Centuries ago, temples were erected to honor fire, considered a divine element by Zoroastrians and other local religions. The best remaining example is 17th-century Ateshgah in the Baku suburb of Surakhani, Thought to have been built by a local Hindu Indian community and used by Hindus, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians, its mystique derives from its keeping of ever-burning flames from a natural gas field underneath it (the field was eventually exhausted, and today the gas is piped in from Baku). Priests once performed rituals here, offering prayers and incense to the eternal flame. Today travelers can walk through the ancient courtyard, gaze upon the pentagonal temple, and imagine the devotion of thousands of years ago.
Read more in Tripatini contributor Somans Leisure Tours India´s post The Flames that Never Die: the Mystical Fires of Azerbaijan.
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