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AZERBAIJAN TOURS -> Azerbaijan caviar tour  Russian 


AZERBAIJAN CAVIAR TOUR

The best caviar in the world comes from the Caspian Sea. Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan border the Caspian Sea which is the largest lake in the world. The Caspian Sea's surface is greater than 374 000 km2 and 80-90% of the total sturgeon population live there. Sturgeon gives one of the "greatest symbols of luxury" or generally the product called - caviar.

The sturgeon is virtually a prehistoric animal that has survived, unlike dinosaurs from the same era. It has more chromosomes than man, and it is more adaptable. Caviar is produced by adding accurate amounts of salt to roes of sturgeon fish, that is of beluga, oscietr and sevruga. These three kinds of sturgeon fish of Caspian Sea provide 90% of the total world caviar.

Salty roes of other kinds of fish are called caviar as well. Generally, the fish's name precedes the word "caviar", e.g. Salmon caviar, American Golden White Fish Caviar and American Sturgeon Black Caviar.

In the Middle Ages Sturgeon was known as the "royal fish" in England because King Edward II proclaimed by decree that any sturgeon caught must be given to the gentry. It is known that the first people tasting roes were the Azeris and Persians living at the Kura River on the area of the former Persian Empire, (today Azerbaijan). They called them "Chav - Jar" which means a cake of power or a piece of power. The Persians believed that caviar was a medicine against many illnesses, and a source of energy. They ate it in the form of sticks. According to Aristotle, Greek banquets used to be concluded by fanfares announcing that trays of caviar decorated with flowers were being brought in. The main consumers of caviar in Russia were the czars. Czar Nicholas II received 11 tonnes of the best quality roes as an annual "caviar" tax from sturgeon fishermen from Azerbaijan.

 BELUGA is the largest of the sturgeon family. It is very scarce, so an annual catch is barely 120 fish. It is 4 metres long and can weigh more than 1000 kg (2200 pounds). The weight of roes can reach 15% of its body weight. The colour of roes is light grey to dark grey, they have considerable texture and in the middle of each roe there is a visible "eye" (a "target"). The roes are big and they have fine tender layer on the surface.
OSCETR is a medium sized sturgeon fish. It occurs more frequently than the beluga. It is 2 metres long and weighs up to 200 kg (440 pounds). The colour of its roes is dark brown to grey and it is often shaded with gold. The roes have a unique taste of hazel nuts and a fine layer on the surface.
SEVRUGA is the smallest of the sturgeon fish family. It is 1,5m long and weighs up to 25 kg. Its roes have a fine surface and their colour ranges from light to dark grey. The roes are small and they are popular for their characteristic taste and smell. This caviar is the most widespread.

TOUR PROGRAM

1-st day - Baku

Transfer from airport. Settlement in hotel.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on time of arrival.
Free time.

2-nd day - Baku

During two days Baku tour you will have an opportunity to visit the most interesting places of the Azeri capital and will be introduced with its history and current life of the city. You will note the mingling of ancient architecture, traditions with the modern buildings and life style. You will visit ancient Maiden Tower which according to the latest researches is the largest Zoroastrian temple in the world, the old city which is the highly picturesque core of Baku, Zoroastrian temple "Ateshgah" and medieval castles of Apsheron. And on the other hand the most modern signs of the city will also be a part of our program.

Breakfast in hotel.

You will visit the   Ichari Shahar   (the Inner City, or Old Town) heart of the historic city.

The most impressive museum is the Museum of Carpets & Applied Art in the old Lenin Museum where one of the best collections of local and Persian carpets will be presented to your attention. It has a brilliant display of woven and knotted Azerbaijani carpets, plus jewellery, embroidery, metalwork and carved wood.

