Gence, Câmi-i Kebîr (Şah Abbas Câmii)

Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, was one of the semi-detached khanates in the middle of the 18th century after Ottoman rule. On November 20, 1803, Russian General Sisianov came from Tbilisi to Ganja and besieged the city. Ganja’s Khan, Cevad Khan, resisted for a long time rejecting the offers of the Russians to surrender. Ganja, which was captured by the Russians on January 3, 1804, was subjected to a great massacre. More than 7000 people were killed, and women and children who took refuge in the mosque were all massacred on Sisianov's orders. The city experienced the darkest days in its history. During the Russian occupation, Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in Ganja, was converted into a church. In 1606, The mosque, built by Shah Abbas I, is located to the east of the inner castle. A madrasa and a hammam had been built next to the mosque. Shah Abbas established a foundation in 1612 to cover the expenses of the mosque and madrasah; 15 shops, 3 caravanserais, Derebeglü and Dinaraş farms’ incomes were donated here.