Juma Mosque of Shamakhi
Friday mosque first built in 743, rebuilt many times and reopened after restoration in 2013.
The mosque was founded in 126 AH, that is 743 or 744, which makes it the second oldest Friday mosque in the Caucasus after the one at Derbent. The plan is unusual: a hall 46 metres by 28, divided into three prayer spaces joined by wide arched openings, an arrangement that recalls Umayyad practice at Damascus. Shamakhi was the capital of the Shirvanshahs, and the mosque was repaired for Manuchehr III in the late twelfth century and again under Safavid rule.
Earthquakes, fires and fighting repeatedly wrecked the building. It was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1859, restored again after that of 1902 to designs by the architect Jozef Plosko, and burned during the violence of 1918. A government order of December 2009 began the most recent restoration, which kept the old three-part layout while strengthening it with steel, and the mosque reopened in 2013. Twin minarets now flank the entrance and the interior is lit through tall windows at the ends of the halls.
Highlights
- Founded in 743, among the oldest mosques in the Caucasus
- Prayer hall divided into three parts by wide arches
- Rebuilt after the earthquakes of 1859 and 1902
- Reopened in 2013 after a four-year restoration
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