The staff and students of the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology arrived in Gabala region for the purpose of familiarization.

On December 29, the staff and students of the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology went to the Nij village of the Gabala region. First of all, representatives of the institute and officials of the Executive Power of the Gabala region laid flowers at the monument to national leader Heydar Aliyev, located in a park in the center of Gabala, and paid the tribute to his memory. Then the institute team visited the Gabala city mosque. It was noted that 600 people can worship at the same time in the mosque - 450 men and 150 women. The ayahs from the Holy Quran are written on the walls of the mosque, the columns are decorated with religious symbols using rare patterns of the Azerbaijan school of painting and oriental ornaments. Room for akhoond, teaching rooms, library, ceremony room, women’s and men’s ablution rooms and other ancillary buildings were built in the courtyard of the mosque. Then staff and students of the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology visited the Jotari Albanian-Udi Church located in the village of Nij in the Gabala region. The institute team was informed that the number of Udis living around the world is about ten thousand. In the village of Nij with a population of six thousand people live more than four thousand Udis. They have been preserving their language, religion and traditions for 2500 years. In the primary grades of schools in the village the Udi language is taught. It was noted that the Udi Cultural Center "Orayin" operates in the village of Nij. On the territory of the village are the Albanian church and other ancient historical monuments. The Albanian church and other ancient historical monuments are located on the territory of the village. A round table was organized in the Culture Center of Gabala during the trip. The rector of the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology, Jeyhun Mammadov, who participated in the event, noted that the foundations of tolerance and interreligious dialogue in Azerbaijan were laid by national leader Heydar Aliyev. Now this policy is successfully continued by President Ilham Aliyev. It was noted that Nij village is the only settlement in the world where Udins are compactly located and the village is considered a small model of tolerance. Then Jeyhun Mammadov gave general information about the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology. He noted that the educational institution was established by the Order of President Ilham Aliyev dated February 9, 2018. Along with quality education, the institute emphasizes development, the creation of a successful future, the formation of a comprehensive personality of students. The rector noted that the main purpose of events held at a higher educational institution is the intellectual and moral development of students and a trip to the Nij village has of particular importance in this. It was noted that during the trip to Gabala the youth became a witness of the purposeful and consistent policy of President Ilham Aliyev, implementation of major events for the preservation and development of the culture and traditions of the Udins, as well as all the small peoples living in Azerbaijan.