IN THE WOODS ON THE SEAFRONT

There is a joke about Xacmaz: you don't need money here. Very few people buy vegetables and fruits at the market in this district, because plant-growing forms the basis of the local economy. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available along the Nabran-Yalama-Xudat road all year. You can also buy various juices, medicinal fruit syrups and home-made tinned products here. Local farmers get their main profit from the export of their products to markets in neighbouring Russia. German traveller Adam Olearius who visited Azerbaijan in 1636-38 recorded that various drinks were made from fruits in Xacmaz. Xacmaz dry fruit is popular with the people, too.

History

The name of Xacmaz was reflected in the works of Herodotus and Strabo. It has also been used in other sources beginning from the 7th century. At first sight, it is quite a young and small town. In fact, the history of this district dates back to the distant past. As you approach the town, you can clearly see that on the town gate which was built in place of the ancient gate to Xacmaz Castle. This is where many tribes and states which invaded Azerbaijan encountered their first barrier. The "Iron Gate" which was built in the 8th-6th centuries BC and the castle wall built by the Sassanid ruler Yazdegerd on the Darband pass helped repel invaders with credit. Though it was not always possible - Scythes, Alans, Huns, Sabirs and other tribes quite easily overcame such powerful engineering installations. The district has about 60 historical monuments. Those who love excursions should definitely visit the ruins of Bronze Age settlements, barrows, mosques in the ancient Xudat Castle, the Shah Abbas mosque and madrasah in the village of Qraqurtlu which belong to the 15th-16th centuries and the Sheikh Yusif Mosque which was built in the 15th century. It is also interesting to see one of the most ancient monuments in history - barrows in the villages of Mollaburxan, Xulovlu, Qaracik and Hasanqala, as well as the ruins of ancient settlements near the villages of Canaxir and Bostanci.

The Xacmaz railway

This is one of the first train stations in the Transcaucasia. Built in 1898, the station lends special beauty to the centre of the town with its architecture. They say that the railway in this region was built by the government of tsarist Russia in response of requests from villagers of the Quba region. The railway was built through Xacmaz due to its favourable terrain. Its construction helped increase the export of local products to the Russian market. On the whole, there were seven railway stations working on the territory of Xacmaz District. The station in the district centre resembles a small town where railway workers live and work. There is also another famous building here - the water tower. This reservoir was built in 1903 in order to supply drinking water to Baku and the Abseron peninsula. Spring water pumped into the tower was delivered to Baku by train.

The port of Niyazabad

The maritime port of Niyazabad is regarded as another historical monument of strategic importance in Xacmaz. It played an important role in Azerbaijan establishing relations with other Caspian littoral states. Despite regular conflicts between states, access from this port to the Volga River helped develop trade relations with northern neighbours. The port of Niyazabad was an integral part of the trade-transport infrastructure which allowed the Shirvan state on the territory of ancient Azerbaijan to establish intensive economic relations with European countries through the active participation of merchants from Genoa and Venice.

The village of Sixlar

It is situated at a distance of 15 km from the district centre. Two valuable medieval monuments are carefully looked after at the ancient village cemetery - a 16th century mosque and the sepulchre of Sheikh Movlan Yusif Baba which belongs to the 13th century. Local residents consider this sepulchre to be a shrine and worship it.

The Sheikh Yusif Sepulchre

Sheikh Movlana Yusif was a prominent philosopher and leader of a local religious denomination. In his work "Gulustani Iram", Abbasqulu Aga Bakixanov wrote that Sheikh Molla Yusif Muskurlu was born in the 8th century by the Muslim calendar. He received his primary education in Muskur, after which he studied science and was given a blessing from Sheikh Seyid Yahya Bakuvi. On his return to Muskur, he promoted his teaching and later, handed over leadership of the denomination to Sheikh Muhammad. The village where the sheikh's sepulchre was located and followers of this family still live was called Seyxlar (currently Sixlar). The only work by Sheikh Yusif which has remained intact is "Bayan ul-Asrar" (Interpretation of Mysteries) which tells about human morality and laws of ethics.

