Apsheron Peninsula

Apsheron peninsula today is a chain of holiday centers and summer cottages that fill up the beautiful seaside beaches but it was just an arid steppe not to ling ago, the Apsheron peninsula also spelled Apsheron, is a prominent geographical feature of Azerbaijan. It extends 37 miles eastward into the Caspian Sea and reaches a maximum width of 19 miles, a gently undulating plain that ends in a long spit of sand dunes known as Shah Dili is now declared the Absheron National Park. In part the peninsula is dissected by ravines and characterized by frequent salt lakes.

Castles

There are several fine medieval castles on the Apsheron Peninsula, there is a castle each at Ramana and Nardaran and two at Mardakyany. At Ramana you can also see the remains of ancient oil fields. Mardakyany also has a botanic garden and a 15th century mosque with an exhibit on the castles. Apsheron Peninsula, stretching out into the Caspian Sea beyond Baku, is littered with fortresses.