Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan can join the “Thermal Towns” international cultural network of the European Historic Thermal Towns Association.

Turkey’s city of Bursa hosted the general assembly of the association on October 19-21, welcoming representatives of 36 cities from 13 countries.

Turkey’s Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Recep Altepe, President of the EHTTA Giuseppe Bellandi, and other specialists in tourism attended the event.

Gunel Aslanova, the senior adviser at the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Tourism Department also took part at the event, presenting the “Azerbaijan Thermal Towns” project.

At the meeting, Bursa Deputy Governor Ahmet Hikmet Sahin informed participants about Azerbaijan and its prospects for joining the organization. He expressed hope that Azerbaijan could also become a member of the EHTTA.

Earlier this July, EHTTA experts Michel Thomas Pinet and Ahmet Hikmet Sahin visited Azerbaijan to assess the country’s potential.

As part of the visit, the experts assessed thermal sanatoriums Istisu in Masalli, Yengije in Gabala and Qalaaltı in Shabran as well as familiarized themselves with the tourism infrastructure of these regions. They also got acquainted with the historical monuments of Baku and Absheron Peninsula.

Azerbaijan is an incredibly beautiful place of unique natural contrasts. The Land of Fire is known throughout the world for its favorable climatic conditions and nature, in particular, its splendid flora of humid sub-tropics.

Rich with mineral waters, the country has more than 1,000 mineral springs.

One of the thermal sanatoriums, located in the southern Masalli region, is called “Istisu,” literally hot water. The locals call the water springs here a "miracle". Hot water with 69˚C temperature emerges from under the ground, an indicator of how the spring got its name.

Since the water is popular for its therapeutic qualities, mineral baths are offered to visitors. Due to high temperatures, it is hard to spend more than 3-5 minutes in the bath.

Also, the smell of water is not something that can be enjoyed due to the rich hydrogen-sulfide compound.

The water coming from the rocks at Istisu is ice cold. Rich in hydrogen-sulfide, it smells like rotten eggs. It is poured into a glass and drunk in one gulp. There is "kidney water" and "stomach water" signs above the springs.

Located on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus, Qalaalti mineral water is another used for healing.

The water is rich with calcium bicarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and sodium. It has able to wash stones, which is why it has a positive effect in the kidney, urinary bladder and bile stones.

--

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

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz