Quba

Overview

With 22.000 inhabitants, Quba is a pleasant town located on the north-eastern slopes of the Shahdag range (part of the Greater Caucasus) at a height of 600m above sea level, on the right bank of the Kudyal river, in front of the jewish town of Krasnaya Sloboda . Quba is dominated by the 16th-century Tengialty fortress, but most people go to Quba to see the hundreds of apple orchards. In the spring, the area is fragrant with the scent of apple blossoms. The town has its own university and is also a centre of carpet making - tour a plant or do some shopping (Azeris will tell you that Quba's rugs are the best in the region).

Quba originated in the village of Kudyal, and only became important in the early 18th century as it succeeded Khudat as the capital of a small but ambitious Khanate. One of its rulers, Fatali Khan, tried to create a unified Azeri state in the 18th century by annexing the neighbouring Khanates. However the khanate was occupied by the Russian army in 1806 and formarly ceded to Russia by Persia in 1813. Russian influence meant the end of the Azeri state 'project'.

Quba is quite well preserved and still bears a lot of architectural marks left by the Russians. Besides numerous interesting façades, the town is famous for such architectural landmarks of the 19-th century, as the octogonal Juma-Mosque (Friday mosque), the Mosque of Sakine-Khanum, the Ardabil-Mosque (formerly a church!!), and the baths with their two...more

History