There existed numerous historical and architectural monuments, caravanserais, mansions, mosques, mausoleums, cemeteries, sepulchres, tombstones etc. in the territory of the present Armenia which is the historically Azerbaijani land. The works of the travellers, art critics, archaeologists, artists convey information about the Khan Palace, mosques and caravanserais in the city of Irevan. According to official information, in the early 20th century there were 310 mosques each one of which was a remarkable piece of architecture in the territory of the Irevan province. After the establishment of the first Armenian state – the Republic of Armenia in the native Azerbaijani lands in 1918, the Armenians displayed belligerent attitude towards the cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis, and wiped them out. All the historical monuments of the Irevan fortress, as well as, Khan Palace and grandiose Sardar (Abbas Mirza) mosque were razed to the ground. Today only two historical and architectural monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis – the Blue Mosque in Irevan city which is presented by Armenians as "Persian mosque" and Amir Saad tomb presented as "Turkmen monument" remained safe. By the resolution of the Armenian government it was decided not to protect the Azerbaijanis’ cemeteries because "of no importance" of them. Armenian vandals destroy all the Azerbaijani cemeteries indiscriminately.
Armenian vandals removed the traces of the Azerbaijanis in their historical native lands, besides they committed genocide against the toponyms specific to Azerbaijanis. The names of the 703 residential settlements formerly populated by Azerbaijanis were renamed Armenian names in monoethnic Armenian state.
Armenians introduce themselves to the world as “an ancient nation”, “civilized nation”, but in point of fact they demonstrate barbarism and vandalism against the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijanis.
Aghadede cemetery
Being the most esteemed pilgrimage in Zangazur area in 1950-1980, this sacred place was situated in the surrounding of Ulukhanli, Habilkand, Seyidkand and Sarvanlar villages, near Gulujan village, on the bank of the Garasu River.
Together with Muslims, Christians also took refuge in this sacred place. There had been only one grave there until 1950 and the people went to pilgrimage to that grave. They say that there was a light in that place and when one approached, the light disappeared. They built a building there in 1950s. There were burnt trees around the house. People took charcoals of those trees, used them and made remarkable recovery. Rich people from surrounding villages and even from Irevan brought their deceaseds and buried in the vicinity of that sacred place. Unfortunately, after the massacre of the West Azerbaijani Turks in 1988, Armenians destroyed that holy place as well.
Aghudi Monument
Aghudi Monument is situated in Aghudi village of Sisyan district (Garakilsa area of the former Zangezur province), 5 km far from Sisyan city, at the side of the Aghudi -Sisyan highway. Aghudi tombstone monument was erected in the 7th century. About 1400 years old giant monument survived to this day. Aghudi Monument has a three-tier, rather three-storeyed structure. The first floor resembles a large square. There is a little vaulted cave with two doors under the square. The signs of the destroyed graves around the square were preserved until recent times. The second floor is consisted of the two columns on sides and octagonal column in the middle. Both columns are linked to the middle one with a vaulted masonry. The third floor of the monument has three columns of remarkable architectural structure.
Aghudi village was one of the most ancient Azerbaijani villages of Sisyan region. By the resolution of the Armenian parliament the Aghudi village was renamed “Agitu”. Currently, the Armenians try to represent this memorial as an ancient Armenian monument.
Amir Saad tomb. City of Irevan
Amir Saad tomb in Jafarabad village situated on the Irevan-Echmiadzin road, is the only monument remained intact among Azerbaijani historical monuments existed in and around Irevan city. Amir Saad tomb was erected in 1413 by Amir Saad’s son Pir Hussain, one of the Garagoyunlu amirs. The main distinctive feature of that tomb is that unlike the other medieval monuments Amir Saad tomb was built of local red tuff stone not brick.
As the official circles of Irevan renamed the Blue mosque “Iranian mosque” or “Persian mosque” after the major repairs, in the same way they renamed the medieval tomb in Jafarabad village “Turkmen tomb”.
