Juma Mosque (Baku)

Juma Mosque (Azerbaijani: Cümə məscidi), or Friday Mosque, is a mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan.[1] The Cathedral Mosque was built in the 12th century on the site of a temple of Zoroastrians.

Friday Mosque of Baku
Cümə Məscidi
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Branch/tradition	Shia Islam
Location
Location	Baku, Azerbaijan
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic architecture
Funded by	Haji Sheikhali Agha Dadashov
Date established	1899

There is an inscription on the mosque emphasize that “Amir Sharaf al-Din Mahmud ordered to restore this mosque in the month of Rajab 709 A.H. (1309)”. On the northern wall of the mosque a minaret was erected which had been surrounded by stalactites in the year of 1437.

Located in the historic Icheri Sheher, the mosque has been rebuilt several times. The present Friday Mosque was built in 1899 under the financing of Baku philanthropist merchant Haji Shikhlali Dadashov. There are traces of a Zoroastrian temple at the site.

In the cultural life of the medieval Azerbaijan the cathedral mosque served as socio-cultural centers. [2][3][4]

History

Jame Mosque

Jame Mosque was built in the 12th century. A sophisticated design of the Mosque shows that it was built in several stages. Its main parts are a worship hall in the southern part and minarets in the north. There are small yards between the worship hall and the minarets. The most ancient part of the mosque is a square-shaped worship room. The room resembles kiosk mosques of the Seljuk period. Its cover was archaic. According to its exterior, this dome was constructed in style of the Maragha-Nakhchivan architectural school, which operated in the 12th century.

The ornamental motifs covering the upper part of the dome is found in Seljuk period architectural monuments such as minarets of Shamkir, Garabagh and Atabeklar complex, Maragha Red Gumbez (Dome) Tomb, etc.

Some scientists, in particular, Andrey Pavlinov, believed that the Juma Mosque was built on the remains of a temple of fire-worshipers.

Juma Mosque with kitabe on minaret

Minaret

In 1437, on the northern wall of the mosque, the stalactite-shaped minaret was built to call out the worshipers to namaz. On the inscription found in the archeological excavations of the minaret, the text of Mohammed Olcaytun's mourning, head of the Elkhanians, has been engraved.

Operating as a Madrasa

The rooms of the Jame Mosque were built in the 15th century for educational purposes in the yard of the Mosque. In the nineteenth century, the cells of the Mosque were destroyed due to expansion of A. Zeynalli Street and road construction and just one of them remained in order to be used as a mosque madrassa.

Construction of the Juma Mosque

Juma Mosque was constructed in the remains of the Jame Mosque by Baku millionaire and philanthropist Haji Sheikhali Agha Dadashov in 1899.

The mosque operated as a carpet museum in the Soviet period. The Juma Mosque, which restored its activities as a mosque in the 1990s, was fundamentally repaired at the expense of the state budget.

The square-shaped worship hall with 4 columns in the central part of the Mosque and small dome are the main components of the Mosque. Oriental and European classic motifs have been used in the building's architecture. The portal introduces the basic principles of Azerbaijani architecture: stone carvings, national patterns, artistic epigraphs, etc.

In 2008, by the construction specialists, architects and artists, the mosque was completely restored, heating and lighting systems were installed. On the walls of the mosque, hand-made ornaments, surah from Quran have been engraved and the names of the five members of the Ahl al-Bayt, who are sacred in Islam, were written.[5]

Photo gallery

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  File:Juma_Mosque,_Baku,_2010.jpg
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  File:Mezquita_del_Viernes,_Baku,_Azerbaiyán,_2016-09-26,_DD_33.jpg
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  File:Mezquita_del_Viernes,_Baku,_Azerbaiyán,_2016-09-26,_DD_34.jpg
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  File:Mezquita_del_Viernes,_Baku,_Azerbaiyán,_2016-09-26,_DD_35.jpg
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  File:Mezquita_del_Viernes,_Baku,_Azerbaiyán,_2016-09-28,_DD_36-38_HDR.jpg
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  File:Mezquita_del_Viernes,_Baku,_Azerbaiyán,_2016-09-28,_DD_39-41_HDR.jpg
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  File:Mezquita_del_Viernes,_Baku,_Azerbaiyán,_2016-09-28,_DD_42-44_HDR.jpg

Notes

1. Леонид Семенович Бретаницкий. (1966). Зодчество Азербайджана XII-XV вв. и его место в архитектуре Переднего Востока. Главная редакция восточной литературы. p. 400.
2. Джума мечеть (Ичери-Шехер, Баку)
3. Л. С. Бретаницкий Баку Архитектурно художественные памятники 1956 стр.15
4. Культовые сооружения Баку
5. "Juma Mosque, Baku - Mosque in the Icheri-sheher".