Officially known as Qazi Mammad the town is named after the favourite son of Imam Shamil. However, most locals still refer to it by its original name 'Haji Qabul' which roughly translates as 'stopping place for pilgrims'. The name seemed appropnate in the 1880s as the site evolved from isolated army barracks into the terminus of the planned railway to Mecca via Tehran. Visiting in 1883, Marvin describes Haji Qabul as 'a place with a future'. That future never really came to much - today it's a modest, unprepossessing junction town where the once-grand Moorish station remains the only feature of note along with its graveyard siding of old trains.

If you're planning a trip to Azerbaijan you may be interested ▶ Azerbaijan highlights - For those who prefer to go unbeaten path, to explore less visited places and check national charisma of this small country in Southern Caucasus on the edge of Europe.