Sheikh Yusif's teacher - Seyid Yahya Bakuvi was one of the leaders of the Khalvatiyya Sufi order and did a lot to spread his teaching.

Xudat

One of train stations on the territory of Xudat District is located in the village of Xudat near the Dagestani border. A castle wall was built from here to present-day Xacmaz in order to prevent nomadic raids. In the 18th century, Xudat Castle was the capital of the Quba Khanate up to 1735 when the residency of Fatali Khan was moved to Quba. The word Xudat means "God's gift". Today it is quite a developed and modern town, and since it is old, the local population calls it Old Xudat. The famous Sollar water pipeline begins from the neighbouring village of Sollar.

The Sollar water pipeline

In 1904, the construction of a 175 km water pipeline to Baku began in the region. The Sollar spring begins on the slope of Mount Sahdag, and the water is so clean that it does not need chemical processing at all. The underground water pipeline, which was built from clay pipes, is so strong that not a single accident was registered in 100 years of its work.

The water pipeline has quite an interesting story. From the middle of the 19th century, Baku started growing rapidly, and the population was short of water. The shortage of water caused outbreaks of various epidemics. In this situation, the famous Baku millionaire and philanthropist, Haci Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, decided to invite to Azerbaijan the well-known engineer of the time, William Lindley, who had built pipelines to several European cities. The European engineer was given a difficult task - to find a source that could provide the capital with water. In search of drinking water, Lindley ended up on the territory of present-day Xacmaz District, and the well he drilled in the village of Sollar immediately turned out to be productive. After lengthy discussions in 1904, a decision was finally made to build a water pipeline. In 1916, the population of Baku celebrated the opening of the Sollar water pipeline.

The Quba-Xacmaz tourist zone

The Quba Khanate was situated in this region in northeastern Azerbaijan. Today one of the most attractive tourist routes passes through this area. Great mountains, forests neighbouring on the sea, rich nature, history and local traditions - all this makes this tourist paradise so enjoyable. Xacmaz is one of the main stops on the northern tourist route of Azerbaijan. Xacmaz itself is small, but this part of Azerbaijan is quite popular with tourists. The clean and well-planned district centre has an information bureau for tourists where every guest can obtain information on where he can go, what he can see and how he can combine work with pleasure.

The northern route: Xizi-Siyazan-Davaci-Quba-Xacmaz-Nabran-Quba

This route is 270 km long and has some advantageous differences from others. Eight rivers flow through the woods that stretch to the Caspian coast. Three artificial lakes have been created here. This region is rich in springs, including sources of thermal and mineral water. The most famous one is the gushing source Istisu.

The Yalama woods

The miraculous woods of Yalama are situated only 200 km from Baku. This is the only forest belt washed by the sea in Azerbaijan. Hence, the name - Yalama, which means "licked wood" (licked by the sea). The villages surrounding the Yalama woods deserve the special attention of tourists.

The village of Tel

This village, which is one of the most ancient ones in Xacmaz District, is situated 6 km away from the village of Nabran. The settlement of Sahargah II was located one kilometre east of the village in ancient times, and it is regarded as one of the region's archaeological monuments. This is a real windfall for those who love history. Those who like hunting and picnics may go deeper into the dense forest. You can also see an active mud volcano near the village. Local residents think that volcanic mud has a good effect on skin diseases. The natural-geographic conditions of the Xacmaz region, which have no analogues elsewhere, open up great opportunities for the development of tourism here. This is graphically proved by the fact that Nabran is one of the most popular tourist zones in Azerbaijan.

Nabran

They say that this place name comes from the Russian word "nabran" - sea fish, specifically sturgeon, gather for spawning in this part of the Caspian where fresh water from numerous local rivers flows in. The first thing that springs to mind at the mention of Nabran is the sea and the beach. Nabran used to be a quiet and low-profile village which was actually discovered in 1960. Beginning from that year, on the initiative of trade unions, factories started building holiday homes and boarding houses for their staff here. Today it is one of Azerbaijan's most developed and liveliest tourist regions. There is a great number of tourist bases, hotels, holiday homes and restaurants working on the seafront and around the woods here. But if you don't find a vacant room in a hotel or the price is too prohibitive, the local population is always ready to take you in.