The Ajdarbey Mosque (; ), also known as the Blue Mosque and the Ittifag Mosque, is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, located in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It was built from 2 March 1912 to 3 December 1913 and is located on Samed Vurgun Street, formerly Krasnovodskaya Street, north of the city center.

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The project of the mosque was made by the architect

Zivar bay Ahmadbayov Zivar bay Garay bay oglu Ahmadbayov ( 1873, Shamakhy-1925, Baku) was the first Azerbaijani architect with higher education. Biography In 1902, Zivar bay Ahmadbayov graduated from Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engine ...

, and the construction was sponsored by Haji Ajdar bey Ashurbeyov. The Kanni-Tepe city quarter, where the mosque was built, was at the time filled by one-floor private houses. The building of the mosque has an angle of approximately 45 degrees to Krasnovodskaya Street so that the building could be better appreciated. For the same purpose, it was built on the slope of the hill. The architecture is simple; there is a big domed prayer room, with a blue interior to the dome ceiling, and a minaret next to it. An

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

is from the east of the prayer room, and a

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

is from the south and the west. The dome is put on a tall

tholobate A tholobate (), also called a drum or tambour, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. The name derives from the tholos, the Greek term for a round building ...

, to enhance the volume. There is extensive and fine stone carving covering the walls. It was made by Salman Atayev, who also worked on other buildings in Baku constructed in the 1910s. During Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan, worship at the mosque ceased; and was resumed following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A grant of 3 million

manats The manat ( ISO code: AZN; sign: ₼; abbreviation: m) is the currency of Azerbaijan. It is subdivided into 100 ''gapiks''. The first iteration of the currency emerged in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and its successor, the Azerbaijan Sovi ...

was awarded in 2010 by President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

to restore the partially damaged mosque and Aliyev opened the restored mosque in 2011.

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{{Baku landmarks 20th-century mosques in Azerbaijan Mosque buildings with domes in Azerbaijan Mosque buildings with minarets in Azerbaijan Mosques completed in 1913 Mosques in Baku Zivar bey Ahmadbeyov buildings and structures

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See also

References

External links