16:56 - 14.07.2023

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July 14, Fineko/abc.az. Out of 452,359 foreign tourists who arrived in Azerbaijan in the first 5 months of this year, 802 people (0.18%) visited Azerbaijan for religious purposes.

More than half of those who arrived for religious pilgrimage, that is, 480 people were citizens of Russia.

But is it possible to further develop this area of tourism in Azerbaijan? With this question, we addressed to the State Tourism Agency.

Agency’s spokeswoman Gulnar Mustafayeva told ABC.AZ that at present the development of religious tourism is not defined as a priority direction. Nevertheless, there are certain tourist products in the reserves subordinated to the State Tourism Agency in this direction.

As an example, she cited a number of nature reserves, including the restoration of a number of monuments: "We can note that the Yanardag and Ateshgah nature reserves attract the attention of tourists from India, and such shrines as the tomb of Diri Baba, Beshbarmak or historical mosques are visited by tourists from Muslim countries.

The Tourism Agency carries out the protection and restoration of monuments of religious significance as part of the material and cultural heritage located in subordinate reserves.

Last year, the complex of the Sheki Khan Mosque, included in the list of monuments of national significance as an integral part of restoration and reconstruction works in the National Historical & Architectural Reserve "Yukhari Bash", was restored by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation on the basis of a project developed by the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering commissioned by the State Tourism Agency. In addition, as part of the construction and restoration work to be carried out on the territory of the “Basgal” State Historical & Architectural Reserve, design work is underway to restore the Haji Badal Mosque, one of the historical and architectural monuments. At the same time, reconstruction works related to the creation of tourist infrastructure in the Diri Baba mausoleum were carried out in Gobustan district.

By Elmir Murad