On top of the mountains located is a complex of several mountain lakes which was created by earthquake some 8 centruies ago.
Although there has been a settlement in Goygol area since 10th century as proved by an extensive cemetery which was excavated in late 1990s, the German city Helenendorf was founded in 1819 by Germans from Wurttemberg who had fled from Napoleonic Wars into Russian Empire.
Vast majority of German population of the city exiled to Central Asia during Soviet rule and the others mostly left for Germany. The last German resident of the city died in 2007.
The city is "a small German island" in the middle of Caucasus. It will remind the tourists of Germany with its German style residential buildings, Lutheran church and many other aspects of urban planning of that time.
Sanctuary complex (Ganja) – this architecture monument concerning to the middle centuries is located in ancient Ganja ruins approximately 7 kilometers from Ganja city. There are mosque, tomb, other sepulchers, houses alike the karvansaras and half-buildings around imam’s tomb build with the bricks; and also the large religious complex consisting of the big cemetery, which preserved the tomb above monuments, reflecting the work of art and the world outlook of natural masonry masters of XVIII-XIX centuries, surrounded with the fence build with the stones and bricks. The most valuable monument of the complex right-angled sanctuary completes with the cupola covered with multi-colored glazed bricks.
If travelling to Ganja, give a visit to amazing "Khan Bagi". Here you will enjoy extremely pleasent and cool weather and eye-catching scenery (especially if you are a fan of romantic autumn sceneries).
The museum is located in the former mansion of descendants of the last independent khan (ruler) of Ganja. It was founded in 1924 and includes more than 30000 exhibits – the history of Ganja from ancient period till modern times, archaeological finds, and material-cultural monuments, ethnographic, epigraphic and numismatic collections displayed in 18 halls.
The Nizami Mausoleum built in honor of the 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi, stands just outside the city of Ganja. The mausoleum was originally built in 1947 in place of an old collapsed mausoleum, and rebuilt in its present form in 1991.
The tomb of Nizami has been a place of devoted pilgrimage for many centuries. According to historian Vasily Bartold, the mausoleum was first mentioned in historical chronicles in 1606. The Safavid court chronicler Iskandar Bey Munshi reported that toward the end of February 1606, Shah Abbas reached Ganja and camped near the tomb of Sheikh Nizami, where on 24 March he celebrated the holiday of Novruz.
In 1940, in connection with construction of a new mausoleum, an archaeological investigation revealed the remains of an ancient mausoleum deep under the ground, dating to the 13th century.
Modern day mausoleum is a tall cylindrical building, surrounded by gardens. To one side, there are metal statues commemorating Nizami's epic poems.
Bottle House is an unusual private residence in Ganja built from glass bottles.
Two-storey bottle house was built by Ibrahim Jafarov, a resident of Ganja in 1966-67 from glass bottles of different shapes and sizes, and colorful stones brought from Sochi. 48000 bottles were used in construction.
The construction of this house was dedicated to the memory of Ibrahim Jafarov's brother who went missing during World War II.
Ever since the world's first oil well was dug here back in 1847, Azerbaijan has been making the most of its plentiful stocks of "black gold."
But in the little town of Naftalan, 320 kilometers west of Baku in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, an unusual local oil -- also called Naftalan -- has been attracting the travellers for hundreds of years. This crude oil is too thick for commercial use and it isn't much good for burning. But it has many health-giving properties and so people have been bathing in it since ancient times.
Naftalan oil is reputed to ease more than 70 skin, joint and bone diseases. It's used as a disinfectant, an anti-inflammatory and even as an anesthetic. That is why, this resort of several 5 star hotels have been a busy tourist destination for many years now. Spring and fall are the peak seasons, when the hotels are fully booked with guests arriving from all over the world.