Palatial mosque in Baku

The Palatial mosque in Baku (Persian: مسجد قصر; Azerbaijani: Saray məscidi), also known as the Palace Mosque (Persian: مسجد کاخ; Azerbaijani: Şah Məscidi; Arabic: مسجد شاه (باكو)), and Shirvanshahs Palace Mosque, is a mosque, located inside the Palace of the Shirvanshahs complex, in the Old City of Baku, Azerbaijan. The mosque was built in 845 AH (1441/1442 CE) by the Iranian Shirvanshahs.

The Palatial mosque in Baku forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Palace of the Shirvanshahs.

Architecture

The plan of the mosque is rectangular. There is a small hall, a small prayer room for women, and serving rooms. The northern portal, turned towards a burial vault of Shirvanshahs, is more solemn than the eastern one. The latter, which came down to an underground exit, was intended for the inhabitants of the palace.

Interior

The two tier windowed prayer room is covered with a cupola with spherical sails. The mihrab is located in the southern end of the palace. Cupola area over one a tier women's prayer room, ceding to cupola of the hall with its dimensions and replacing its outlines. The aperture of the mosque's portal is clearly described on a severe background of prismatic volume, ended with two cupolas with slightly sharpening calottes.

Minaret

The trunk of the minaret is surrounded by an inscription, a ligature of which has a date of 845 AH (1441/1442 CE). Details of sherefe's stalactites are subtly modelled.