Qabala

Also known as Kutkashen

Qabala () is a city and the administrative centre of the Qabala District of Azerbaijan. The municipality consists of the city of Gabala and the village of Küsnat. Before the city was known as Kutkashen, but after the Republic of Azerbaijan's independence the town was renamed in honour of the much older city of Gabala, the former capital of Caucasian Albania, the archaeological site of which is about 20 km southwest.

OverviewAI-generated

Qabala, also known by its native label Qəbələ, is a city in Azerbaijan. It serves as the capital of Qabala District and has at various times been the capital of Caucasian Albania. The city is located in the time zone UTC+04:00 and has an elevation above sea level of 783 meters. Its official language is Azerbaijani, and it replaced the former settlement of Kabalaka.

The population of Qabala is 13,190. Historically, the area was part of the Shaki Khanate and the Nukhinsky Uyezd. The city’s official name has included variations such as Qutqaşen and Qutqaşın.

Synthesized by Vinony from 45 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Weather now

cached 20h ago

12°clear sky

43% 2.4 m/s OpenWeatherMap

7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality: Qəbələ
Country: Azərbaycan
Population: 11,867
Timezone: Asia/Baku

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

55US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 13.3 µg/m³
PM10: 24.7 µg/m³

As of 2026-08-11 05:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name: Qabala
Settlement.settlement_type: City and municipality
Settlement.native_name: Qəbələ
Settlement.imagesize: 270px
Settlement.image_caption: From top: Qafqaz Riverside Resort Center; II left: The ruins of Qabala Fortress, right: A medieval Juma Mosque in Imam Baba Tomb; III left: Statue of Ismayil Bey Gutqashenli, right: Gabala International Music Festival; Bottom: Qabaland amusement park
Settlement.pushpin_map: Azerbaijan#Shaki-Zagatala
Settlement.pushpin_mapsize: 270
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1: District
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Qabala
Settlement.established_title: Established
Settlement.established_date: 1537
Settlement.area_total_km2: 1548
Settlement.population_as_of: 2011
Settlement.population_total: 12808
Settlement.timezone: AZT
Settlement.utc_offset: +4
Settlement.elevation_m: 783

via Wikipedia infobox

Travel guide

Understand

Qabala is rich with historical monuments there are many memorials in Qabala. For example, the remains of old Caucasian Albania's capital Qabala, the stone monuments in the Hachalli (4th century CE), Surkhay tower in the Boyuk Emilli (first millennium BCE), the temple in Hacalli (4th century CE), Surkhay toüer in the south part of town (10th-13th century), a castle in Yengiche (4th-14th century), Monuments in village (antique period) Yenikend, a tower in Hazra (15th century), etc. There are more than 93 memorials in Qabala.

See

right|thumb|upright=1.2|Old Qəbələ

Go next

thumb|upright=1.2|Tufandağ Mountain Resort, just outside (above) Qabala

Sheki – A beautiful city in the Caucasus mountains with lots to see and do. It has one of the largest densities of cultural resources and monuments that span 2,700 years of Azerbaijani history. Bus leaves at 09:00, 12:00; 2.90 manat (July 2023). Lahich – A cozy and remote highland village nearby in the west. Famous for its copper work. Shamakhi – A town that used to be the capital of the Medieval state of Shirvan. Famous for its traditional dancers, Şamaxı dancers, and its impressive mosque. An ancient history and once one of the key cities along the Silk Road. Ganja – Azerbaijan's second largest city has a long history, some important sites and an interesting and manifold architecture. Mingechivir – Bus at 08:00; 1.60 manat. Baku – Buses start from 08:00 and leave quite often; 6 manat.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~11 min read