Getting There
Taza Pir Mosque is located near the Central Park, that’s why you can use one of the buses, that stop near the park. These are buses № 10, 65 and 96. It will take you 5 minutes to walk till the mosque.
What to Expect
The Taza Pir Mosque was the first religious building that white stone was used in its construction in Baku city at that time.
Architect Zivar bey Ahmedbayov designed the interior of the mosque in accordance with architectural examples of the Muslim East. The facade of the Taza Pir Mosque is composed of porticos and minarets that rise from the flanks. According to the project, a square-shaped worship hall is complemented by huge domes. In interior decorations, local architectural elements were used. There are examples of calligraphy from holy book Koran written inside and outside of the mosque, as well as on the minarets.
Between 2007 and 2009 the mosque underwent construction work. After restoration processes, the mosque provided with a ventilation system and its floor covered Namazgah carpet in which 720 people can worship at the same time. Interior of the mosque has an area of 1400 square meters and decorated with ornaments of painting schools of Azerbaijan plus with samples from eastern ornaments. On the dome there is a 6 times written “La ilaha ilallah” from Muslim proclamation of faith or Shahada. Dome is made from Qızılqaya (Gyzylgaya) stone. The mihrab and dome of the mosque made of marble, while decorative elements of the mosque, the tops of minarets and labels are made of gold.
History
Its construction began in 1905 and was finished by 1915. The idea for the mosque as well as its financing was provided by an Azeri female philanthropist, Nabat Khanum Ashurbeyova (Ashurbeyli).
The construction of the Taza Pir Mosque took more than nine years due to financial and political issues of that time. Nabat Khanum, who financed several charitable projects simultaneously in Baku, could not afford to complete the mosque. In addition, due to breakout of Balkan War in 1911, Tsarist Russia had strictly controlled the activities of banks in Baku, assuming that Muslim millionaires could help the Ottoman Empire so that the Baku millionaires had to get the approval of officials from the Tsarist Department for the amount to be spent on the construction of Taza Pir Mosque.
Azerbaijani national industrial magnate and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev also actively attended in the construction process of the mosque. Only 2 years after opening the mosque was closed in connection with the October Revolution in 1917. Over the years the mosque functioned as a cinema and a barn, and since 1943 to present day – as a mosque.
Facilities Available
- Central Park
- Café
- Public Toilet
- Free Wi-Fi zone
