The Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque (), also called the Great Juma Mosque of Govhar Agha (), is an Azerbaijani Shia Muslim mosque located in the city of Shusha, Azerbaijan. It was firstly built in 1768 under the orders Ibrahim Khalil Khan, on the site of an old reed mosque, but finished by Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi on the orders of Govhar Agha, the daughter of Ibrahim Khalil Khan, in 1885.
Former Artsakh authorities and media outlets have falsely claimed several times that the mosque is "Persian" or "Iranian heritage".
Yuxarñ GövhÃÂr AÃÂa MÃÂscidi means Upper Govhar Agha Mosque in Azerbaijani, referring to the location of the mosque in the upper section of Shusha town and to distinguish it from the Ashaghi Govhar Agha Mosque, the same-name mosque located in the lower section of the town. Both mosques are considered symbols of Shusha and masterpieces of Eastern architecture. It is named after the daughter of Ibrahim Khalil Khan, Govhar Agha, who ordered the construction of the mosque to be finished. The Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque is located on Shusha's main square, Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli street and makes up a big part of the architectural complex including madrasa, shops, and houses built by the same architect. According to historian and author of "Karabakh-name", Mirza Jamal Karabakhi, construction of the mosque was started with orders of Ibrahim Khalil Khan in , but was stopped for a long time. The construction was then restarted and completed in 1883âÂÂ1885 by architect Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi ordered by Govhar Agha.
The prayer hall of Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque is a three-nave in a square shape, , split by six stone columns. The three-beam veranda in the northern section of the mosque gives it a rectangular form, . The mosque has two minarets. The balconies used to host women's premises of the prayer hall. The interior of the prayer hall gets light from dual windows. The two minarets on the facade make up the veranda. The building of the mosque was constructed out of stone, while the two minarets are made of bricks. The minarets have cylindric forms with horizontal belts, with each section laid in distinguishing brick patterns. The same construction pattern can be viewed in most of the mosques throughout Karabakh built by Kerbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi. In Soviet times, the mosque was closed and used as a museum, but reopened as a functioning mosque in 1988.
After the capture of Shusha by ethnic Armenian forces during the First Nagorno Karabakh War, the mosque was largely abandoned and descecrated until some minor restoration work in 2008 to fix the roof. Official reports from 2003 said that the mosque was being used as a storehouse and depot and later satellite imagery showed that the mosque was among many other Azerbaijani mosques in Nagorno-Karabakh that were damaged. Afterwards, local Artsakh officials ordered a restoration project with Iranian help, however they were met with criticism by Azerbaijani officials, with fear of Armenia "falsifying its origins" and "covering up vandalism". The restoration eventually ended in 2019, with the mosque itself, the madrasa and the park nearby officially being opened for tourism, however not as a functioning mosque but a museum. It was also missing its old red roof It was finished with contributions from Russian-Armenian businessman Ruben Vardanyan and Kazakh businessman Kairat Boranbayev. Armenian officials however falsely claimed that it was an "Iranian mosque", turning it into an Armenian-Iranian Cultural Center and having no mention of the Azerbaijani heritage.
After Azerbaijan brought Shusha back under its control in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, it started a restoration of the mosque, funded with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which took place from 2021 to 2023. The mosque and nearby madrasa were completely renovated, adding back carpets, the red roof and making it a functioning mosque again. The first Friday prayer was held in the mosque, after 28 years, on 13 November 2020 by Azerbaijan soldiers.