At present Amir Saad tomb has been included in the list of the protected monuments in Armenia as “A mausoleum of the Turkmen Amirs’ family”.
In 1946, the Armenians renamed the Jafarabad village Argavand.
Ashaghi Shorja cemetery
Ashaghi Shorja was a village populated only with Azerbaijanis in Novo Bayazid, later Basarkecher (Vardenis) region of Irevan province. In 1918, the Armenians perpetrated massacres in Ashaghi Shorja village. In November-December, 1988, all the Azerbaijani villages of Armenia were deported en masse from their historical lands.
At the present time, as all the other Azerbaijani villages, the cemetery of Ashaghi Shorja was demolished and the village was razed to the ground.
Ashiq Alasgar’s tombstone. Basarkecher Region
Ashig Alasgar, the coryphaeus of the art of Azerbaijani Ashigs was born in 1821, in Aghkilse village of Basarkecher area (from 1969, Vardenis region) of Goycha district, of the Irevan khanate. Having of considerable talent for poetry Ashig Alasgar was a learner of the great master Ashig Ali, and acquired knowledge of the art of Ashigs.
Ashig Alasgar was a man of great intelligence, deep knowledge and a broad world outlook.
Famous Russian poet Yakov Polonski met with Ashig Alasgar in the forties of the 19th century and published a special article about him on the newspaper “Zakavkazskiy Vestnik” (Transcaucasia Bulletin).
Armenian armed troops occupied Goycha district in 1918 and until the Soviet Power was established in Armenia, Ashig Alasgar lived a life of refugee in Kalbajar region.
Ashig Alasgar died in his native village in 1926.
In 1972, the 150th anniversary of Ashig Alasgar’s birth was marked at government level and a tombstone was erected over his grave.
In 1935, the Armenians renamed the Aghkilse village "Azat".
After the deportation of Aghkilse village inhabitants from Armenia in the years 1988-1989, the Armenian vandals demolished Ashig Alasgar’s tombstone.
Blue Mosque. City of Irevan
The works of all travellers and researchers describing Irevan city, first of all mentioned Blue mosque as the most grandiose architectural monument due to its scale and magnificence. Construction of Blue mosque which is considered one of the unique models of oriental architecture started in 1760 and completed in Huseynali khan’s reign in 1765. According to its architectural style and build of the main prayer hall Blue Mosque situated on the opposite side of the central bazaar in Irevan, resembled the Juma Mosque built in 1616, in Ganja by Shah Abbas. Its dimensions were 97.2 x 66 meters. A part of the minaret and dome of the mosque was coated with blue faience. A small pool was built in the courtyard of the mosque paved with raft stones and planted trees around. Not only in Blue Mosque, but also in all the mosques of Irevan there were detached prayer halls for men and women separated by the corridor or curtain. The ceiling and walls of the prayer halls were usually decorated with flower images. The flowers made of cashmere fabric were hung on the walls and columns of the mosque.
Irevan city history museum was placed in Blue Mosque from 1936. After beginning of the World War II Blue mosque was concurrently used as an arsenal for a while. It was used as the Nature museum after the war and planetarium from 1952 in its small prayer room for astronomy fans. After Armenia gained independence in 1991 and established diplomatic relations with Muslim countries, necessity arose for functioning of Blue mosque as a shrine again. First, Nature museum in 1991 and then History museum in 1994 were moved out of the mosque-complex. According to the agreement signed between Iran and Armenia in 1995, Iranian government undertook financing reconstruction expenses of Blue mosque. Reconstruction of the mosque was carried out only in the south-west and north of the mosque complex and was brought to completion in 2006. 24 meters high minaret, 28 cells, library, a big hall, dome and courtyard of the mosque were reconstructed. Nowadays the Armenian officials present Blue mosque to foreign guests as “Persian mosque”.
