A Fire Temple
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Located in the south-eastern part of Surakhani settlement (30 km from Baku) the place is an old (XVII-XVIII AD) temple complex of the Zoroaster followers, the fire worshippers. Having discovered natural gas erupting from rock crevices here, they constructed a number of buildings around. Those included the pentagonal temple building, outward walls, prayer rooms, priesthood’s cells, service premises, stores, medical ward and a caravansaray. In the middle of the yard stands an impressive quadrangular dome of the main temple-altar with ever-burning fires; another fire burns in a depressed fire-place in front of it, and more fires were supposed to erupt from special roof chimneys. The portal gate has a "balak-hane" - a guest-room - on the upper floor.
The oldest building of the complex in existence is the stables (1713) while the main altar was built only in 1810 (or, 1866 Vikramaditya Indian style) due to contributions by a wealthy Parsi merchant Kanchagar. Now, religious ceremoni