The City Of Lankaran

No one can deny that Azerbaijan is majorly gifted country, especially regarding the scenery and natural landscapes. Going hand in hand with breathtaking nature is the talent of the people who has been inhabiting these lands for generations and generations. One of the most magnificent architectural masterpieces has found their home on this country's Caspian coasts. Therefore, for many years Azerbaijan has been a dream destination for dozens of tourists all around the world, both those who prefer both nature or history and architecture. Some regions, more than the others, bring an aesthetic satisfaction to visitors. The city of Lankaran is standing proudly along with Gabala and Guba in that list.

Situated in the southern side of the country, it has almost tropical climate, with hot summers and warm pleasant winters. It is a perfect vacation spot for everyone, with hundreds of Azerbaijanis also travelling there to rest from work and take a well-deserved break. Each corner you come close to blessed with lush forests, flower fields and ice-cold rivers running down from Talysh mountains. Even the palm trees scattered all around the city don't seem off-putting, more like adding to the authentic energy, that seems to be radiating of everything you land your eyes on, if you ever find yourself in Lankaran.

Lankran is a very important part of Azerbaijan, but the culture of the city and region in general is much different from the rest of the country. It might have something to do with the fact that the region of Talysh mountains is mainly occupied with talyshes who created the interesting mix and match between azerbaijani and talysh lifestyles.

The city is in itself quite big being the 10th biggest in Azerbaijan, but the interesting trait of Lankaran you might pay attention to while visiting is the non-existence of tall buildings. Most of the people prefer a quiet and separated life, living in the houses instead of apartments. Walking down the roads in Lankaran you can never guess the year these houses were built in, but most of them have been standing in the same spot for more than half a decade. Some of them have the outside decorum that fits the way the buildings were built back in USSR. The tree palms along those roads adds up to almost surreal atmosphere of this place.

Here, you can also face some interesting architectural choices. For example, the main square and boulevard don't seem like anything that you might come across in post-Soviet countries, they're built in the manner of French parks. The walk there closes by the war memorial, might be the most impressive one on the territory of Azerbaijan. It looks like a soldier, trying to get away from hands clawing him and pushing him back inside their arms. In general, it is pretty obvious how much people honor the memory of shekhids as you can see various memorials, scattered all across the city.

In the culture, it is quite common to call Lankaran - "The Golden Pearl of South". Due it's natural richness, ice-cold springs and forests, rivers and massive national parks that that are protecting hundreds of species, favorable soil and clean sky-blue waters of Caspian Sea - it, in our opinion, more than earned this title. It is also confirmed that the district of Lankaran holds one of the most ancient human settlements of Azerbaijan - dated back to 2-3 thousand years B.C., therefore people have lived there since Bronze Age. And thanks to the perfect living conditions, it almost immediately became somewhat a center of agriculture and trade.

Nowadays, it is still growing their economic worth day by day. It is one of the main spots in Azerbaijan with tea plantations, alongside with growing grains, vegetables and rice. Now, to the sights that are mandatory to visit in Lankaran.

The building of the Lankaran Historical Museum has been standing tall for more than a century, built in 1913 and being the first building that consists of three floors in the region. It is also considered the museum with the richest variety of displayed exhibits. It is rather small inside, but the amount of clothes, dishes and tools from different centuries that are showed to visitors there is truly astounding. It is decorated beautifully too, in itself looking like a piece of art.

Next spot in the city of Lankaran has more to do with the actual representatives of the city's history, Zindan Fortress is an important display of Azerbaijan's culture. Being constructed in 18th century, it was a part of Lankaran's main fortress. Much later, when the main walls of that fortress were destroyed, Zindan started functioning as a prison. In 1904, it was a place of detention for Stalin, who later escaped. At some point, it was working as a gallery but the gallery was quickly closed as well. Nowadays, it's a lighthouse and is added to the list of Azerbaijan's important historic monuments.

The last but not the least, is the Big Bazaar Mosque, which has gained its name due to its location in one of the two bazaars in the city: bigger and smaller ones respectively. It was bult in the early 19th century, but faced a lot of restoration, biggest one taking place in at the end of 20th century. Nowadays it is in the perfect shape and serves to its purpose gracefully. The building is truly majestic, his minaret standing as tall as 36 meters high. Inside it has the capacity to hold over 500 praying people at the same time. It is also included in Azerbaijan’s “architectural monuments protection” list.

Closing off, we can clearly see that every corner of Azerbaijan is special in one way or another, and Lankaran obviously stands out as probably one of the richest naturally corners of the country. It has everything a person might need in a summer vacation and we are here to grant you it. In case you became interested with this mesmerizing place as much as we did, we suggest you a Lankaran-Lerik Tour, that will show you waterfalls, tea plantations and lakes as well as so much more. Azerbaijan Travel International cares to make sure every tourist travels in the most comfortable conditions just as much as we care about everyone leaving Azerbaijan with fond memories and positive experience.

Tags: lankaran , Azerbaijan , culture , Azerbaijan Nature , Tea culture , Lankaran sour lemons