The Juma Mosque in the center of the old city of Derbent is the oldest mosque in Russia. It was built by the Arabs in 733. Islam as a religion was adopted in 610, and a century later Arab conquerors built a Juma mosque in Derbent. Thus, it is also one of the oldest mosques in the world.
The Juma Mosque is located in the older building dating back to the Persian or Byzantine era. This explains the fact that the entrance to the Juma Mosque is from the south, although all canonical mosques have it from the north.
Plane trees grow in front of the entrance to the Juma Mosque. According to legend, they were planted in the 9th century by the imam of Derbent, Abul-Qasim al-Junaid al-Baghdadi. Now they are more than 1000 years old. At the same time, Moscow was just founded in the European part of Russia.
In the 15th century, a Madrasah building was built next to the Juma Mosque. A square enclosed courtyard was formed between these two buildings. The crowns of plane trees spread their branches over the courtyard of the mosque and madrasah, creating a very comfortable atmosphere for students. The powerful root system of plane trees protects the mosque from earthquakes. One of the devastating earthquakes occurred in 1368. The mosque was damaged, but was not completely destroyed, like many houses in Derbent.
In 1930, the Juma Mosque was closed, and in 1938 a prison was organized here. In 1943, the mosque was returned to the clergy again. Both Shiite and Sunni Muslims can pray in the Juma Mosque of Derbent. Above the dome there is not a crescent moon, as on Sunni mosques, but a hand. It is a symbol of the severed hand of the righteous Caliph Ali, revered by Shiites. The floor of the mosque is covered with Persian carpets.
The height of the dome of the Juma Mosque reaches 17 meters, but inside the building looks very ascetic and squat because of the massive columns and pointed arches. Inside the mosque, the ancient masonry of the building that existed in the Persian era before the mosque was created here has been preserved.
