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Ganja one of ancient historical cities of CIS

7 June 2017 16:41 (UTC+04:00)
Ganja one of ancient historical cities of CIS

By Amina Nazarli

Ganja is among the Top 5 ancient historical cities in the CIS area, popular among tourists.

The analytical agency TurStat revealed the most-visited historical cities of the CIS states. The ranking revealed that the most popular historical cities in the CIS are located in Central Asia and Transcaucasia.

Top 10 historical cities of the CIS popular among tourists are Turkestan (Kazakhstan), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Taraz (Kazakhstan), Ganja (Azerbaijan), Vitebsk (Belarus), Khiva (Uzbekistan), Gyumri (Armenia), Khujand (Tajikistan) and Mary (Turkmenistan).

The rating is based on the analysis of the proposals for tours and data of the regional tourist offices.

Some 375 km away from Baku, tourists will find the ancient city of Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan.

The city of Ganja, founded more than 4,000 years ago and called the Cultural Capital of the CIS in 2017, is visited over 400,000 tourists annually, and most of them are from Russia. Some 50 kilometers from Ganja there is a unique city called Naftalan, which is considered the most popular health resort in the CIS.

Visiting Ganja one cannot skip a visit to the mausoleum of the great poet, a remarkable monument of Nizami.

Ganja was also the capital of Azerbaijan, when the country first declared its independence in 1918, thus playing a leading role in the history of the country.

The region is famous for its nature, namely Goygol Lake and reserve. A large mountain lake surrounded by the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus was formed as a result of a devastating earthquake that destroyed the mountain Kapaz in the 12th century.

The color and clarity of the waters of Goygol Lake, located 1,600 above sea level is striking. The banks of the lake are covered with forests and rich of flora and fauna.

This area is ideal for swimming, walking, travelling and family picnics.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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