Gobustan

The Gobustan Preserve, under an hour's drive from Baku (60 km) in eastern Azerbaijan, is home to over 6,000 ancient petroglyphs, the oldest of which are thought to date back some 40,000 years. Scenes depict people, animals, dancing and hunting rituals, battle scenes and camel caravans, and form an unparalleled insight into life in this region in pre-historic times. Here you can also discover the 'gaval dash' musical stone that gives off a tambourine sound when tapped rhythmically with smaller stones, as well as an inscription left by a Roman legion in the 1st century AD. All of this and more is neatly unravelled and explained at the excellent on-site museum.