Recently opened reserve is ready to accept tourists

Recently opened unique historical and ethnographic open air reserve - Gala  (translated as Fortress) that was constructed thanks to the support of Heydar Aliyev Fund is now a must-see in all tourist programs covering the history of Azerbaijan.

Gala managed to combine both history and modern times and has much to show to its visitors. The name of Gala (fortress) is directly related to fortress that once stood in this area, though many locals claim that it would be more correct to translate it as 'guarded place' or 'an unassailable village'

Gala State Historic Ethnographic Reserve is the first museum under the open sky in Azerbaijan.

 There are a number of unique exhibits that literally take you centuries back. Gala boasts of 216 architectural and archaeological monuments including early man sites of bronze epoch, petroglyphs, artefacts dated to early and late Middle Ages, ancient mosques, bath houses, remains of fortress, residential compounds, underground  aqueducts, several water reservoirs (ovdan) with the oldest one constructed in the times of Shah Abbass II rule, and even an ancient well of several centuries.

Ethnography and handicrafts dated to the Middle Ages are displayed in restored buildings. Potter and carpet weaving workshops and farriery have been created in the territory of the complex.

Among exhibits are Aghdash plain, dolmen of III century B.C., barrows brought from Dubandi and Turkan settlements, stones with rock art found in the east part of Absheron peninsula and other monuments.                                                                                                   

Special attention should be paid to petroglyphs - unique exhibits of historical reserve. Carved drawings and signs are dated back to bronze age which is around III-II thousands AD. And it seems that the time here, where past meets present, just stopped.