Lahij Tour

The first stop of the Shamakhi tour will be Mereze village. There you will visit the tomb of Diri Baba (a 15th-century mausoleum mosque called Diri-Baba located in front of the old cemetery). The architecture of this mausoleum harmoniously fits into the picturesque surroundings of the building—the landscape against the background of the rocks and the greenery of the trees. The building of the mausoleum is a masterpiece of the Shirvan School of Architecture. It is considered one of the works of art of ancient masters. The monument is protected by the state

Shamakhi Juma Mosque, one of the oldest and largest mosques in Azerbaijan, is said to have been founded in the 8th century. The famous Arab general Maslama ibn Abdul Malik, the brother of the Umayyad caliph Walid I (705-715), chose Shamakhi as his residence when he invaded the Caucasus and Dagestan. In those years, the Arab emirs repaired and strengthened the fortress of this ancient and rich city and carried out new construction works on its territory. Juma Mosque, which is the most significant and the only witness to these works, demonstrates how influential Shamakhi was at that time with its large dimensions and magnificent architecture.

The mosque was built in 743–744 years. The Shamakhi Juma Mosque is the oldest mosque in the South Caucasus after the Derbend Juma Mosque (built in 734). The mosque, which was restored several times in the Middle Ages, was destroyed during the Shamakhi earthquakes in 1856 and 1902 and was first restored by Gasim Bey Hajibababeyov and then by Iosif Ploshko. The last restoration works in the mosque, which was burned by Armenians in 1918, were carried out in 2010–2013 according to the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

The next place to be visited during our Lahij–Shamakhi-Lahij tour is Lahij village. It is one of the oldest settlements in Azerbaijan and is famous for its folk artists, unique traditions, and beautiful natural landscape. It is located 180 kilometers northwest of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Lahij is the best example of the original architecture preserved by the villagers for centuries. The village of Lahij is one of the best craft and trade centers in the Caucasus and is included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The main fame of the village comes from the hand-made copper products of magnificent design, which are made in the traditional way in the village. Now the village is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Azerbaijan because, even today, there are dozens of workshops in the village that make beautiful handmade copper products.