Red Village in Guba: Visiting Qirmizi Qesebe

Red Village sits across the river from Guba, in the north of Azerbaijan. Its houses have red-tiled roofs, and that is where the name comes from. Locally it is Qırmızı Qəsəbə. Russian speakers call it Krasnaya Sloboda.

The tourism board describes it as one of a kind. It is thought to be the only wholly Jewish town outside Israel and the United States. The board also calls it the world’s last surviving shtetl.

This page covers the village, its museum and how to plan a visit. Facts come from azerbaijan.travel and from the Museum of Mountain Jews. Our Guba guide covers the town on the other bank.

Who lives here

The people of Red Village are Mountain Jews. The tourism board says their families have lived in the Guba area for centuries.

The village itself dates from the mid-18th century. It grew under the protection of the Guba khanate, the local ruling house of that time. Over the years it stayed a close community with its own customs.

The village’s own language is Juhuri. The museum says no more than 100,000 people speak it around the world. It plans to build the largest library in the language.

In August 2024 the museum held an exhibition for the 290th anniversary of the village’s founding.

The bridge

You reach the village over the Arched Bridge across the Gudyalchay. The tourism board tells its story.

A wooden bridge on stilts went up here in 1851. It did not last long. Work on the stone bridge began in 1894, under Tsar Alexander III. Seven bridges were built in the Guba district in that century. This is the only one still standing. It still links Red Village with the rest of the town.

The Museum of Mountain Jews

The museum sits in the old Karchogy synagogue. The building was closed in the Soviet years and later restored. The tourism board calls it the only museum of its kind in the world.

Its exhibits were gathered from across the Caucasus. You see daily life from the 19th century: household items, papers on faith and on everyday matters, and even horse-drawn carts.

One object has a story of its own. The museum calls it the “Chopped book”. It is a Torah that took the blow of a Persian commander’s sword. The book saved the life of the village rabbi, centuries ago.

The idea came from three men born in the village. STMEGI, a world fund for Mountain Jews, built the collection.

Museum facts

What	What the museum states
Address	7 Rashbil Zakharyayev Street, Red Village
Sunday to Thursday	10:00 to 18:00
Friday	10:00 to 14:00
Closed	Saturday, Jewish holidays, National Mourning Day
Building	The restored Karchogy synagogue

We read these hours on 5 October 2026. The early close on Friday and the Saturday closing follow the Jewish week. A Saturday trip from Baku will find the museum shut.

Tickets and tours

The museum lists separate tickets for foreign adults, for Azerbaijani adults and for ages 12 to 16. Adult means over 16. The tourism board says children under 12 go free. We do not print the prices.

Guided tours run in local and foreign languages, the tourism board says. A tour explains each exhibit in turn. The museum also has a virtual 3D tour of the village, shown in Tel Aviv in 2023.

Food

The tourism board points to the village’s kitchen as a reason to come. It names dishes such as shomokufta yerpegi, gaylo, khoyegushd and duqovo. The food follows kosher rules: no pork, and meat and milk are kept apart.

The village’s Tourism Information Centre can arrange cooking classes. Ask us, and we will check whether one runs on your dates.

Other stops in the village

The tourism board names a synagogue and the Tourism Centre as places to visit beside the museum. It does not list service times. If you hope to attend a service, our page for Jewish travellers explains how we handle that question.

Planning the day

Red Village and Guba make one trip. From Baku the trip is by road. You see the town, then cross the bridge. Pick a day from Sunday to Thursday to get the full museum hours.

Arranging it

RH Travel can plan a private day to Guba and Red Village, with a driver who waits while you visit. Tell us your date and how much time you want in the museum. We will make sure the day does not fall on a Saturday.