Haji Teymur Mosque

Haji Teymur Mosque or Pensar village Haji Teymur Friday Mosque — built in 1896 (in the Hijri‑lunar calendar in 1314) in the village of Pensar, Astara district. The mosque was built with red brick in the Southern architectural style using the endowment of the philanthropist Haji Teymur. The mosque is included in the list of monuments protected as historic monuments by the Ministry of Culture.

History

Haji Teymur Mosque is located in Pensar, the largest village of Astara district. The mosque was built in 1896 with the endowment of the local philanthropist Haji Teymur. In the courtyard of the mosque there are two graves. One of them is the grave of Haji Teymur’s son Haji Osman. Haji Teymur’s son Haji Osman received higher education in Turkey. He lived in Pensar village all his life, engaged in philanthropy and enlightenment. Approximately in 1912–1913 Haji Osman opened the first secondary school of Astara district in Pensar village. The famous Azerbaijani teacher, translator, writer, World War II participant Haji Osman’s son Shahub Murselov graduated from this school.

Architecture

The mosque’s capacity is 200 people. The religious building is made of red brick and has a rectangular shape. There are two entrance doors. The doors are decorated with carvings, and the windows are latticed. On the right side of the mihrab is the women’s section, which consists of two floors. Each floor has an individual area of 45 square meters. The building’s façade and minaret are decorated with ornamental brickwork.

Its length is 23 meters and its width is 10 meters. The façade has two doors and two large windows. On the left side of the façade, a small rectangular window is also placed at the top. Porticoes have been built in front of the doors. The columns of the porticoes are made of red brick. The right façade has two large windows. The left façade has four windows. These windows are arranged one above the other, two at the top and two at the bottom. The doors and the windows on the left façade are glazed, while the windows on the façade and the right façade are diamond-shaped.

The courtyard area is 600 square meters, the interior area is 23x8 meters. The ceiling rests on four large columns. The ceiling of the main prayer hall is wooden, and the floor is made of brick. The height from the floor to the ceiling is 4.5 meters. Near the mosque building, a minaret with a separate entrance has been built. The minaret is made of baked brick, it is single. The minaret’s height is 15 meters. The top of the minaret is covered with a metal sheet. The mosque’s pulpit is simple, its height is 2.5 meters.

Pensər village mosque is situated on a raised platform 1.20 meters high. On the wall at the entrance door side, a stone inscription is carved. This inscription shows its construction date.

The mosque was substantially renovated in 1901. During the Soviet period, like other mosques, Haji Teymur mosque was closed to believers; it previously served as a warehouse for the village’s farm, and from 1984 it functioned as a club. In 1994 it was again opened for use as a mosque. Currently it is protected as a historical monument by the Ministry of Culture. Accordingly, based on the decision No. 132 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated 2 August 2001, Haji Teymur mosque was recorded with inventory number 4123 as a locally significant architectural monument of the 19th century and placed under state protection.

Interesting facts

Two graves are located in the mosque courtyard. One of them is the grave of Haji Teymur’s son, Haji Osman. The second grave belongs to Yusif Jamal Pasha. He was one of the officers of Nuru Pasha, the commander of the Caucasian Islamic Army that came to aid Azerbaijan during the 1918 Armenian-Azerbaijani massacres. Yusif Jamal Pasha fought in the Lankaran region at that time.

In December 1920, Camal Pasha and his friend Haji Osman were caught in artillery fire by the Russian-Armenian army in the area of Kolatan village, located 2–3 kilometers from Pensar village. In his last will, Haji Osman said: "You will also bury us in the courtyard of the mosque that my father built in our village." During the Soviet period, very negative opinions were expressed about Haji Osman and Camal Pasha, which was the demand of the authorities at that time.