvings up to 20,000 years old to a building that won its architecture prize in 2015. Gobustan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: an ancient human settlement, caves, and the paintings left on the rock faces. The mud volcanoes are the practical stop. They erupt without pause, they exist in only a few countries, and the mud is mineral-rich, so bring an empty bottle and fill it: people use it on their skin. Bibi-Heybat is the mosque local Muslims use, and one of the important pieces of Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan. The city stops are the Aquatic Palace, in the first park in the world where oil was produced mechanically, and Deniz Mall, the largest shopping centre in Baku and unusual to look at. The fire temple carries Persian and Indian inscriptions from the 17th and 18th centuries showing it was used by Hindus, Sikhs and Zoroastrians alike. Yanar Dag has burned for over a thousand years. The gas that feeds it has no smell, and the flames hold through heavy rain and thick snow. The Heydar Aliyev Center, designed by Zaha Hadid, closes the day; it is a museum now. Lunch is included. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.