One of the most big, ancient and wonderful architectural objects of the Guba-Khachmaz region is the Gilgilchay fortress wall, erected in V-VI centuries by the Sassanian Iran authorities. Remained fragments show that it was starting at the Caspian shoreline in the Davachi region, then straightening along the high bank of the River of Gilgilchay, and at the distance of 20-25 km from the Caspian shore the wall was parting to the river and rising up to mountains. Remains and some indications of the wall were discovered at the distance of 60-70 km from the Caspian shore in the area of the mountainous village of Syugyub (the Guba district) at the altitude of 1,500 m.

According to its fragments, the Gilgilchay wall was very effective fortification - its thickness was over 6 m, and height was about 9 m. At its every 20-50 m the wall had numerous defensive towers of the height of about 15 m. Besides, there were discovered remains of several forts located both along and built-in to the Gilgilchay wall. One of such forts (aside to the wall) was a relatively big ancient town.

Little above this town, at the beginning of the mountain ranges, you still can see the Chiraq-Qala fortress. It is placed on the top and terraces of the huge, high rock. Sometimes the Chiraq-Qala fortress was a key-point in the defensive system of the Gilgilchay wall.

The Bayat gates of the Darband city fortress

The fortress is shaped as a freeform rectangle, its length is 160 m, and width is 110 m. The north-east side of the fortress has a natural protection from any enemy attack - it joins to a deep precipice. All other sides of the fortress have a thick, high wall (built from big, unpolished stones and rock fragments) with 13 towers. Now the ancient object stays almost ruined, and only its main tower rises in western walls on the rock's highest place. From this tower one can observe all surroundings within distance of dozens km. The tower was successfully used for signaling - they made a big fire here while serious danger. Actually, this function of the site was a reason for its being named "Chiraq-Qala" - it can be translated as "A Lamp-Tower". For its advantageous location the fortress was used during many centuries. Archaeologists still discover here remains that belong to different periods, including remains of the palace erected in the fortress in XVIII century for Fatali-khan of Guba.

A fire signal being sent from Chiraq-Qala was received at its southeast, in the Dondar-Qala fortress located on the high mountain close to the Saadan village. This fortress was shaped as a freeform rectangle, its length was 150 m, and width was 50 m. Ruins on its contours and remains of its northwest tower, located at the highest place of the mountain, have lasted till the present times. From here one can clearly watch Chiraq-Qala on the north and the Beshbarmaq Mountain on the south. It shows that the Dondar-Qala fortress was receiving fire signals from Chiraq-Qala and forwarding them further on to the south.

Generally the mountainous part of the Guba-Khachmaz region is rich with medieval fortresses and towers, or to be more correct - with their ruins. You can find them here in different villages: Ruk, Buduq, Khinalyq, Anykh etc.

In Guba-Khachmaz region there are also many medieval mausoleums, which have reached present times in different condition - destroyed or safe. The most interesting among them are mausoleums of XV-XVI centuries, located in Shykhlar village of the Khachmaz district, Aghbil of the Guba district and Khazra of the Qusar district. The first one, an object located in the village of Shykhlar, is the Sheik Yusuf's mausoleum, erected in mid of XV century. It is remarkable for it is one of the oldest small mausoleums that then were so typical for the area during centuries: prism-shaped, built from baked bricks, with deep portals.

Three mausoleums (built in 1533-1534) are known in the Aghbil village. Two of them are similar to the described above one. The third mausoleum also is small, square-shaped room built traditionally from baked bricks, but it was placed on a stone socle and this stone is open for view both in the down part of the construction and through its entrance arc. But the most interesting is that the inside shape of the construction differs from its outside form. From outside the mausoleum is an octahedron with a rather high cupola.

Fragment of the Chiraq-Qala fortress

The Khazra village is a location of the mausoleum-mosque, devoted to Sheik Juneyd, who had died in 1456, in the battle not far from that place. The mausoleum was erected in XVI century, when Safavies had strengthened their positions at Shirvan. The mausoleums burial-vault is a square shaped room with 7.23 m length of its every side. The burial-vault has entrances in each of its 4 walls - the entrances from 4 rooms around it. Rooms are different by their size. From its outside the mausoleum looks like small mosque of 20 m length and 15 m width. In its center it has a cupola that risen from the floor up to 15 m.

Unfortunately none of the real medieval mosques of the Guba-Khachmaz region had lasted until our days even as ruins. Existing mosques are not older than XVIII century, while the oldest one is dated as erected in 1709 (the Alych village). They look like regular rectangular buildings with one prayer-hall, covered with a four-pitched roof with something like a rectangular lamp in the middle of its top.

In XIX century there had appeared one more group of mosques, typical for the Guba-Khachmaz region only. First of them is the Juma mosque in Guba. It is an octahedron-shaped mosque, built from bricks, with one prayer-hall and cupola of 16 m in diameter. Its appearance had influenced and inspired building of similar looking mosques in other villages of the region as well.

The mosque of Sakina-khanim, built in Guba by the widow of A. Bakikhanov in memory of her late husband in 1854, met a different fortune than the Juma mosque. It keeps a rectangular form and its architectural composition shows signs of monumentalism. Some details indicate that its architect was well acquainted to the European architectural traditions. Still, appearing of this fine mosque building, which turned to be a remarkable sight of the area, was not followed by erecting of other mosques like it.