Demirbulag Mosque. City of Irevan
In the early 20th century three mosques were recorded in Demirbulag area, which was formerly populated only by Azerbaijanis. The mosques were: Haji Novruzali bey, Haji Jafar bey and Demirbulag. As Demirbulag Mosque was situated near the bridge over the river Ghedar, it was also called Korpugulag (near bridge) Mosque. The two of them – Haji Novruzali bey and Haji Jafar Bey mosques fell victims to the general plan of Irevan city in the 1930s. The only mosque that functioned till 1988 was Chatirli mosque or Damirbulag mosque, the same name of the area it was located in. According to the inscription on the mosque, it was built in Hijri 1327 - 1909 AD. The mosque didn’t have a minaret. Instead, a small square of 1.5-2 meters high was built on the roof of the mosque in the open air and iron railings were installed on it. With respect to architecture, such mosques are usually referred to “Guldeste” (bouquet) type of mosques.
After emergence of Armenian separatism in Nagorny Karabakh in February 1988, continuous meetings were being held in Irevan. On February 23, 1988, Armenian vandals burnt the Demirbulag mosque and the building of Azerbaijani secondary school No. 9 named after M.F.Akhundov in Irevan city. But later, in order to demonstrate to the foreign journalists their goodwill towards Azerbaijanis, they painted the burnt walls of Damirbulag mosque to cover up the traces of the fire.
In 1990, Damirbulag mosque was razed to the ground, and a high-rise apartment building was constructed at the place of the mosque.
Gullubulag cemetery
Gullubulag village was the biggest village of Amasiya (Aghbaba) region of the West Azerbaijan. Until 1988, Azerbaijanis lived in that village. After the deportation of Azerbaijanis in 1988, Gullubulag village was settled by the Armenians coming from Bogdanovka region of Georgia.
The village is located on the border of Gizildash (present Suguderesi) village of Turkey. Gullubulag had toponyms like Koroghlu’s cave, Nigar’s valley, Nabi’s weed and other ones derived from people's heroes’ names.
There were a mosque, shrines and sanctuaries in the village. The people had a unique folklore and traditions.
In 2007, the village’s name was changed to Burakn.
Haji Novruzali bey Mosque. City of Irevan
Haji Novruzali bey Mosque in Irevan was built by the person named Gara Seyid in the 2nd half of the 18th century. As the mosque was located in Haji Novruzali district (the present train station area) of Demirbulag area, the mosque was named Haji Novruzali bey Mosque. None of the Armenians lived in that district until the early 20th century. Haji Novruzali bey Mosque which had one minaret, was razed to the ground by Armenian vandals in the thirties of the 20th century.
Rajab Pasha Mosque. City of Irevan
After the Ottoman troops conquered Irevan in 1724, Turkish commander - Rajab Pasha took a number of actions for the development of the city. A new mosque was built in the fortress by his order in 1725 and was named Rajab Pasha in his honour. The mosque was a regular parallelepiped shape and had spheric dome, adorned with Oriental style geometric ornaments. A day after the invasion of Irevan fortress by Russian troops on October 1, 1827, the crescent in the dome of the mosque was taken away and replaced with cross and church bell and converted into Russian Orthodox Church. Subsequently, changes were made in the external view, cylinder pillars were added to its facade, and its roof was covered and changed into Christian shrine.
In 1930s, Rajab Pasha Mosque fell victim to the general plan of the Irevan city.
Saral cemetery
Saral village was one of the biggest villages in Boyuk Garakilse area of Aleksandropol region of Irevan province. Later it was part of Hamamli (Spitak) district. The village is situated 7 km to the east of the city center, right bank of Pambak river. The first name of the village was Saralli.
In November-December, 1988, the residents of the village – Azerbaijanis were forcibly deported from Armenia. After that, the cemetery of the village was destroyed by Armenian vandals. In 1991, they named the village Nor Khachakar.
Salim (Shah Abbas) Caravanserai
Salim caravanserai is located in Keshishkend (since 06.12.1957-Yeghegnadzor) village of Daralayaz area. “Salim caravanserai” was named after Salim pass but the people called it “Shah Abbas caravanserai”.
