Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Alban temple in the Kish village of Shaki District

President Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyeva, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan have visited the Alban temple in the Kish village of Shaki District.

It was noted that the temple was built in the 1st century AD on the foundation of the moon temple, which was widespread in the Caucasian Albania. The temple, belonging to the early Middle Ages, was built of limestone. It is a hall-type temple with two domes. In 2001, the restoration of the monument on the “Kish” project began and the opening of the temple was held in September 2003. The project was supported by famous Norwegian scientist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

It was indicated that the temple is located in the Maflar quarter in the village of Kish. Some ruins of the surrounding walls have survived to our time. The ruins indicate that the temple covered an area almost equal in size to the Maflar quarter. In the courtyard of the temple there is a flat stone slab about 2 meters long and 1 meter wide. The tower of this historical monument and the adjacent walls are plastered with local materials – striped stone and gypsum.

It was noted that the archaeological excavations carried out by the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan in 1981 confirmed that the foundation of the temple is cupped. It is on such foundation that the Egyptian pyramids were built.

It was mentioned that the Kish temple is a famous historical monument symbolizing the spread of Christianity some 2,000 years ago not only in the Caucasian Albania, but also in the Caucasus as a whole. Currently, the temple is protected by the state as a historical landmark.

President Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyev, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan visited the vaults of the temple relating to the early Middle Ages.

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On the way back from Kish, President Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyeva, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan visited the homes of local villagers Ismayil Ilyasov, Ilyas Suleymanov and Anvar Suleymanov, had a warm discussions with their families and were photographed with them.