14 DAY TRIAL // “Yanar Dağ” translates as the mountain of fire, or fire mountain. The name refers to a hillside in the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
Flames burn steadily on the Yanar Dağ, fueled by a steady seep of gas located under the sandstone surface. Flames can reach 10 feet (3.0 m) in the air, and are persistent all through the year, making the region known as “the burning hill,” that keeps on flaming through rain and snow.
The fire is caused by hydrocarbon gases released from the subsurface, Wikipedia informs. Unlike mud volcanoes, there is no eruption in the area, as gases rise through porous zones and are immediately lit up.
Some 2,000 years ago, people in the region were so mystified about the existence of this eternal fire, that a cult of fire worshippers was supposedly formed, in Azerbaijan. The cult later gave birth to the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism.