Yanar Dağ
Natural gas leaking out of the ground has kept this fire burning for years
August 13, 2005
We soon got a taxi and headed out to Ateşgah Fire Temple. It was an old caravansary
dressed up... the electrician told us about the complex and showed us the displays
for the tourists. The building itself was nice though the displays didn't encourage
the fantasy of an old silk road trade route stop.
Our cab driver got lost several times on the way from here to the "fire wall"
- Yanar Dağ, or Fire Mountain. This was much more impressive than the fire temple;
fire was spewing out of the dry dirt. The area was arid and out of some random rocks
there was a fire wall about 20 feet wide, not wood, nothing like a fire typically
looks like. The ground is simply spewing natural gas and since this fire was accidentally
set fifty years ago it has not stopped.
Our driver stared at the ground in awe. We had tea and candies as we stared at the
wall and fed the dog and cat, both of whom looked less than well. The cab driver
kept yelling at the dog and I noticed everyone’s cruelty to dogs everywhere here.
Dogs are hated by the people here since they are seen as being cruel to cats and
steal their food. Dogs are often kicked and beaten or receive stones from the evil
hand of their human hunters. I guess the Azeri people and I are very different in
our opinions of dogs.