Cümə məscidi (Balaxanı)

Balakhani Friday Mosque — a 19th‑century historical‑architectural monument, a mosque. It is located in the settlement of Balakhani, Sabunchu district of Azerbaijan.

About

Although there is no precise information about the construction date of the Balakhani Friday Mosque, a stone plaque preserved inside the mosque states that it was built in the year 1290 of the Hijri calendar (1873 AD). The mosque was built thanks to charitable donations from the oil millionaires of that period and contributions from the settlement’s residents.

After the Soviet occupation they officially began the struggle against religion from 1928. In December of that year the Azerbaijan Communist Party Central Committee handed over many mosques, churches and synagogues to clubs for use in educational directions. If there were 3,000 mosques in Azerbaijan in 1917, this number was 1,700 in 1927 and 17 in 1933. The Balakhani Friday Mosque was also closed for worship during this period. From 1937 to 1989 a cultural house operated in the mosque building.

After the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence the mosque was handed over to believers in 1992. The mosque was renovated again with donations from the settlement’s residents. The mosque originally had no minaret. In 1995–1996 a minaret 27 metres high was built for the mosque. A wooden pulpit was made for the mosque, verses from the surahs “Al‑Fatiha” and “Al‑Baqarah” were engraved on the walls of the prayer hall, the mihrab was decorated with vegetal ornaments and eight‑pointed stars. The area of the main prayer hall of the mosque is 176 square metres, and the area of the women’s prayer section is 99 square metres.

After the repair and restoration work was completed, the mosque was handed over to believers on July 18, 1998.