The city of Ganja is located at the foot of the Lesser Caucasus Range, on the Ganjachay River. It was founded approximately in the 6th century AD. In the first half of the 7th century, Ganja was destroyed by the Persians, and in the second half by the Arabs. In the middle of the 10th century, Ganja became the capital of the Shadadids, one of the small khanates in the territory of Azerbaijan.
In the middle of the 11th century, Ganja was captured by the Seljuks. In 1139, a major earthquake occurred, which destroyed the city, and as a result, it was moved to another place. As a result of the earthquake, a number of picturesque lakes were formed - Gok-gol, Maral-gol, Jeyran-gol, Ordek-gol, Zaligelyu, Aggel, Garagol and Shamlygol.
After the collapse of the Seljuk state, Ganja became the second capital of the Atabek state (12th-13th centuries). In the 18th century, Ganja was the center of the Ganja Khanate.
In 1804, the Ganja Khanate was occupied by Russian troops, and Ganja itself was renamed Yelizavetpol. During the Soviet era, Ganja was renamed Kirovabad and was the second industrial and cultural center of Azerbaijan after Baku. The historical name was returned to the city after gaining independence in 1991. Over its centuries-long history, the city has become the owner of numerous historical and architectural monuments with a distinct Azerbaijani national flavor. The cult complex of Gey-Imam (14th-17th centuries), the Juma Mosque (17th century) and many colorful old houses, the famous stone sculptures of horses and other domestic animals, which are found in abundance in the surrounding mountains, have been preserved here.
The city is also famous for being the birthplace of the greatest Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi. His mausoleum is a place especially visited by tourists.
In the historical part of the city, “old Ganja”, there are remains of fortress walls, towers, bridges (12th - early 13th centuries), a caravanserai (17th century) - a place for parking and resting of trade caravans, the building of the former khan's chancery (17th century), mausoleums (14th - 17th centuries), mosques (17th century).

   Old Fortress. The ruins of the once majestic fortress can be seen on the approaches to the city. Now, only shapeless stone blocks remain from its former grandeur. The fortress wall stretched along the entire bank of the Ganjachay River. But over time, the water, which served as a faithful guardian of the fortress, got closer and undermined its already dilapidated walls.
Once upon a time there were two powerful towers located here, about 600 meters apart. The famous gates of ancient Ganja served as the gates of the fortress.
  Gates of ancient Ganja. The famous gates of Ganja were created thanks to the efforts of the blacksmith Ibrahim ibn Osman in 1063. He made them by order of the ruler of the Shaddadid dynasty. The gates are a masterpiece of the craftsmanship of that time, they were made of cast iron and decorated with ornaments and patterns on the outside using the chasing method. Among the ornaments on the "kufi" were the name of the master and the date of manufacture of the gates. In 1139, an interesting event happened to the gates. Taking advantage of the recent earthquake, which practically destroyed the city and killed its inhabitants, the Georgian king Demeter I attacked Ganja and captured the city gates as a trophy. And the few Ganja residents who survived the catastrophe then carried the gates weighing several tons on their backs. Only one leaf of the gate has survived to this day. It is built into the wall of the Kelatin Monastery, located opposite the tomb of the Georgian king David IV.
 Ancient settlement of Ganja. The settlement is located 7-10 kilometers northeast of modern Ganja. In total, taking into account all the suburbs, the territory of the settlement is 810 hectares, and within the fortress walls - about 250 hectares.
In the inner part of the fortress, the buildings were very closely built to each other and separated by narrow, winding streets. Since the 1930s, excavations have been carried out on the territory of the settlement, thanks to which several cultural layers were discovered at once and such sensational finds were revealed to the world, reflecting the everyday life and economic life of the city, as ceramic water pipes, coins from the 10th - 11th centuries, glassware, faience, ceramics, copper and iron.
The results of the excavations even allowed to suggest that the city was founded not in the 9th century, but much earlier. The remains of entire residential areas with ruins of brick houses, adobe fireplaces, tandoors, ancient lamps similar to kerosene lamps, ceramic products with images of animals and ornaments of Arabic inscriptions were found in the settlement. In addition, clay statues of animals were found, which is very rare in the culture of Muslim countries.
Currently, many of these finds are kept in museums in Azerbaijan.
 Mausoleum of Imam-zade. The Mausoleum of Sheikh Ibrahim, built on the burial site of Imam Muhammad's son Baghir, who died in the 6th century, is one of the city's main attractions. The mausoleum is also known as "Gay-Imam", which comes from the blue color of its dome, and "Imam-zade", which is the traditional name for mausoleums where the descendants of the Prophet Ali are buried (literally, "Imam-zade" can be translated as "Son of the Prophet").
The Imam-zade Mausoleum is a Muslim shrine, where hundreds of believers make a pilgrimage every year. The mausoleum complex includes a cemetery, small mosques, a caravanserai and other buildings. All of them were subsequently surrounded by a brick wall. The ancient cemetery in Ganja is the only place in the country where the largest number of monuments with portrait images can be found.
