Ordubad, Azerbaijan

Do you know the city with the most famous Azerbaijani apricots? It’s Ordubad! Don’t worry, eating tons of apricots, harvesting it, and admiring apricot gardens won’t be on your list of things to do in Ordubad. Although, the city is known for export of fruits and spices. This isn’t just another old city, it’s a historical preserve. There’re more than 100 archaeological and historical monuments in the city and its surroundings. Presumably, the city was founded in 14^th century; it has very interesting structure; relatively small city consists of 7 districts, each district has own square with a mosque without minaret, and an underground spring. Major sightseeing places of the city is Juma Mosque, zorxana, Azerbaijani houses, and Xarabagilan. 

Juma Mosque is the main mosque of the historical city that was built in 12^th-13^th century. This beautiful example of oriental architecture is slowly decaying; some parts are replaced with modern material; the buildings is starting to lose its ancient look. You’ll be surprised by rich decorations of the interior. Architectural style of the mosque was influenced by the Mongols, the Turks, the Nakhichevans, thus, it’s very diverse and interesting. The historic-cultural museum and traditional oriental madrassah are located on the territory of this Muslim relic. Zorxana is a historical monument that dates back 17^th century. It consists of one large dome and 8 smaller domes. Originially, it was a bazaar that was turned into sport arena. Sportsmen would show off their strength and turning it into performance.  Such performance lost popularity in 20^th century. Azerbaijani houses in this historical city are medieval architectural monuments. These clay buildings are very interesting; each courtyard has a basin and a well. The construction reminds a lot of caravanserai. Xarabagilan is an ancient settlement that occupies are of 100 hectares. It was founded in 5^th-4^th centuries BC.