Located opposite Guba city on the northern banks of the Gudiyalchay river, Red Settlement (also known as Girmizi Gasaba or Krasnaya Sloboda) is a truly unique place to visit. For many years, Jews have lived here in peace with Azerbaijanis.
Characterised by its red-tiled roofs, this village is thought to have once been the only entirely Jewish settlement outside of Israel and the United States and the world’s last surviving shtetl.
Its residents are Mountain Jews whose ancestors have been living in the Guba region for centuries. Founded in the mid-18th century, the village thrived under the protection of the ruling Guba khan, becoming a diverse yet closed community of Mountain Jews. And in the centuries since it has survived plenty of upheavals, maintaining its own culture and traditions, as well as the unique Juhuri language. A landmark new museum opened here in 2019.
Almost all the houses have a large shining Star of David; that is why the village is also called Caucasian Yerushalayim or the Jerusalem of the Caucasus.
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