The most beautiful part of the entire ensemble is the mausoleum dome, faced with bright blue tiles. The dark blue stamped pattern clearly stands out on the blue facing. The height of the dome is 2.7 meters, the diameter is 4.4 meters. The height of the mausoleum itself is 12 meters. In the 19th century, the mausoleum was restored, but despite this, it looks quite dilapidated. The mosque at the mausoleum is still functioning.
 Sheikh Bahauddin EnsembleThe 17th century historical and architectural complex, created by Sheikh Bahauddin, includes the Juma Mosque (Shah Abbas Mosque), Chekyak Hamam (medieval bathhouse) and a caravanserai.
 Джума-мечеть was built during the reign of Shah Abbas, which is why it is sometimes called that. It is the undoubted pride of Ganja. The building was constructed according to the design of the architect, astronomer and vizier of Shah Abbas, Sheikh Bahauddin, a direct descendant of Nizami.
The mosque is a squat, wide building made of red brick. It consists of a prayer hall divided into two halves (for men and women) by a large screen and small adjoining rooms. The windows of the mosque are decorated with patterned shebeke lattices. In front of the massive gates of the mosque there was once a market square surrounded by shops and centuries-old plane trees. The roof of the mosque is a huge metal dome with a diameter of 17 meters.
The mosque has two tall minarets topped with watchtowers for viewing the surrounding area. The minarets were restored and slightly modified in the 19th century.
In the courtyard of the mosque there is a madrasah, built at the same time, which, unfortunately, was destroyed during the Soviet era. However, both objects have now been restored and are functioning perfectly.
The Juma Mosque has one interesting feature. Since Sheikh Bahauddin was an excellent astronomer, he applied his knowledge to the construction. Thus, exactly at midday, the shadow falling on the western wall of the building disappears. This indicated to the faithful that the time for the midday prayer had come. To this day, Ganja residents check the time by the disappearing shadow - the accuracy is absolute.
 Cheyak-Hamam — is a bathhouse consisting of two interconnected halls. In the center of the large hall there is a pool and a fountain (it is intended for relaxation), the small one is intended for bathing. Built of red brick, the bathhouse has two large and five small domes. On the top of the large domes there are semi-domes, which played the role of a fan: from them, ventilation pipes diverged throughout the space inside the walls, it was hot in winter and cool in summer. The bathhouse was heated with wood. In the basement there were two steam boilers. Steam was supplied to the halls through ceramic pipes, which also passed through the walls and floor of the bathhouse. The steam circulated evenly and heated the entire room. This unique system of the 400-year-old bathhouse worked perfectly until 1963. And all these centuries the bathhouse was very popular among the townspeople.
Since 2002, Çekyak Hamam has acquired the status of a cultural monument of international importance and is now under the protection of UNESCO.
 Caravanserai. is the third building in the Sheikh Bahauddin ensemble. Today, the building of the medieval caravanserai plays the role of the Temple of Knowledge. At the end of the 20th century, the Ganja Humanitarian College was conveniently located here. The caravanserai is a two-story building, including 15 halls and 54 rooms. The building also houses the museum of the poetess Meskheti Ganjavi.
Tomb of Javadkhan. Not long ago, on the territory of the historical complex, in the courtyard of the mosque, on the site of the grave of the fearless ruler of Ganja - Javadkhan, who died on January 3, 1804, while defending Ganja from foreign invaders, a tomb was built. In the 1990s of the last century, the remains of Javadkhan were transferred here from the old city cemetery. The construction, which began in 2004, lasted for several months. During its construction, the builders adhered to the requirements of the medieval architectural school. The monument was opened in 2005 and took a worthy place among other monuments of the 17th century.
 Mausoleum of Nizami Ganjavi. Nizami Ganjavi, born in 1141, was one of the most educated people of his time. He gained worldwide fame as the author of the "Khamsa" (Quintet), which combined five poems that reflected not only the poet's high mastery of the pen, but also his ethical and philosophical views. Most of Nizami's lyrics are devoted to love. Other world-famous works by Nizami are the poems "Khosrow and Shirin", "Leyli and Majnun", "Iskender-name".
To this day, the mausoleum remains a place of pilgrimage and worship for poets. It is located at the entrance to the city from the southwest. The mausoleum is a modern monumental cylindrical structure made of red granite, hewn in the manner of semicircular faces. At the bottom is an entrance that seems tiny against the backdrop of the grandeur of the entire structure. Nizami's name is carved in gold directly above the entrance.

     There are many establishments in the city where you can have a delicious lunch, sit with a company, and try traditional cuisine. Basically, they are small quiet cafes where locals like to gather after work. Undoubtedly, in Ganja you need to try dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine, so that the trip is not wasted. Gourmets believe that it is in Ganja that the dishes are prepared much better than in any city in the country. The main meat in Ganja recipes is lamb, especially fresh meat of young lambs is preferred for dishes. Fish is also grilled over an open fire, combined with fruits or nuts, baked in a tandoor or simply smoked. Exclusive dishes of local cuisine are bozbash, dolma, chykhyrtma, bozartma, pilaf, khashil, piti, shashlik, govurma. Here you will also be treated to the freshest baklava and aromatic Turkish delight.