Sheikh Juneid Mausoleum near Quba

In Quba province close to the border of Azerbaijan and Dagestan there is Khazra (Sacred) village. It is famous for its mausoleum of the 16th century known as Sheikh Juneid Mausoleum - direct descendant of the founder of Iranian Sefevid dynasty - sheikh Safi-ad-din Jakub. Ardebil sheikh Juneid was killed in the battle with shirvanshah Khalillula I in 1456.

His brother-in-arms buried him nearby in the village of Kulkhan (now Khazra). A hundred years after the grandson of Juneid - shah Takhmasib I - built a magnificent tomb on his grave. Its wall stand one and a half meter tall and are reveted with glazed tiles of blue and black-violet colors in staggered order. The mausoleum has a square shape. The entrances are located in each of the four walls of the mausoleum. In the center of the tomb there is a 15 m-high dome. The interior of the mausoleum amazes with its quiet majesty.

There is some evidence of the fact that the remains of sheikh Juneid were moved to Ardebil in the 16th century. Nevertheless the people regard the mausoleum as a sacred place and hundreds of pilgrims from the entire Muslim world visit it every year.