I visited this WHS in 2023. After a quick visit of the few original remains at the small visitor centre a few metres away, geared mainly to entertain the the many school groups visiting this site, I made an extra effort to also "see" the Roman inscription at the very edge before the restricted area. The Latin inscription needs cleaning as it is almost impossible to see now due to lichens and weathering. At least I got to see plenty of pygmy owls and the marble UNESCO WHS plaque in the area so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Next, I headed towards Boyukdash, the main component open to the general public in a sort of loop trail.

I must confess I had low expectations, as with many rock art sites, you never know what to expect until you get there. The rock art here covers a huge historical period from the Mesolithic to the Late Middle Ages. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised, mostly due to the quantity, quality and variety of the rock art. The rock art here truly sheds light on the lifestyle, occupation, religious beliefs and early art of the people who settled the area thousands of years ago. In an area of 3,096 hectares, archaeologists discovered more than 6,000 rock drawings, settlements, burial mounds, formerly inhabited caves, megalithic structures, traces of settlements and tombs.

Humans who settled in Gobustan more than 20,000 years ago are believed to have lived in a communal clan system, which was based on kinship ties on the maternal side, tribal ownership of the means of production, and collective production and consumption. The leading role in the life of the tribe was played by women: homemakers, caregivers of children and the main suppliers of food, since only gathering guaranteed daily food at the time. The period of matriarchy depicted on the rock art of Gobustan lasted several millenia, but gradually, under the influence of new tools, especially the bow and arrow, and such activities as cattle breeding and agriculture, the baton was handed over to men as primary breadwinners. During the Mesolithic, man not only found food by hunting, fishing and gathering, but also produced food and learned how to create food reserves, as evidenced by the single-type holes carved into the rocks.

Following the emergence of occupations that guaranteed food for humans, and therefore lifting the problem of survival, they finally had free time. Norms and rules of conduct formed and prohibitions and requirement were established, which gradually became part of the tradition and first primitive religions. At the same time, knowledge about the surrounding world was accumulated and handed down from generation to generation. Historians attribute the emergence of such skills as the treatment of wounds and injuries and even the first surgeries, evidence of which was found in Gobustan, to this period. Arts appeared precisely in the Mesolithic. Its forms were not so diverse yet, but there was music and dancing already, most of which had a ritual character. Several large stones known as "gavaldashes", which served as drums, were found in Gobustan. If you wait for one of the several tour guides around, you'll be impressed by the echoing sound these stones make simply by striking another stone at them. Their sounds could be heard for several kilometres in the wide valley.

During this period, the Gobustan petroglyphs are mostly multifigured and depict people and tribesmen at hunting scenes, fights, fishing and dancing. They convey not only the event, but also the main feeling of the time, that man is no longer an easy prey of wild animals but already claims to be the master of the world. In the later rock art of Gobustan, riders have been carved too. Some researchers note similarities between the rock art of Gobustan and the petroglyphs found in East Africa. During my visit, I remember the larger "panels" full of animal figures reminded me of the rock art of the Bhimbetka Shelters in India, while the etched rock art of mostly extinct animals in movement are comparable also to the prehistoric rock art in France and Spain. There are also many hypotheses regarding human settlements in Gobustan and the author of one of them is the Norwegian traveller Thor Heyerdahl. On seeing the famous petroglyph of a multi-seat boat of the 6th millenium BC, he became firmly convinced that most likely it was a reed vessel related to the Sumerian ones, and therefore the people of Gobustan could have contacts with the world's oldest civilisations.

On a sunny day, if you bring along binoculars, you'll surely be able to appreciate a lot of other rock art "panels", easily spotted by the Soviet-era engraved numbers given to most. If you opt to visit alone, without a guide, you'll be able to time your visit to the most busy panels (especially the cul-de-sac ones!) or simply revisit when there are no crowds. At places, even 5-10 people can be too much, to fully appreciate the rock art at knee level. Moreover, there are lots of information boards to help you not miss the main rock art highlights and if you spend more than an hour there, you'll notice that most guides repeat the same information over and over, so you won't miss much. Without the danger of venomous snakes, I think it would be great to be able to visit the area with a guide and a torch at night (an experience offered in Scandinavia). That way, the fainter rock art would be easier to appreciate. However, judging simply from what I saw in a very small part of one component, I really was impressed overall and it truly possesses OUV (easily visible with the naked eye, not mostly with an app!).