This is the Bibi-Heybat mosque in the outskirts of Baku. It is a reproduction of the ancient one that Alexandre Dumas father, he of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers fame, visited in the 1800s.

Why a reproduction? Because the Soviets under Stalin destroyed this beautiful mosque to smithereens. According to my Azeri guide, it was rebuilt in the 1990s by Iranians and Ukranians,.  The Ukranians provided construction material and labor.  ( I may have lost something in translation between Russian and hand gestures…). Fatima, a direct descendant of Mohammed is,presumably, buried here, behind the beautiful bars as seen in the photo. The history of this mosque is further complicated because of the Sunni-Shia narratives that sometimes diverge.  I am grateful I was able to visit this beautiful place.