Groundbreaking ceremony for the New Mosque in Shusha

On May 12, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, and their daughters Leyla Aliyeva and Arzu Aliyeva attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new mosque in the city of Shusha.

The mosque, whose foundation was laid in ancient Shusha, will serve both as a religious center and as an impressive example of modern architecture. The design of the two-minaret mosque, whose dome will be decorated with mosaics, was carried out jointly with Azerbaijani and Italian architects. The exterior of the mosque will be adorned with geometric patterns inspired by those used on the minarets of Shusha’s historic mosques. This architectural element symbolizes confidence in Shusha’s prosperous future and the connection between its past and present.

President Ilham Aliyev, who laid the foundation stone of a new mosque in Shusha, noted that he had long planned the construction of this mosque and began considering its architectural design following Shusha’s liberation. The Head of State emphasized that there had once been 17 mosques in Shusha, all of which were destroyed by Armenians during the occupation, while the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque has already been restored. He pointed out that the day of the mosque’s groundbreaking was not chosen by chance, and that holding this ceremony on the eve of Ramadan carries great historical and symbolic significance.

The architectural style of the mosque, which will reflect the number 8, is symbolic and will embody the date of November 8, when Shusha was liberated from occupation and which has now officially entered Azerbaijani history as Victory Day. The two minarets of the mosque will reflect the number 11, which represents the month of November, when Shusha and Karabakh were completely liberated from occupation.