AZERBAIJAN - Shamakhi

12:55 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Shamakhi is an ancient Azerbaijan city and is the historical center of the region of Shirvan. The city is populated since 5th century BC and between the 9th – 16th century, it was the capital of Shirvan Empire. The capital of the province of the Russian Empire was also in Shamakhi until the devastating earthquake in 1859 where it was moved to Baku.


On the third day in Azerbaijan, I left Baku, heading to the city of Sheki.


Heading towards Sheki, lies the town of Shamakhi.


On the way to Shamakhi lies the Maraza village which is known for a two storey mausoleum-mosque of the 15th century called Diri Baba.


Diri Baba is located across the old cemetery.


This is where the people slaughters the sacrificial animal to worship the saint and feast on it.


Legend has it that a Saint called Diri Baba was buried here and remained imperishable. Since the 17th century, the mausoleum attracts pilgrims and curious visitors.


Curiously the second floor is the considered the main floor of this building.


A small corridor covered by an octagonal cupola is where people take their shoes off.


Besides the corridor is a hall with an ogive on the first floor.


The steep staircase leading to the second floor.


The second hall is a hall covered with a spherical cupola.


The mausoleum is directly adjoins the rocks with a grotto which is where the saint’s burial place is.




The Diri Baba’s Dome.


There is another staircase that leads to the top of the building. This is the view from the top of the dome.


This is a wishing tree. People believe that if you tie something on the tree and the wind blows it away, your wish will come true.


The path heading towards the top of the caves of the hill.




Careful now.


Time to explore the surrounding area.




There are also a few caves on the cliff, where people use to seek refuge from the enemies.


And look what I found? A bunch of cute puppies nearby.


There were five puppies actually. I wonder who left them there.







The architectural of Diri Baba blends in nicely with its surroundings landscape of rocks and greens.



The beautiful valley near Diri Baba.


After visiting Diri Baba, we continued our journey to Shamakhi.


These trees are planted to shield the plantations from the wind.


Juma Mosque of Shamakhi is the oldest and largest mosque in Azerbaijan. The initial Arabic inscription on the portal of the mosque said it was built in 743. It is considered the first mosque in Caucasus.


What? This mosque was built in 743? It looks like it was just been built! This mosque you see now is actually the fifth reconstruction of the mosque built since 2009 on the same site as the first Jamu mosque.


It was seriously damaged in the aftermath of earthquakes of 1959 and 1902. During the March genocide of 1918, Armenian nationalists set the mosque on fire. The mosque has been extensively restored and rebuilt in accordance with the decree of President Ilham Aliyev.


Juma Mosque is now the landmark of Shamakhi. Juma comes from the Arabic word Jumaat, which means Friday. 


Well, all ladies have to wear head scarfs upon entering the mosque compound. And everyone has to remove their shoes and store them on the shoe shelves before entering the mosque.


The mosque has three halls. The main hall is covered by a huge dome and the other two halls with smaller domes.




The praying hall.




The carpet indicate seat for each person who prays inside the mosque.






A European influenced architecture inside the mosque.


Can you guess what these are for? Well, they are actually shoehorns.








Some of the structure of the old Juma Mosque can still be seen.


The four original minarets in the garden.


Fountain at the Juma Mosque.





Our tour guide, Yasin with baby Elijah.




Have you seen a police car which is a BMW before? Well, here’s one. How cool is that?


This is the first time I saw a petrol station with plastic box for electronics.




The mausoleum of Yeddi Gumbez or Seven Domes is where the notorious representatives of Shirvan Dynasty were buried.


There were a total of seven dome structures here but only three remains intact.


One of the destroyed stone domes.


The town has a glorious but tragic history. It was devastated many times, not only by invaders but also as a result of earthquakes.


The town of Shamakhi as viewed from the mausoleum.


Juma Mosque can also be clearly seen from the mausoleum.


The Seven Domes is located at the foot of Gulistan Fortress.




Tomb stones inside the dome.




The deserted graveyard with half destroyed tomb stones. Eerie. Are we done yet here?


Next we’re off to restaurant Xan Bagi for lunch.


Enjoying a light moment with Yasin.


We ordered the famous barbequed beef and lamb.


You can also enjoy your meal at the outdoor area. Not at this time of year anyway.




On the way to Shaki, we stopped by a traditional bread stall by the roadside.



These are actually houses of the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.


Continued on my journey to Shaki.


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