President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva inspects Heydar Aliyev Foundation-initiated restoration and reconstruction works at Shamakhy Juma Mosque
President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva inspected Heydar Aliyev Foundation-initiated restoration and reconstruction works at Shamakhy Juma Mosque, October 22.
The President was informed that the Mosque, the second oldest religious center in the South Caucasus, was built in 743. The Mosque hit by earthquakes in 1859 and 1902 was restored later owing to the project of the first Azerbaijani educated architect Zivar bay Ahmadbayov and Polish engineer Iosif Ploshko. During the 1970-80s, the repair work was carried out in the Mosque, where madrasahs, cells and tombs were discovered. In 1918, Armenian dashnaks committed massacre in the Juma Mosque by burning 1700 local residents - children, women and elderly. Walls of the Mosque reflect tracks of fire still.
The Mosque was repaired in 1980 by a decree from national leader Heydar Aliyev, who rendered huge care to development of Azerbaijan in all fields, including protection of the national and moral values. Upon instructions of President Ilham Aliyev, who pays great attention to protection of national and moral values, mosques, religious temples, historical monuments, sanctuaries in the capital and other regions were restored and reconstructed. After visiting Shamakhy last year the President signed an executive order on repair of the Juma Mosque.
Heydar Aliyev Foundation, too, performs projects in this sphere. The projects and events the Foundation realizes on the initiative of Mrs Mehriban Aliyeva, the President of the Foundation, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO, MP, towards protection of the national and moral values, restoration of religious architectural monuments serve first of all preservation and delivery to coming generations of the rich heritage and culture of our people formed for centuries. The Juma Mosque is also restored as a part of the Foundation`s project "Azerbaijan- Home to Tolerance".
The Mosque`s prayer hall occupies an area of 1,316 square meters. Old secondary buildings have been destroyed and new ones are being built in their place. Concreting works to replace an old cupola with new one are over. Construction of the new cupola will start in the next phase. Dome on the Mosque will be decorated with ancient ornaments and patterns. The cornerstone of the 36-m 2 minarets has been laid. The 15-m depth cornerstone-fixing works have been done to assure durability of the Mosque. Arc-like corridors covering the Mosque from three sides are under construction, 4 of them have already been constructed, the fifth one is about to end, and construction of the last corridor will soon begin.
The Mosque will have a conference hall, library, ablution facilities and other rooms. Since Shamakhy is a seismic zone, the cornerstone of the Mosque has been reinforced with 1-m depth ferro-concrete constructions. In front of the Mosque there will be a 4-m gate with a cupola. Ancient cells in the area will be restored, large renovation works done.
Upon presidential order, 4 mln AZN have been allocated from the President’s Reserve Fund to Shamakhy District Executive Power to implement the restoration and reconstruction works at the Mosque in the high quality and according to the century-old national architectural traditions of Azerbaijan.
