The Fire Temple of Baku, Azerbaijan (Ateshgah) by Ceri Bladen

The Fire Temple of Baku, Azerbaijan

by Ceri Bladen

(Ateshgah)

The Temple of Eternal Fire (Ateshgah) is located around 15kms from the centre of Buku in the suburb of Surakhany. The area of Surakhany is known for its unique natural phenomenon of burning gas outlets.

These ‘burning’ lands are the reason fire rituals date back to ancient times when it became the holy place of Zoroastrians. They built a place of sacrifice near these inextinguishable fires. Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest continuously practiced religions, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. Zoroastrians believe in one God, called Ahura Masda. In the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrianism, fire is depicted as the most important symbol of purity. They believe fire represents the symbol of Ahura Mazda, which is why they appear to worship fire. For a long time, Zoroastrians were the primary worshippers at the site (the region was, at the time, a part of the Persian Empire under Sasanian dynasty) before the area fell to Islamic invasion in the 7th century.

When the region came under the influence of Islam, although some Zoroastrian fled to other countries, they did not disappear completely from the area.

In the 17th and 18th century, Hindus and Sikhs started arriving into the area in larger numbers, due to trade along the Silk Road (Ipek Yolu) which connected trade routes from the Indian sub-continent

to the West, through Central Asia. In Baku, itself, Indian merchants from the Multan region of Punjab controlled much of the commercial economy.

During this time, construction started on the temple, as it stands today. The structure is similar to caravanserais (travellers' inns) with pentagonal walls surrounding a courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard sits the altar, the centrepiece of the temple. The altar has a focal fire and four smaller flames on the rooftop corners of the pavilion. During this time, ascetic worshippers and pilgrims were welcome to stay in one of the small cells around the courtyard. Contributions from travellers helped finance the building of the temple.

There is much debate to whether they founded the temple as a Zoroastrian, Hindu or Sikh place of worship as the structure incorporates architectural elements of all faiths. Most people believe they started construction in the Zoroastrian tradition, but it evolved into a predominately Hindu place of worship. Worship continued for centuries until the late 19th century when trade along the Silk Road declined. With its falloff, so the Indian population in Azerbaijan declined too, and the temple fell into disrepair. The flame burned naturally until 1969 until heavy exploitation of the natural gas reserves and rampant gas extraction by the Soviets emptied the reserves and the fire extinguished. The fuel for the fire, today, is fed from a gas pipeline, coming all the way from Baku. In 1975, they turned the temple into a museum and in 1998, UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site.

*At time of writing this article (June 2020) it costs 4 manat to enter the temple (approx. £2, $2.30)

Ceri Bladen is a Welsh girl currently living in Turkey. In between looking after her husband, three children, street dogs , and a kindle of street cats, she manages to squeeze in time to write. She loves rromance, so most of her books contain elements of it, whether in the form of historical, contemporary, or fantasy. Discover more on Mom's Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/ceri-bladen