Lankaran

Lankaran sits in the wettest and greenest corner of the country, where the Talysh hills come down to the Caspian and the rainfall supports tea, rice and citrus, none of which grow elsewhere in Azerbaijan. The town has a nineteenth-century brick tower usually described as a lighthouse and formerly a prison, a covered bazaar strong on southern produce, and a long grey-sand beach. The Talysh language is spoken widely in the district, and the food is distinct enough from the rest of the country to be worth the trip on its own.

History

When the town was founded is unknown, but the French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan found very ancient remains here, dolmens and graves among them, and the name may come from Persian words for a place of anchoring, or from the Talysh lankran, a cane house. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747 Seyyed Abbas founded the Talysh Khanate, under the suzerainty of the Zand and Qajar rulers of Iran, and the town passed to Russia by the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 (Wikipedia, Lankaran).

What to look for

• The brick tower - a nineteenth-century circular tower on the shore, used as a lighthouse and once a prison.
• The bazaar - southern produce: tea, citrus, rice, herbs and lavangi stuffing ingredients.
• The tea plantations - hillsides above the town, the country's tea-growing district.
• The beach - a long grey-sand Caspian shore, used heavily in summer.

When to go

April to June and September to October are the most comfortable. Summer is hot and very humid. This is the wettest part of the country and rain is likely in any month, heaviest in autumn.

Good to know

The town is workaday and the sights are few; the region rather than the centre is the draw. The Caspian beach here is not clean and swimming is not the appeal. Humidity in summer is genuinely oppressive.

Nearby

Hirkan National Park is inland, Lerik is up in the Talysh hills, and Gizilagac is north along the coast.

Key facts