Experience Baku

One stop on our Baku pilgrim tour is next to the Bulbul music school. On this spot, the magnificent Alexander Nevsky Cathedral once stood. Among all the Churches and Mosques that were torn down in the heat of the Bolshevik anti-religious fever, this is the one I would have loved to see the most. It was called Qızıllı kilsə, the “golden Church”. Its domes and crosses were made of pure gold. The Russian imperial government had assigned a far too small amount of money to finish the Church, so it ended up being Baku’s local Muslim population that contributed to most of the cost. HZ. Tagiev alone gave 10 000 Roubles. The Church was 81 meters high and was used by seamen to navigate ships in the bay. It was the largest Orthodox Church in all Caucasus.