Aghdam Mosque
Location: Aghdam city, Aghdam
Condition Assessment
Status: Minor damage
Aghdam Mosque (or Juma Mosque) is on the list of heritage sites of the Republic of Azerbaijan (inventory No. 202) with a construction date of 1868. 1
The mosque was conceived by Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi, the most prominent architect of Karabakh. The prayer hall has a traditional square-shape design surrounded by four columns (for the plan, see here ). Three rows of niches on the east and west sides of the prayer hall expand the area of the hall and give it a rectangular shape. In the middle of the southern wall of the prayer hall is a tall mihrab niche. The top of the side niches is in the form of a balcony facing the interior and is designed for women's prayer. Windows in the middle of the side porches and on the sides of the mihrab alcove light the hall. The mosque was renovated in 1913. 2,3
Comparison of KH-9 Hexagon imagery dated August 1977 4 with satellite imagery captured in May 2019 5 shows that the overall structure and shape of the mosque is unchanged. Only the modern roofing, which was installed in the Soviet period, has been removed. The traditional domed roof as well as the walls and minarets remain intact. Numerous images (see Supplementary Images) and videos pre- and post-dating the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War also confirm that the monument is well-preserved. But the mosque has sustained minor damage since 1992. A photograph of that date shows that the facing of the exterior walls, which is now damaged in places, was in good condition at that time.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the mosque in August 1977 4 ; drag left to see the mosque in May 2019. 5
Geolocation
The mosque is marked on a 1:50K scale topographic map of 1981. 6
The mosque on a 1:50K scale map of 1981. 6
Supplementary Images
References
2 Azərbaycan Respublikasının Mədəniyyət Nazirliyi, Ağdam cümə məscidi .
3 Qarabağlı Rizvan, Memar Kərbəlayi Səfixan Qarabaği, Bakı: Azərbaycan, 1995.
4 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1213-200317F012, August 22, 1977.
5 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, May 15, 2019.
6 1:50,000 scale topographic map of the General Staff of the Soviet Army (Sheet J-38-10-B, 1981).
