NEWS

Ankara's Opera and Ballet Theatre invites you to enjoy a spectacular concert in support of Azerbaijan.

The concert is expected to take place on November 27.  The programme will feature soloists Shafiqa Kutluer and Şenol Talinli. 

The large-scale event is co-organized by the Azerbaijani embassy in Turkey, the Turkish-Azerbaijani Friendship, Cooperation and Solidarity Foundation and the Anatolia Education and Culture Foundation. 

Azerbaijani-Turkish relations have always been strong. The two countries are bound by strong ethnic, cultural and historic ties. Moreover, Turkey also supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The two countries effectively use their economic and energy capabilities as well as the geopolitical position to expand bilateral and regional cooperation.

Global economic projects, particularly the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, a project of continental importance and the significant part of the "New Silk Road" transport corridor, are other indicators of the dynamic development of the relations between two countries.

Azerbaijan and Turkey also enjoy fruitful cultural cooperation. The Turkvision Song Contest 2021 is planned to be held in Shusha city. The project is an annual song contest, inspired by the format of the Eurovision Song Contest. 

The territory of Azerbaijan is rich in fortifications and fortresses built for defense purposes. One of them is the Askeran fortress. The Askeran fortress, built in the 18th century by order of the Karabakh khan Panah Ali khan, is one of the brightest examples of Azerbaijani architecture. The construction of the fortress was associated with the rise of the Karabakh Khanate. The Askeran fortress is located about 24 km from Shusha, 5 km from Khojaly and 12 km south of Aghdam, on the right and left banks of the Qarqar river. After the occupation of Khojaly by the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia  in 1992, the fortress has suffered distruction. A few years ago, Armenia began illegal “restoration“ work in the fortress of Askeran. According to the images circulated on the internet, the “restoration“ work is designed to completely change the appearance of the fortress. The architectural style of the historic building has changed, and deep pits have formed in the construction area. Armenia has seriously damaged the appearance of the historical monument in order to misappropriate the Askeran fortress.  

A group of renowned cultural figures from France (directors, writers, performers, musicians, journalists, singers) have signed an appeal in support of Armenian separatism in Garabagh, based on lies and slander; this was reported in the French newspaper Le Figaro. The appeal demonstrates solidarity with the Armenians, a concern for their fate in Garabagh, the reoccurrence of the so-called “1915 genocide”, support for Armenian separatism, and, in general, Azerbaijan’s mythical “insidious plans”. The Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan states that for about thirty years Armenia had illegally occupied internationally recognised territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Nagorno-Karabakh (Daghlyg Garabagh) region and seven neighbouring towns, refusing to implement UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884. During the many years of occupation, as a result of the aggressive policy of Armenia, immovable historical and cultural monuments in these areas that belong to the Azerbaijani people have been destroyed, misappropriated and vandalised by not being used in accordance with their historical and cultural purposes. Along with houses, educational and industrial facilities in the occupied territories, hundreds of cultural institutions, including 927 libraries with a stock of 4.6 million books, 808 palaces of culture, clubs and cultural centres, 85 music and art schools, 22 museums and museum branches with more than 100 000 exhibits, 4 art galleries, 4 theatres, 2 concert halls, 8 culture and recreation parks, and more than 2 000 historical and cultural monuments have been victims of this vandalism. Such barbaric treatment of cultural heritage, including unique monuments of special importance, should be seen as a threat to world heritage. It is unfortunate that the participation of influential cultural figures in this appeal, which was presented to the world community without relying on relevant evidence and facts, including any scientific research, has become a tool of Armenian propaganda; this unprofessional approach casts a shadow over the image and impartiality of these individuals. We remind that despite being a member state of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1970 Paris Convention on the Prohibition and Prevention of the Illicit Import, Export and Illegal Transfer of Cultural Property (UNESCO), there are indisputable facts and evidences about how Armenia has destroyed, falsified and looted Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage in the Azerbaijani territories that were once under occupation. The Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan invites renowned cultural and scientific figures from France to our liberated territories to witness the cultural genocide against Azerbaijan and to see in real life the current state of Azerbaijan’s destroyed and vandalised heritage.

In 1959, a house-museum of the great Azerbaijani composer, founder of our national professional music, world-famous Uzeyir Hajibeyli was founded in the house where he spent his childhood in Shusha. Items from the composer's early years, manuscripts of his works, numerous documents, and photographs depicting his life and creativity were displayed in the museum's exposition. Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s anniversaries and jubilees had been constantly commemorated in the museum at national level. In 1985, UNESCO solemnly marked the 100th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s birth. The guests invited from different countries of the world visited Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s House-Museum in Shusha, where jubilee was celebrated. After occupation of Shusha by Armenia the museum discontinued its function. The museum's exhibits are preserved in the funds of Uzeyir Hajibeyli's house-museum in Baku. One of the most valuable examples brought to Baku is a handful of Shusha soil taken from the bottom of Uzeyir Bey's favorite pear tree in the museum yard. 

