Foundation of a New Mosque in Shusha

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, and their daughters Leyla Aliyeva and Arzu Aliyeva attended the foundation of a new mosque in Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, on May 12.

The mosque, founded in ancient Shusha, will look like a religious hearth and a model of modern architecture. A mosque with two minarets and a dome decorated with mosaics was designed jointly by Azerbaijani and Italian architects. The mosque’s façade will be decorated with geometric patterns used in the minarets of the old Shusha Mosque. This architectural element will symbolize confidence in Shusha’s prosperous and successful future, the connection between the past and the present.

Laying the foundation for the mosque, President Ilham Aliyev said: I made the decision to build a mosque a long time ago. After the liberation of Shusha from the occupiers, I began to think about the architecture of this mosque. We need to consider that there used to be 17 mosques in Shusha, and the hateful enemy destroyed all of them. Three mosques, the Yukhari and Ashaghi Govhar Agha and the Saatli Mosques, were in semi-destroyed condition. The instruction has been issued to repair them. The Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque has already been repaired. The architecture of Shusha has its own characteristics, and all of the mosques built in Shusha at one time were built in the same style. This is why I was thinking about the architecture of the new mosque.

The architectural style of the mosque, which reflects the number 8, is symbolic and will reflect the date of the liberation of Shusha from occupation on November 8, which is labeled officially as the Victory Day in the history of Azerbaijan. The mosque’s two minarets should reflect figure “11” because it was in the eleventh month that Shusha and Karabakh were completely liberated from occupation.

Noting that the mosque will be built in the upper part of Shusha, the President mentioned that: Proposals for the interior design of the mosque were not yet ready. However, conceptually, the mosque’s architecture will reflect the date of 8 November. It will be possible to see figure “8” both above and from the ground. The location of the mosque was not chosen by chance either. This is the upper part of the city of Shusha, and the mosque to be built here will tower over the city. It should be so. Because Shusha is Azerbaijanis built our ancient city, the city of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis have always lived here. The Azerbaijani population was simply deported from here by force during the occupation. We have returned to Shusha, and we have returned forever! A building towering over the city should be the building of a mosque, and this building should be located in the upper part of the city.

The President added that the day on which the mosque’s foundation is being laid was not chosen by chance either. Taking the opportunity to congratulate all the people of Azerbaijan on the blessed holiday of Ramadan, the President noted that the groundbreaking ceremony of a new mosque in the ancient city of Shusha on the eve of the holiday has a significant historical and symbolic meaning.