The Heydar Mosque in Baku: the largest in the Caucasus, open to Sunnis and Shias

From the airport road you can see, in the north of Baku, four white minarets 95 metres tall around a grey dome. This is the Heydar Mosque, opened in December 2014 and dedicated to Heydar Aliyev, the president who governed Azerbaijan in the 1990s. It is the largest mosque in the Caucasus and one of the few in the world built, explicitly, so that Sunnis and Shias can pray together.

What it is like

It covers some 12,000 square metres, with a prayer hall of over 4,000 and room, between interior and courtyards, for tens of thousands of worshippers at the major festivals. The architecture follows the model of the mosques of Shirvan and Absheron, with pale limestone, pointed arches and stone reliefs, but on a huge scale: the central dome is 55 metres high. Inside, Koranic calligraphy, red carpets and chandeliers; it is new and it shows, but it is well made.

Sunnis and Shias

Azerbaijan is a Shia-majority country with a sizeable Sunni minority, and the two communities have lived side by side for centuries without much fuss. The mosque was designed for both: the inauguration was held jointly by leaders of the two traditions and Friday prayers are arranged so they can coincide. It is a political gesture as much as a religious one, and in the country it is presented as such.

The visit

You can go in outside prayer times. Shoulders and legs covered, shoes off, and women with their heads covered; scarves and gowns are lent at the entrance. There is no charge. It is in the Binagadi district, about 15 to 20 minutes by taxi from the centre; there is no metro nearby. If you want to see the other side of the coin, the Juma Mosque in the old city, small and centuries old, is the natural counterpoint.

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