The caravanserai built of the plate basalt stones consisted of two buildings. The main building of 35.5 meters long and 5 meters wide extended from north to east. The second building of 31.5 meters long and 14.7 meters wide was erected perpendicular to the first one.
The entrance door of the caravanserai bears an inscription written in Arabic alphabet of 2 meters wide and 1 meter high in the form of half-circle. The inscription reads that the caravanserai was built in the years 1328-1329 by Abu Said Khan Bahadur (one of the heirs of Chingiz Khan- Abu Said Khan Bahadur sat on the throne of Elkhanids state in the years 1316-1335).
Until 1918, Aghkend village located in the vicinity of caravanserai was populated only by Azerbaijanis. The first Armenians were settled in the village in the years 1923-1925.
The Armenians represent falsely the caravanserai as an Armenian monument claiming that it was built in the reign of the “Armenian king” Chesare Orbelyan.
Sardar Mosque. City of Irevan
The names of “Sardar Mosque” or “Abbas Mirza Mosque”, in the vicinity of Sardar palace within Irevan fortress were mentioned in the works of travelers and researchers at different times. Analyses show that though presented under different names, in fact, the talk is about one and the same mosque which mentioned in recent researches and official documents as Sardar mosque – a unique architectural monument of that time. It means the mosque was given different names at different times.
Some documents related to the period of occupation of the Irevan fortress by the Tsarist Russia make mention of the mosque as Abbas Mirza mosque; apparently because the mosque was rebuilt in honour of Abbas Mirza, the successor to the throne in the early 19th century. However, like the other cultural monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis in Irevan, Abbas Mirza Mosque was also gradually destroyed by Armenian vandals.
After putting an end to the use of Irevan fortress as a military fortification by the Russian troops in 1864, the historical and architectural monuments inside it, including Sardar or Abbas Mirza mosque were subjected to serious destructions. In the early 20th century the Armenian refugees from Turkey were settled in Sardar mosque. In the period of Soviet Armenia Sardar mosque was gradually demolished. Until recently, one wall 2-3 meters high of Sardar mosque remained standing. In 2007, the Armenian government presented the visible part of the mosque ruins in photo to the Council of Europe on the list of “protected historical monuments”. Nevertheless, the Armenian vandals razed to the ground even the “protected” remainder of wall of Sardar mosque in mid-November, 2014.
Tepebashi Mosque. City of Irevan
According to some sources, Tepebashi mosque was built by Abbasgulu khan Irevansky, a member of Irevan city council, who was of khan’s descent. Abbasgulu khan’s house was also located in that area. Armenians still call Abbasgulu khan’s house as Khan’s house which is in dilapidated state at present.
The minaret of the mosque located in Tepebashi residential area was pulled down in 1960s. At present, an Armenian family lives in imam’s room inside the mosque which has walls 1.5 meters wide. There was a teahouse around the mosque where Muslims used to gather for drinking tea. Now that teahouse doesn’t exist either. Armenians built shantytowns in the courtyard and around the mosque.
Zal khan Mosque. City of Irevan
One of the mosques in the Old City area situated between Irevan fortress and Tepebashi was called Sheher (city) or Zal khan mosque. There was an inscription in the Arabic alphabet in Azerbaijani language bearing the date of construction of the mosque in Hegira 1098, that is 1687 AD. That mosque was built after the earthquake in 1679. Zal khan, the ruler of the Irevan province at that time made great efforts for restoration of the city buildings. One of the mosques constructed in his reign was named Zal khan or Sheher mosque. Zal khan mosque which resembled Blue mosque in appearance had also a courtyard and a cool garden to relax in. According to the researches, Zal khan or Sheher mosque was situated in Irevan city center, in present-day Republic Square. The big hall of Sheher mosque was demolished in 1928 and hotel “Yerevan” was built instead. After reconstruction in 1999 that hotel was renamed “Golden Tulip Hotel Yerevan”. The purpose of madrasa of the two-storeyed Zal khan mosque with a number of cells was changed after the World War II. At the present time the exhibition hall of the Artists’ House is located there.