Agdam Mosque Explained

Aghdam Mosque
Map Type:Azerbaijan
Coordinates:39.9833°N 102°W
Religious Affiliation:Shia Islam
Location:Aghdam, Azerbaijan
Organizational Status:-->
Functional Status:Damaged; vandalised
Architect:Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi
Architecture Type:Mosque
Architecture Style:Islamic and Azerbaijani architecture

The Aghdam Mosque (Azerbaijani: Ağdam məscidi) or Juma Mosque (Azerbaijani: Cümə məscidi) is a mosque in the ghost town of Aghdam, Azerbaijan.[1]

History

Construction

The mosque was built by the architect Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi from 1868 to 1870, in the typical style for mosques in the Karabakh region, which included the division of stone columns on the two-story gallery and the use of domed ceilings. Other mosques in this style include Barda Mosque, the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha, a mosque in the city of Fuzuli and one in the village of Horadiz.[2]

Armenian occupation

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh war, Aghdam was used by Azerbaijani forces to fire BM-21 Grad long-range missiles at the Armenian populace of Stepanakert.[3] [4] Aghdam later came under the control of Armenian forces. After the capture, according to eyewitnesses, the city was plundered, destroyed and burned.[5] The Aghdam mosque, the only building left standing in Aghdam, has been vandalized with graffiti and used as a stable for cattle and swine.[6] [7] [8] [9] A narrative of "barbarous Armenians who turn mosques into pigsties" would become an important component of mobilization in Azerbaijan in the prelude to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.[10]

In 2009, the Republic of Artsakh began funding measures to preserve Islamic monuments. According to Artsakh officials the surroundings of the Aghdam mosque were cleaned from the rubble and fenced in 2010.[11] [12] The RFE/RL journalist Stepan Lohr, who visited Agdam in 2011, posted photos of the mosque with no roof, and what he described as "the neglected and damaged interior of Aghdam's once-glorious mosque".[13] A satellite investigation conducted by the Caucasus Heritage Watch of Cornell University found that between 1977 and 2019, the overall structure and shape of the mosque remained unchanged. Since 1992, the mosque sustained minor damage under Armenian control, with only the modern roofing installed during Soviet times being removed.[14]

After Second Nagorno-Karabakh war

Following Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Nagorno-Karbakah war, it regained the district of Aghdam through the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement on 20 November 2020.[15] Three days later, president Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited the ruins of the city and the Aghdam mosque. Aliyev gifted a Quran from Mecca to the mosque.[16]

After the ceding of Aghdam back to Azerbaijan, the first Friday prayer in 28 years was held in the mosque by the last imam of the mosque and Azerbaijani soldiers.[17] [18]

See also

References

39.9833°N 102°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Paul. Amanda. Agdam -- an Azerbaijani ghost town. Today's Zaman. 17 May 2011. 2015-10-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20151223022213/http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/amanda-paul/agdam-an-azerbaijani-ghost-town_244251.html. 2015-12-23. dead.
  2. Web site: ru:ВЛИЯНИЕ ХРИСТИАНСТВА НА АРХИТЕКТУРУ АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНА. http://www.bakililar.az/ca/history/khristark.html. Bakilililar.az. 26 July 2010. ru.
  3. Book: Rachel Denber . Robert K. Goldman . Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh . 1992 . . 13 . 9781564320810 .
  4. Book: Denber, Rachel. Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Indiscriminate Bombing and Shelling by Azerbaijani Forces in Nagorno Karabakh. July 1993. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. 17–18.
  5. Book: Лилия . Гурьянова . Дмитрий . Васильев . Мёртвая зона. Города-призраки . Dead zone. Ghost towns . ru . Вектор . 2006 . Saint Petersburg . 113 . 5-9684-0495-7 .
  6. Web site: Azerbaijani leader hails handover of region ceded by Armenia . 2022-05-24 . AP NEWS . en.
  7. Web site: Carlotta Gall and Anton Troianovski . 11 December 2020 . After Nagorno-Karabakh War, Trauma, Tragedy and Devastation . 12 December 2020 . . nytimes.com . The graceful 19th-century central mosque is the only building left standing in Aghdam. Defiled by Armenian graffiti, it was used as a cowshed..
  8. Web site: . 28 November 2020 . Nagorno-Karabakh: Tough rebuilding ahead for devastated city of Aghdam . 12 December 2020 . france24.com . .
  9. Web site: Azerbaijani leader hails handover of region ceded by Armenia . 2022-05-23 . AP NEWS . en.
  10. Gamaghelyan . Philip . Rumyantsev . Sergey . 2021 . The road to the Second Karabakh War: the role of ethno-centric narratives in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict . Caucasus Survey . 9 . 3 . 329 . 10.1080/23761199.2021.1932068 .
  11. Web site: 17 November 2010. Works on preservation of Muslim cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh underway. live. news.am. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094035/http://news.am/eng/news/38354.html . 2015-04-02 .
  12. Web site: Armenian Karabakh Official Says Mosques Being Repaired. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
  13. Web site: No-Man's-Land: Inside Azerbaijan's Ghost City Of Aghdam Before Its Recapture . 2022-05-24 . RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty . en.
  14. Web site: Lori Khatchadourian. Ian Lindsay. Adam T. Smith. Husik Ghulyan. Aghdam Mosque. Between the Wars: A Satellite Investigation of the Treatment of Azerbaijani Cultural Heritage in the Unrecognized Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, 1994-2020. April 5, 2023. Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies: Cornell University. October 13, 2023.
  15. Web site: Armenia hands over Aghdam to Azerbaijan as part of Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire . France 24 . 24 April 2022 . 20 November 2020.
  16. Web site: President Aliyev presents Holy Quran he brought from Mecca to Aghdam mosque . Trend.Az . 24 April 2022 . 24 November 2020.
  17. Web site: Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan enters Aghdam district handed over by Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan enters Aghdam district handed over by Armenia.
  18. Web site: Mosque partially destroyed during Armenian occupation comes alive after 27 years. www.geo.tv.

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