“Under the Azerbaijani President’s relevant decree, temporary administrative commandant's offices were established in the liberated lands, which also include the Ministry of Culture. This once again shows that our President attaches great importance to culture. As the Ministry of Culture, we are proud to be at the forefront, and we consider this issue as a sacred mission. I would like to note that the commandant's offices operating in five districts have representatives of the Ministry of Culture assigned to each district. The delegates have already started their work,” said First Deputy Minister, Acting Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Anar Karimov in his interview with AZERTAC. “Their mission is to study the condition and ensure preservation of cultural institutions and historical monuments in the liberated lands. The preliminary results of the monitoring identified that there were 151 cultural institutions, including 72 libraries, 62 culture houses and clubs, 8 museums, 9 children's music schools in these districts. With heartache I must say that all these enterprises are in a state of disrepair. During the monitoring, 67 historical monuments were found, 34 of which were completely destroyed by the occupiers. The monuments of national importance are among them. They include Khudafarin bridges, the Red Albanian temple in Khojavand district, another Albanian temple in Hadrut, the Maiden's Tower in Zangilan and the Eight-cornered tomb in Mammadbayli village, the Caravanserai in Garghabazar village of Fuzuli, and our 18th century mosques in some districts. All the aforementioned monuments have either been destroyed or turned into stables for pets. This is not only against international law, but also against human values and Islam. We strongly condemn all this. These atrocities contradict the conventions adopted by UNESCO in 1954 and 1970. In general, Armenian vandals were engaged in the removal of traces of the millennial existence of Azerbaijanis in these areas. It should be called a policy of cultural terror and cleansing. Because 30 years ago, the Armenians first carried out the ethnic cleansing and then tried to end the process with cultural cleansing. The goal here, of course, was to completely erase everything belonging to Azerbaijanis from those territories. Traces of Armenian misappropriation, and falsification of historical facts were also found in the above-mentioned territories. This is an activity against the Albanian temples. Many of our temples and churches in Nagorno-Karabakh, which are the heritage of Azerbaijan and belong to the Caucasian Albania, have been appropriated by Armenians. They did this to strengthen their claims to those territories. Of course, this could not go on like that. We will invite international experts and register the facts in the falsified historical monuments, and declare these crimes to the whole world,“ Anar Karimov said.

The mosque is located in Garghabazar village of Fuzuli district. Popularly known as Shah Abbas Mosque among the people, this mosque was described in scientific literature as Haji Qiyaseddin Mosque. Because the door of the mosque bears an inscription as “This mosque was constructed by Haji Qiyaseddin, the kind creature of Great Allah, in Hegira 1095”. This date corresponds to AD 1683-1684. The mosque is built on a rocky hill in the center of the village. The caravanserai, built in the same period, is located to the south of the hill. The architectural analysis of the construction of the caravanserai and the mosque suggests that both monuments were built by the same architect. After the occupation of Fuzuli district by the Armenian armed forces in 1993, the mosque was destroyed. 

The statement made on November 17, 2020 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Armenian cultural heritage sites reflects the biased and one-sided position of a leading cultural institution that is not fully informed about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its devastating consequences.            The Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan reminds the MET that for nearly three decades, Armenia illegally kept occupied around 20% of internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan including Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884. Despite the fact that the Republic of Armenia is a State Party to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, there are irrefutable facts and evidences how Armenia destroyed, changed the character or looted Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage in the occupied territories. Hundreds of historical and cultural monuments, institutions, including 927 libraries with a book fund of 4.6 million, 808 recreational venues, 85 musical and art schools, 22 museums with the collection of more than 100.000 exhibits, 4 art galleries , 4 theaters, 2 concert places, 8 cultural parks became a victim of this vandalism. All mosques and other Islamic heritage in the occupied territories have been almost destroyed and transformed to pigpen. These crimes against humanity are become available in the various internet sites and forums. It is regretful that such prestigious institution as The Metropolitan Museum of Art without proper scientific research and study falls into the trap and became instrumentalized in the hands of Armenian propaganda. This unprofessional approach casts a shadow to the image and impartiality of the Institution. We invite The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the liberated territories for the technical mission to monitor the state of Azerbaijani heritage and to witness the cultural genocide committed against Azerbaijan.    

Varazgun Temple is an ancient Albanian monument located in Lachin district. Around the temple are the ruins of a village called Varazkhan.  It is believed that the first name of the temple was Varazkhan or Varazgun. The monument was built in the II-V centuries during the Caucasian Albania period and ruins has remained until today. Remains of an ancient Albanian cemetery dating back to the 7th century, as well as coins belonging to the 16th century Safavid state had been found in the area of the temple built in the highland.

Azerbaijan's young talents will perform at the third Theater Festival of the CIS countries "GITIS - Master Class".

The festival aims to strengthen cultural cooperation and establish links between the CIS countries in the field of theatre education. 

Students of State University of Culture and Arts will delight theatre lovers with Shakespeare's most famous story of love "Romeo and Juliet". The play will be streamed on November 19. 

This year, the festival may look a little different amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Theatre universities of the CIS countries were unable to come to Russia due to the pandemic. Thus, the festival organizers decided to hold the festival virtually, bringing together theatres from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Moldova. 

In addition, virtual lectures and masterclasses are organized as part of the festival.  At the end of the festival, students and university teachers will discuss the activities carried out within the festival. 

Founded in 1923, Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts (ASUCA) educates talented musicians, actors, directors, artists, choreographers, researchers into the arts and culture.

Modern information technologies, including multimedia hardware and software, are fully integrated into an educational process which is conducted in close cooperation with many cultural institutions.

ASUCA has also partnered vocational training programs with twenty-six universities in Turkey, Russia, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, France and other countries. 

“Round“ tomb of the XV century,Octagonal mausoleum of the XVI century which has a special place in the history of the Middle Ages due to its architectural style in Khubyarli village of Jabrayil region, was completely restored by a special repair brigade. However, these historical monuments had beed destroyed by the Armenian vandals during the occupation of Jabrayil region in 1993.