President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva participated in the opening ceremony of the Mamayi Mosque in Shusha following its restoration.

The head of state and the First Lady were briefed on the completed restoration work. The restoration of the Mamayi Mosque, supported by PASHA Holding and undertaken by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, began in 2023. Originally constructed in the late 19th century in the Mamayi quarter at the city center, the mosque has been restored to its original splendor.

The two-story mosque, built on a rectangular plan, features a columned interior. Like other neighborhood mosques, the Mamayi Mosque has a wooden minaret built on its roof for the call to prayer. During the Soviet period, it also functioned as a house of poetry. As in other neighborhoods of the city, the mosque was accompanied by a spring, a small square, and a bathhouse.

It has been reported that during the occupation period, both the mosque and the adjacent spring were rendered unusable. Armenian occupiers attempted to Armenianize the Mamayi spring, as they did with many other monuments in the area. The inscriptions on the spring were erased and replaced with a carved cross symbol. Additionally, vandals engraved a plaque in Armenian and Russian on the stones of the spring.

Historically, the mihrab of the Mamayi Mosque was crafted from solid hardwood. The restoration was conducted with careful attention to the mosque’s historical appearance. The windows were restored according to their original design, and the floor on the opposite side, which had become unusable, was reconstructed.

It was also noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation restored several other mosques in Shusha, including the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque, the Saatli Mosque, and the mosque within the Mehmandarov Mansion Complex, all of which were reopened in May 2023.