Ateshgah Fire Temple

Baku · Azerbaijan · Monastery

The eternal flame went out in 1969 — but the spirits the fire worshippers invoked among the temple cells are said never to have left the altar.

Local tradition holds that Ateshgah is guarded by numerous spirits, and visitors speak of a strange presence at the altar fire — as though something stands in the shadow and watches. The spirits are said to have stayed even after the fire itself died: the natural eternal flame went out in 1969 when the gas fields beneath the peninsula ran dry, and the flame burning today is fed through a pipe.

The ground of the Absheron peninsula is so rich in gas that flames once burned out of the earth unaided, and word of the burning ground drew Zoroastrian and Hindu pilgrims here from distant lands. In the 17th century a pentagonal temple was raised around the sacred fires, with cells where ascetics lived in mortification and performed their fire rites.

FAQ

Where is Ateshgah Fire Temple located?

Ateshgah Fire Temple is in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.