Yanar Dag: The natural fire that never dies down
Most of us are aware of the idiomatic expression, ‘Adding fuel to the fire’. Well, fire can consume anything and anyone in its way, and it becomes far more dangerous when it meets something combustible, such as fuel.
However, the good news is, most fires can be put off using water. But why do we say most? Because we have recently learnt about a fire that has been continuously burning for 4000 years, and no amount of rain, snow or wind has had the ability to extinguish it. It is known as Yanar Dag.
An eternal flame
Do you know about Azerbaijan? Well, it’s an Asian country surrounded by the Caucasus Mountains in the northern and western sides and the Caspian Sea on the east. And on the eastern side of the country’s Absheron Peninsula, and only 30 miles from Baku (capital city), lies the Yanar Dag, that literally means “burning mountainside.” It’s the place where tall flames (up to 3 metres) have been relentlessly dancing across a 10-metre stretch of thin and porous sandstone layer, since the ancient times.
Okay, that brings us to the question, why doesn’t this fire ever die down? It’s because it feeds on the region’s plentiful natural gas and hydrocarbon gas reserves.
Legends have it that Venetian explorer Marco Polo was fascinated by this mysterious flame when he travelled through the country in the 13th century. Probably it is Yanar Dag that earned Azerbaijan the title ‘land of fire’.
Bonus fact: A stream near Yanar Dag can also be lit anytime and is known as Yanar Bulag or the “burning spring.”
The Zoroastrian tradition of worshipping fire
Considering the country is full of natural gas reserves, such natural fires have been occurring for generations. However, when people realised that they could extract natural gas for commercial purposes and such fires often led to reduction of the gas pressure underground, most were identified and extinguished, barring Yanar Dag.
Guess why Yanar Dag was spared? Because it was a centre of worship for the ancient Zoroastrian people who were natives of Iran but later emigrated to Azerbaijan around the 1st century AD. Zoroastrians believe in worshipping fire and considered it the ultimate connection between humans and the supernatural world. Fire for this ancient people was a medium through which one could gain spiritual insight and earthly wisdom. Maybe that’s why they often considered fire as the most purifying and life-sustaining aspect around. So, as long as Yanar Dag burns, they are not doomed, believe the Zoroastrians. For the unversed, Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion centred around the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster.
Today, the locals as well as tourists deem Yanar Dag as more of a natural spectacle rather than a religious site. What’s fascinating is that the fire of Yanar Dag is so potent that when snow falls, the flakes are unable to reach the ground. They dissolve mid-air. Isn’t that intriguing?
Ateshgarh Fire Temple: Second home of the eternal flame
There’s a temple dedicated to the fire god that’s located east of the Yanar Dag. It’s known as the Ateshgarh Fire Temple. While Yanar Dag has been burning for ages, this pentagonal temple was only established in the 17th century by Indian settlers in Azerbaijan who wanted to pay tribute to the Zoroastrians. Since then, it has been believed that when the fire at Yanar Dag is quiet (it means the flames are short), the fire god is visiting his second home at this temple site, something that he has been doing 10th century onwards. Interestingly, the name “Ateshgarh” is Persian and means “home of fire” and the centrepiece of the temple is a cupola-topped altar shrine that’s carefully constructed upon a natural gas vent. However, when in 1969 the flame at the shrine dimmed, authorities decided to feed it from Baku’s main gas supply.
Apart from the main complex, the temple also has caravan-style inns in its premises, comprising of 24 rooms and walled courtyards that were built for merchants and ascetics and are now used for pilgrims and tourists. There’s also a museum set up in 1975, right before the site earned the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag in 1988.