Mollagaya Castle (Molla Castle)

In the Gazakh district of the Yelizavetpol province, 6-7 kilometers east of the village of Hakgikhli in the present-day Karvansara district

Caravansary district – Ijevan, Hagqikhli village Samad Vurgun since 1978, Hovk since 1991

Architecture

The lower part of the fortress, whose walls were in a semi-collapsed state until the deportation of Azerbaijanis in 1987-1991, was later destroyed by Armenians.

Mollagaya Castle is located on the top of a mountain, 10 km from the center of the Karvansara (Ijevan) district, 6–7 kilometers east of the village of Hagqikhli. Mollagaya (Molla Castle) is a medieval castle. It is now in ruins. The castle was named so because of its construction and shape. However, there are several legends circulating among the population about the name "Molla Castle". Armenians also reached out to this monument and demolished its lower part. The village of Hakqikhli, inhabited by Azerbaijanis, on the left slope of the Agstafachay gorge in the Karvansara district, 12 km southwest of the district center, belonged to the Gazakh district of the Yelizavetpol province, which was created on the basis of the tsarist decree of December 9, 1867, on the change of administration of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia.
From 1918 to 1920, it existed within the territory of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. After the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, a military revolutionary committee was created in the Gazakh district. After the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia (November 29, 1920), 44.5% of the territory of the Gazakh district, including the villages of Azasu, Garadash, Kilinj village, Uzuntala, Baranin, Galachi, Kotikand, Goshgotan Kulpi, Yeni Dilijan, Kohne Dilijan, Karvansara, Garagoyunlu, Polad-Ayrım, Khashtar, Bashkend, Kuleli, Mikhailovsk, Tatlikend, Tovuzgala, according to the administrative division of 1874, remained within Armenia. The Gazakh, Agstafa, Tovuz, Gadabay, Shamkhor districts were created on the lands of the Gazakh district that remained within Azerbaijan, and the Karvansara (Ijevan), Chambarek (Krasnoselsk), Shamshadil, Dilijan districts were created on the lands ceded to Armenia.
The Azerbaijani population of the village was 463 in 1905 and 412 in 1931. The population was completely expelled from the village during the tragic events of 1988.

The castle is also important because it is located on a high peak, built by the population to protect the territory. The castle is a source that shows the development of the ethnos, the original owner of the territory, even in the Middle Ages. It is a visual evidence that centuries ago it had a civilized culture.