A city made of bricks – Ganja

History of Ganja city dates back to the 9th century. The city was built by an Arab governor. The name of the city means “treasure” from the word of “ganj” or “ganja” in Middle Persian language. It comes from an unearthed treasure that is found in the area of the current city.

Ganja is located in the western part of Azerbaijan, and it is the second largest city in the country. An interesting fact about the city is its buildings. So that, the buildings in the city were made of brick, which gives a beautiful red color to the city. All the buildings regardless of their purpose of use, such as universities, mosques and resident houses – all are made of red bricks.

Historical heritage of Ganja city starts from the entrance of the city with Ganja Gates, which is a mini version of ancient Ganja city gates. The original gates destroyed during an earthquake in 1139.

A famous poet Nizami Ganjavi was born here and there is a Nizami Mausoleum just outside the city. The grave of Nizami Ganjavi is located in this mausoleum. Besides that, it is possible to see different monuments from his five poems, which are called Khamsa.

Moreover, walking through the city it is possible to see red houses, historical buildings, mosques and few small and silent parks.

Through the history of 1200 years, the city was part of various empires such as Great Seljuk, Safavids and many others. Thus, the city owns different architectural monuments from different centuries. As the majority of the empires were Islamic empires, there are many mosques in the city. One of the famous mosques is Juma Mosque or Shah Abbas Mosque, which was built by Safavids. The mosque will take you to the medieval ages with its Medieval Islamic architecture.

One of the extraordinary places that you should see is a bottle house. It is a two-storey house, which is entirely built of bottles and colorful stones. Although owners of the house lives in this house, they allow tourists to visit the house.

The next direction of the red and beautiful buildings is Azerbaijan State Agricultural University with a marvelous architecture. The university was established in early 20th century after invasion of Red Army USSR. This building is new compared to the other architectural heritages; however, it became the part of this red city with its relevant color and architecture.

Nizami Ganjavi mausoleum

R51, Ganja, Azerbaïdjan

Bottle House of Ganja city

4, 4 Qəmbər Hüseynli, Gəncə, Azerbaijan

Shah Abbas Mosque, Ganja

Shah Abbas Mosque, Ganja, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan State Agricultural University

262, Gəncə, Azerbaijan