373G+WC Derbent, Republic of Dagestan, Russia
Currently, in Derbent, only one mosque with a minaret has been preserved, which is called exactly that – the "Mosque with a Minaret" (Minarya-mesdjidi) or the "Minaret Mosque." It is located in the upper (western) part of the city near the Djarchi-Kapa gate and is the oldest mosque in the city. A stone-paved alley leads to it, ending at the fortress wall. The upper part of the mosque's minaret is destroyed. The minaret is made of well-cut stone. Arabic inscriptions (verses from the Quran) are carved on the stones of the upper masonry row. There is no date on the minaret. However, experts date its construction to the 13th-14th centuries. Inside the minaret, there is a spiral staircase illuminated by small windows.
The truly ancient part is the minaret itself, while the mosque was thoroughly rebuilt in the 19th century. It is possible that earlier this mosque had a domed top, as suggested by a drawing of the upper part of the city made in the century before last, where a dome is clearly visible.
The mosque's walls are laid with hewn stone, and the ceiling is made of red bricks. Above the entrance, two stones with carved Arabic inscriptions—quotes from the Quran—are embedded. The northern and eastern facades are crowned with a cornice. The walls of the southern and western facades are solid, made of unprocessed shell limestone stones. Above the cornices, water spouts are arranged all around the perimeter.
The mosque's interior is an almost square-shaped small three-nave room covered with semi-cylindrical vaults. The walls and columns are plastered. The floor is paved with shell limestone slabs and fully covered with carpets. The ceiling height is 5.6 meters. The room has four windows.
In the center of the room along the front wall stands a wooden carved minbar, from which the imam delivers khutbas (sermons).
The mosque's minaret is preserved up to the cornice, rising 11.5 meters above the ground. Inside the minaret is a stone spiral staircase. An Arabic inscription remains on the minaret's cornice. Its lower square part (2.8 x 2.8 meters) is 1.6 meters high. The main cylindrical part of the minaret, 9.9 meters tall, ends with a cornice shaped like a semi-oval with a shelf, covered with carved ornamentation. A spiral stone staircase, illuminated by small windows, leads to the upper part. On the northern side of the minaret masonry, there is a stone with ornamental carving.
The minaret is built of well-processed stone, with stones bearing Arabic inscriptions in the upper masonry row. The masonry style and proportions of the Derbent minaret are close to the Shirvan minarets of the 12th-15th centuries, especially to the minarets of the mosque in Khanlar from 1265 and the Shirvanshahs' palace mosque in Baku from 1441. This allows dating the Derbent minaret to the 13th-14th centuries. Some researchers associate the mosque's construction with the name of Shirvanshah Farrukh-Yasar (1462-1500), builder of the madrasa in the Juma Mosque. On the heavily damaged inscription on the minaret, the name of the architect "Said ibn Khudayshar al-Banna (Arabic builder)" can be read.
Despite its age, the mosque is still functioning today. Its total area is about 100 square meters. Almost 100 people can pray in the mosque simultaneously. The current imam of the mosque is Hadji Salik.
By the decision of the World Heritage Committee under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), since 2003, the monument has been included in the World Heritage List.
Sources:
https://welcomedagestan.ru/placepost/minaret-mechet/
https://pro-derbent.ru/minaret-mechet
