Mud Can Become Source of Beauty and Income

The topic of usefulness, uniqueness and profitability of the so-called "production" of the mud volcanoes operating in Azerbaijan hastily comes to the agenda and then leaves it - until the next eruption of mud...

The fact that the country is rich in mud volcanoes, with their specificity and history, has been written a lot about. Our goal is to explore opportunities to make money on such a rare natural phenomenon. Experts believe that volcanoes can be a source of profit for health, as well as for tourism. In 2007, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree "On establishment of the State Nature Reserve for a group of mud volcanoes in Baku and Absheron". This order said about the use of mud volcanoes for health and ecological tourism.

The head of the Mud Volcanism Department of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Science in Geology and Mineralogy, Professor Adil Aliyev in an interview with Turan said that volcanic mud is rich in chemical elements. According to him, these places are ideal for tourism. "For years, we propose the creation of health tourism and the use of volcanic mud in medicine. Unfortunately, this wealth is not used adequately," Aliyev said. According to him, people living in these areas pollute the vicinity of mud volcanoes and also use volcanic mud as raw material for building houses.

Unlucky Volcanoes

"There are about 350 mud volcanoes, but volcanic eruptions are observed to a greater extent in Gobustan, Shamakhi and the Caspian Sea. In the world the areas, where volcanoes erupt, are a source of interest of tourists. Only Azerbaijani volcanoes are unlucky in this sense," said Adil Aliyev.

According to the Professor, volcanic mud can be used in the treatment of many diseases. Back in the 80s of the last century volcanic mud began to be used in medicine. The doctors of the Institute of Health Resorts together with the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Sciences studied the properties of volcanic mud, and the appropriate maps were drawn. Subsequently, a number of hospitals and clinics of Baku started treating patients with volcanic mud. Mainly it was used for patients with skin diseases, disorders of the nervous system, diseases of the joints and gynecology. However, this project was left unfinished.

A teacher at the University of Tourism, head of the travel company Omega Shahin Jamalov said that two of the countries that profit from volcanic mud are neighbors of Azerbaijan. Located in Georgia, the volcano Akhtala was known as a resort area in the Soviet times. From all parts of the Soviet Union tourists flocked there. Widely known now are the Turkish resorts of Bursa and Afyon. The former is known for its thermal groundwater, while the latter is known for its mud. People come there from developed countries, both for tourism and for medicinal purposes, said Shahin Jamalov. According to him, Azerbaijan should also use this experience. "If we develop tourism for volcanic mud, the service sector will develop, which means that there will be jobs, and the government will work," Jamalov said.

One of the areas where mud can turn into money is cosmetology. Cosmetic preparations made from mud have become hits, leaving the traditional creams and oils behind. According to the agency NPD Group, in the USA in 2015, the turnover of cosmetics made of mud moss rose by 53% to $ 27.9 million. According to the expert, in Azerbaijan mud cosmetics can and should become one of the areas of investment.