Lunch

Secondly the program includes a walk along Baku Boulevard, the second largest one in the Europe. On Boulevard you'll get a boat a make trip on it along Baku Bay
This trip will provide you with an opportunity to observe a panoramic view of Baku Bay and nearly located area of the city. Also during the trip you will be introduced with the interesting facts and legends of the lake better known as Caspian Sea

Dinner in the local restaurant with music program and belly dance and tasting caviar and sturgeon cooked in a local manner.

Those who interested can be transferred to nightclubs and places of interest.

3-rd Day - Ateshgyah

Breakfast.

Next point of your tour will be the   Ateshgyah   . The Atashgah Temple, also known as the Temple of the Fireworshippers, has been a centre of worship for thousands of years.

Also this day you will visit well preserved ancient castles of Apsheron Peninsula dated XII-XIII AD and located farther out on the Apsheron Peninsula. There are several fine medieval castles - one each at Amirajan and Nardaran and two at Mardakyany - apparently built for defence by the Shirvan shahs in the 14th century.

Lunch.

Free time.

In the evening dinner in the local restaurant with local food, caviar and sturgeon.

Those who interested can be transferred to nightclubs and places of interest.

4-th day - Baku-Shamakha-Lahij-Pirkuli

Breakfast in hotel.

Leave for ancient city of   Shemakha  .

On arrival you will visit 2 storied Deri Baba mausoleum (15th century), have a brief tour to Shamakha itself, visit historic-architectural monumental resort of Lahij, built in the 5th century. There you will have an opportunity to admire ancient mosques and bath-houses, medieval water-supply and sewage systems. The program includes attendance of number of workshops where you can purchase different kinds of artifacts which will always remind you of an ancient area named Shamakha.

Quick Lunch in Shamakha.

And the last point of Shamakha tour is Pirkuli resort where you will be provided with an opportunity to taste a local wine and cognac known as the best in Azerbaijan. You will visit the space observatory with the largest mirror telescope in the CIS.
You will be settled for the night in this resort area in the comfortable cottages.

5-th day - Shamakha-Sheki

Guick breakfast.

Sheki is one of the most famous and ancient places of Azerbaijan.

On arrival to Sheki you will be settled in "Yuhari Karavansaray" the hotel which was used by Great Silk Route travelers on their way to Europe. After lunch in the hotel you will start your Sheki tour from visiting 18th century Khan's summer palace with magnificent frescos (one 24 m long) and exquisite stained glass work (northern part of the city).
Second point will be a Sheki History museum with artifacts from several periods, but notorious for pieces relating to silk manufacturing and trade.

Also you will visit Royal Palace of Sheki Khans (Kings) and Sheki fortress an impressive structure with the total length of 1300m, the northern wall is 4m high, the southern wall is 8m high. The wall thickness is 2,2 m.
Certainly we won't miss an opportunity to visit one of a silk workshops as even now silk is one of the important matter of business in Azerbaijan and Sheki is its center. You will visit one of the local workshops where it is possible to buy a silk souvenirs.

After your return in hotel and having a local style dinner you will have a free time with an opportunity to enjoy a scenic view of Caucasus mountains

6-th Day - Sheki-Baku

On arrival in Baku settlement in hotel.

Dinner.

Free time, shopping.

7-th day - Baku

Azerbaijan is one of the main exporters of black caviar to the world market. Not everyone in the world tasted this both extremely healthy and expensive product. During this tour you will be closely introduced with Caspian black caviar.

Breakfast in hotel.

Caspian Fish Company, the factory producing black caviar and a number of different kinds of fish products including sturgeon itself.

In Azerbaijan on this factory you can have a unique opportunity to personally watch the extraction of caviar from sturgeon fish, caviar processing, packing and will be given an opportunity to taste caviar (you will have your brief lunch there), buy cans of black caviar for the price which will seem funny compared to the black caviar worldwide prices.

Return to hotel.

Dinner in local style restaurant with a special caviar cuisine, sturgeon and other fish dishes having cooked according to different methods of luxuriant   Azeri cuisine   .