This region has always been one of the biggest and one of the most beautiful parts of Azerbaijan! So, if you decide to visit other Azerbaijani cities, we highly recommend you to see Quba! 🙂
Guba has been founded in the XV century and is located 165km to the north from Baku.
The composition of architectural remains of the ancient with its fairy nature creates a completely different atmosphere, which will have a long-lasting impact on you. Especially wonderful Quba is in spring when all the gardens and parks are blooming and embellish the whole city with their beauty.
There are plenty of things to do in this region. Quba’s historical monuments and museums, mosques, falls and lakes will make your trip unforgettable!
Besides, Quba is famous for being the carpet weaving center of Azerbaijan. Carpets from here are exported to many other countries.
Here’s the list of things to do in Quba.
Khinaliq
Khinaliq village is the most remote village among all others in Quba. It is also the highest village as it is located in the middle of Caucasian mountains. And this remoteness is exactly what helped the inhabitants of the village to survive from the invasions. The history of this village goes right back until the Albanian period. The remains of ancient caves of early humans are still left in this territory between the mountains. Due to its long history, Khinaliq village is considered one of the oldest inhabited places in the world and has been included in the UNESCO list of World Historical Monuments.
The Kninaliq’s population is speaking its own language which nobody else in the world speaks and is considered a separate ethnographic group.
Due to its form it reminds many people of museums, but in an open air, could you imagine this view?
Red Village
We all know the Jerusalem city. But have you ever heard anything about the Caucasian Jerusalem? You can see it in our Red Village! Noisy crowds in big cities are tiring all of us from time to time. And one of the best things to do in this case is to go on a trip to a silent peaceful place to stay alone with your own thoughts.
This settlement is located on the bank of the Kudilai River and it’s the only community of Jews mountains in the CIS.
These mountain Jews generally spoke the language of Iranian groups and came to Azerbaijan in the 5th century. And as time passed, they moved to the land opposite the Guba which became known as Krasnaya Sloboda (i.e. Red Village).
This village has gained a particular interest of many people across the world including the local citizens of Azerbaijan. Besides the fact they use completely different language in their speech, they are also professionals in carpet weaving art.
Mosques
Juma mosque
Juma Mosque is considered to be one of the major mosques in Quba. The history of this mosque is dating back to the 19th century – the period when the mosque was constructed. The Juma mosque is of the unique shape, not typical for Azerbaijani mosques, but for Quba mosques only. The building is of faceted cylinder shape and resembles the form of the regular octagon.
Even though the mosque may look tiny at first glance, it’s actually on outside. Once you enter the mosque, you realize that it is pretty spacious there. Inside the mosque, there is a big dome with a diameter of 16 meters.
After the construction of the Juma mosque,
The construction of the Juma mosque market the beginning of constructing the mosques of a similar type and form in Azerbaijan.
Sakina Khatun mosque
Quba’s Agbil settlement is an area famous for its three medieval mausoleums, all belonging to the 16th century. Local people these mausoleums “Pirs of Agbil” or “Four Agbil”, thus, meaning that there were actually four mausoleums.
The first among them, known as Shah Murad which was built in 1553, was destroyed so that only two of these three mausoleums have survived till these days. Two mausoleums have a rectangular shape, while the third mausoleum – Sheikh Maziyyad Mausoleum is totally different.
Sheikh Maziyyad Mausoleum possesses a square floor plan, which distinct it from the other two mausoleums and implies that this mausoleum considered to be the most important among all. The mausoleum is unique for its octahedron design with the high dome on the top and wide entrance. It is constructed from burnt bricks which are set an octagonal pillar. Even though the mausoleum looks like an octahedron from the outside, the inner part of this creation looks like an ordinary square room.
Sheikh Juneid Mausoleum
Let’s move to the next representative of the wonderful medieval architecture – Sheikh Juneid Mausoleum, located in the Khazra village of Quba.
This mausoleum was constructed in honour of Sheikh Juneid, who was the descendant of the founder of Sefevid dynasty. He was defeated and killed by Shirvanshakh Khalilullah in a battle in 1456.
The Mausoleum was in the square shape with the entrance on mausoleum’s each of four walls. The interior of the mausoleum charms many people with its majestic beauty. There is a 15-metres high dome right in the middle of the tomb. The walls are covered with the semi-coloured tiles (black, violet, blue) embellishing the mausoleum.
The remains of the Sheikh Juneid were transferred to one of the Azerbaijani cities and the Safavid empire’s spiritual centre -Ardabil. Still, the mausoleum has always been sacred place visited by many pilgrims every year to commemorate the Sheikh Juneid.
Sheikh Yusif Mausoleum
And the last Mausoleum we will talk about for today is the Sheikh Yusif Mausoleum located in the village of Shykhlyar. This mausoleum history is traveling back to the 15th-17th centuries. Along with the Agbil mausoleums and Sheikh Juneid mausoleum, Sheikh Yusif Mausoleum is one of the oldest Azerbaijan’s mausoleums.
The mausoleum was constructed with the help of the burnt bricks. Just as most of the Quba’s mausoleums, Sheikh Yusif mausoleum is of unique shape and has the silhouette in the form of the prism, so you won’t confuse it with any other building in the city.
There is no data available regarding the Sheikh Yusif’s identity and his achievements. However, the existence of the mausoleum lets us perceive his majestic personality. Besides, this Mausoleum is the material representation of the Medieval Ages’ architects’ skilfulness. Quba tour will be the best choise for exploring Quba
