pr. Agasieva, 22, Derbent, Republic of Dagestan, Russia, 368608
Kilisa Mosque is one of the neighborhood mosques located near the ancient trading center of the city. It got its name (kilisa means church) because for some time (in the 19th century) it was used as a garrison church. In 1806, after Russian troops entered the city, there was a need to perform Christian rites, but due to the absence of a church, the neighborhood mosque building was converted into a church. A cross was installed above the dome. The building was used as a garrison church for almost thirty years. After the construction of the cathedral church on what is now the main city square, the military garrison was relocated to the lower part of the city, and the need for the small temple disappeared. However, for more than ten years, the townspeople petitioned the authorities to return the mosque building to the Muslim community, and only in 1866 was an order issued to return the building to the Muslims. For 15 years, the mosque building was unattended, which caused it to fall into disrepair. All expenses related to restoring the exterior and interior condition of the mosque were imposed by the authorities on the Muslim community of Derbent, which, due to insufficient funds for these purposes, simplified the architecture of the building. In particular, the originally planned dome of the mosque was not constructed. The mosque was active until 1936, when it was closed by government decree. Over several decades, the unattended building almost collapsed, and only in the mid-1970s was it restored and equipped as a museum of copper-chased utensils. Since 1994, the building has been returned to use as a mosque and serves its original purpose. It is a rectangular structure in plan, with a single interior space (12.10 x 5.35 meters) covered by four gentle stone vaults resting on pointed arches spanning between the longitudinal walls. An arched portal is arranged in the eastern end wall of the mosque, similar in form and details to the portal of the Kyrkhlyar Mosque. The portal and some other details of the mosque are characteristic of Derbent architecture of the 17th to early 19th centuries. At the same time, the semicircular windows (with quarter circles) indicate that the mosque underwent major reconstruction in the 19th century. This is also confirmed by one of Gagarin’s drawings (first half of the 19th century), which depicts the mosque with a domed roof. On the southern side of the mosque, a later annex was built, which significantly distorted its exterior appearance and covered the main facade with a gallery.
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