Official: Armenians tried to falsify Islamic, Christian monuments during occupation

During the occupation of Karabakh, all mosques, shrines, cemeteries, museums and Islamic monuments in Khankendi were destroyed, said Elchin Yusubov, the Azerbaijani President’s Special Representative for Khankendi, Aghdara and Khojaly districts.

He described the destruction as “an act of aggression not only against the Azerbaijani people but also against the cultural heritage of all humanity," Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

Yusubov made the remarks at an event dedicated to the Day of Spiritual Values held at Karabakh University. 

He said that during the occupation, Armenian forces had attempted to falsify not only Islamic heritage sites but also Christian monuments belonging to Caucasian Albania in order to claim them as their own.

“One such example is the Gandzasar Monastery in the village of Vangli in the Aghdara district,” he said.

“This 13th-century Albanian monastery functioned as a religious centre of Caucasian Albania until the 19th century. During the years of occupation, its architectural structure, interior, and inscriptions were altered — the Albanian inscriptions were erased. This was done to distort history.”

Yusubov added that mosques, cultural centres and churches are now being restored across the territories liberated from occupation.

By Aghakazim Guliyev