Azerbaijan palaces - Palace of the Shirvanshahs

Oct 28, 2014 Home › Azerbaijan tourism › Azerbaijan palaces - Palace of the Shirvanshahs.

Palace of the Shirvanshahs is situated in the Inner Walled City of Baku, the Capital of Azerbaijan. Palace of the Shirvanshahs was build in the 15th century by the rulers of Shirvan.
The palace complex contains the two-story main building, the tomb, the Divanhane or Divan-Khane (State Council or pavilion), the mausoleum of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, the Murad's gate, the shah's mosque with a minaret, a reservoir and the bath-house (hammam).

The palace is built on the highest point of one of the hills within Icheri Sheher and is considered as one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture. It can be seen from the sea as well as high points in the city. Baku city and its tourist spots are attracting many holiday travelers.

The Shirvan capital, Shemakha, was ruined by a devastating earthquake in 15th century. Shirvan rulers, transferring the capital to Baku had built the palace complex. The complex suffered serious damages during 18th century bombardment by Russian Navy. Much of the upper parts were destroyed. The main entrance leads to an open courtyard at the upper level with access to residential area and Divankhane.

1.Azerbaijan tourism - view of the Palace of the Shirvanshahs

2.Azerbaijan tourism - view of the main building in Palace of the Shirvanshahs

The Divankhane, a small stone pavilion, is the place of state meetings and receptions. It is built on a square courtyard arcaded on three sides and the Divankhane structure occupying the center.

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It has a magnificent portal at the entrance and the structure is covered by a dome. The ruler might have sat on raised platform. There is a basement cell with grille in the floor for communication.

3.Mausoleum of Shirvanshahs in Baku

4.Azerbaijan tourism - Palace of the Shirvanshahs

The residential area of the palace has two stories. The entrance is through a high portal into an octagonal domed hall. The hall leads to a small octagonal vestibule connecting to other rooms of the residential area and two staircases. Captivating different views of the Caspian sea greet the holiday traveler from each of the rooms. The lower storey opens on a garden.

5.Azerbaijan tourism - Palace of the Shirvanshahs

6.Azerbaijan tours - Hajji Gayyib bathhouse

The garden contains the Mausoleum of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, who was a Helwati Sufi saint and a royal scholar in the court of Shirvan ruler. The tomb is a two-storeyed domed building. The lower floor housed the burial vault.

7.Hajji Gayyib bathhouse

8.Divankhane in the Palace of the Shirvanshahs

The Mausoleum of the Shirvanshahs is a rectangular structure covered with a hexagonal dome. 1945 excavations revealed seven burials.

9.Seyid Yahya Bakuvi's Mausoleum

10.Portal of Shirvanshahs palace

The palace mosque is situated in the lower court of the complex. It has a big prayer hall for men and a smaller prayer hall for women. There are two subsidiary rooms. The main entrance has a portal and in total there are three entrances to the mosque.

The Palace Bath house was discovered in 1939 excavations of a vineyard on the lowest terrace of the complex. The bath house ruins are two large rectangular structures divided into smaller ones. The bath house is semi-underground.

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1.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palace_of_Shirvanshahs_common.JPG
Author: Urek Meniashvili | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
2.Image source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunogirin/19890815/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Azerbaigian-baku3.jpg
3.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Azerbaigian-baku2.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunogirin/19890837/
4.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Azerbaigian-baku.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunogirin/19890909/
6.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hajji_Gayyib_bathhouse,_2005.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunogirin/19890396/
2,3,4 and 6 Images author: Bruno Girin | License: CC BY-SA 2.0
5.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shirvanshahs.jpg
Author: Abdulnr | license: CC BY-SA 3.0
7.Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hajji_Gayyib_bathhouse_2010.jpg
Author: Gulustan | license: CC BY-SA 3.0
8.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Divankhane.JPG
9.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bakuvitomb.jpg
10.Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portal-Shirvanshahs.JPG
8, 9 and 10 Image author: Grandmaster | license: CC BY-SA 3.0
Reference:
1.http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/958
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