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<\/a><\/p>\nThe mosque is located on the main road near one of Azerbaijan’s first oil fields developed in the late 19th century. The house of worship was built on the side of a steep hill which rose above the Caspian Sea. Across the road, behind Bibi-Heybat, there was a large cemetery which extended further up the mountain.<\/p>\n
Walking to the edge of the overlook from the mosque, I took a photo of a large shipyard on the Caspian Sea:<\/p>\n The coach continued driving south toward the ancient city of Qobustan. The earth was dry and desert-like. We passed commercial oilfields, refineries, and other commercial establishments on the outskirts of Baku.<\/p>\n We were on our way\u00a0to see the ancient petroglyphs which were discovered in 1939. There was an excellent new museum which gave visitors an historic overview of the site and some clues to the symbolism of the rock drawings.<\/p>\n After we toured the museum, we climbed up among huge boulders to see the 15,000 year-old petroglyphs.<\/p>\n Below is a photo of Latif explaining current theories of what the drawings might have meant to the ancient people who lived among the caves.<\/p>\n The weather cleared, the sun shone brilliantly and there was a fantastic view out toward the Caspian Sea from the hill we had climbed:<\/p>\n Today was our day to drive to the Azeri city of Sheki, about 300 km northwest of Baku. Below are several photos I took along the route which, I think, gives an idea of the countryside of Azerbaijan:<\/p>\n Another historic mosque along the way:<\/p>\n We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant somewhere in Azerbaijan. We drove into the Caucasus Mountains.<\/p>\n We stopped at a natural sulphur spring. There was also a ‘general store’ and a man selling preserves and other flavored waters. \u00a0Latif \u00a0bought a bottle of ‘wild rose water’ which he said was for his health. He said he takes one teaspoon of the flavored water every day.<\/p>\n We arrived in Sheki about 5:30 PM and checked into the Sheki Saray Hotel. My room was lovely and comfortable, with a large window and a balcony. It was spacious, clean, and had a strong WiFi signal. I had time to rest before dinner and called Jeff on FaceTime. Two views of the hotel and the lobby:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n