NEWS

International Mugham Center has applead to international organizations over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

The Center expressed its protest against Armenia`s aggresion against Azerbaijan. The statement was sent to international partners of the Mugham Center.

As result of the provocations of the Armenian armed forces against our country and the shelling of Azerbaijani settlements from heavy artillery, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population. Serious damage was inflicted on civilian objects, residential buildings, various structures, including material cultural heritage.

The Mugham Center has also donated money from the monthly salary of its employees.

Famous for its spectacular concerts, scientific-theoretical and research projects, the International Mugham Center is now switching to online projects, which can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

The Mugham Center is planning to hold multiple virtual projects such as online conferences and lectures.

The International Mugham Center is also actively expanding its international relations with foreign partners.

Over the past years, the Center has successfully implemented multiple cultural projects aimed at promotion of national music: "Evenings of ashug music", "Treasury of Secrets", "Unforgettable", "Pearls of ethnic music", etc.

Azerbaijani artists have released a video in support of National Army, which is fighting against Armenian aggressors to liberate Azerbaijan's territories from occupants.

The video was shot with the support of Azerbaijan State Art Gallery with the participation of People's Artists Arif Huseynov, Salhab Mammadov, Akif Askarov, Honored Artists Azad Aliyev, Vugar Muradov, artists -Anar Huseynzade, Milena Nabiyeva, Nigar Familsoy, Hajar Aliyeva.

The artists expressed their gratitude to the Azerbaijani servicemen who cleanse their homeland from the invaders.

In their art works the artists reflect the bravety of Azerbaijani military personnel.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s.

More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Since 1994, hostilities between the two countries have persisted despite the temporary cease-fire agreement. Usually, Armenian forces violate the ceasefire regime on the line of contact. But recently Armenia has increased military aggression on the border.

Armenian Armed Forces committed a large-scale provocation, subjecting the positions of the Azerbaijani army to intensive shelling from large-caliber weapons on September 27, 2020.

Armenia's aggression has resulted in deaths and injuries among the civilian population. Azerbaijani Army responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.

Azerbaijan intends to implement joint measures with Iran to include Khudafarin bridges in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

The State Service for the Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan has issued a statement in this regard.

The decision was made taking into account its exceptional universal value, unique landscape, high architectural and engineering solution, as well as its location in the territory of the two countries.

Khudafarin is magnificent historical monument located on the state border of Azerbaijan and Iran. 

There are two Khudafarin bridges connecting the northern and southern banks of the Araz River in the Jabrayil region.

Located on the historical Silk Road, the 11-arched Khudafarin bridge was built in the 11th-12th centuries. The 15-arched Khudafarin bridges were constructed in the 13th century.

After the occupation of Jabrayil by Armenian invaders in 1993, Khudafarin bridges have seriously been damaged. 

On October 4, 2020, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces liberated Jabrayil, where the Khudafarin bridges are located, and several villages of the region from Armenian occupation. 

Notably, Azerbaijan and UNESCO have been enjoying successful cooperation since 1992. In 2003, the parties signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO.

Many Azerbaijan's cultural sites have been included into UNESCO's World Heritage List: Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace and Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape.

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum continues to highlight Azerbaijan's carpet weaving art. The museum displayed the 19th-20th century Buynuz carpet.

The main production centers of Buynuz carpets woven in Karabakh were Horadiz and other carpet weaving centers in Fuzuli. Old carpet weavers often call this carpet Horadiz.

Buynuz (horn) elements, patterns of the carpet's central field are traditionally depicted horizontally one after another. The asymmetric design of these buynuz elements gives the carpet vividness and also allows to weave them in any size. The variety of colors of buynuz does not violate the overall harmony of carpet colors.

Since ancient times, the horn has been considered a symbol of courage and bravery. Horn images are often found in carpet weaving, wood and felt products of the Turkic peoples. Even today, in some regions of Azerbaijan, one can find the head of a horned animal hung on door and gate as a symbol of courage.

The museum also exhibited Bahmanli carpets of Karabakh region. The woolen carpets are dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century.

In addition, the Carpet Museum provided insight into one of the famous Karabakh kilims woven in Zangilan.

The central field of the colorful kilim is decorated with two large medallions with slits. The stylized palmettes surround medallions. These kilims were often used as a canopy.

The central field of the colorful kilim is decorated with two large medallions with slits. The stylized palmettes surround medallions. These kilims were often used as a canopy.

The Carpet Museum opened its doors in 2014 at Baku Seaside Park. All carpets were transferred to the museum's new location.

Now, the museum hosts multiple events, including international symposiums, conferences and various exhibitions.

In 2019, the museum received the national status for its significant contribution in popularization and promotion of the Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art.

National Carpet Museum holds more than 14,000 exhibits of the finest Azerbaijani carpets.

The Land of Fire has seven carpet producing regions including Baku, Shirvan, Guba, Tabriz, Karabakh, Ganja and Gazakh and each of them has its own technology, typical patterns and colors.

According to their technical aspects, Azerbaijani carpets are classified as flat-woven (pileless) and knotted (pile).

The flat-woven carpets are linked to the earlier period of carpet weaving. There are several kinds of pileless carpets such as Shadda, Verni, Jejim, Zilli, Sumakh, Kilim and Palas.

Shadda is a flat weave carpet, made primarily in Nakhchivan, Agdam, Gubadly, Agjabedi. The artistic composition of shadda made by complicated whipping, as well as its constituents have a complex form. 

One of the most widely spread type of the flat-weave carpet is "verni". The key pattern of "verni" is the S-element. Its shape varies, it may resemble both figure 5 and letter S. This element means "dragon" among the nomads and “water” among the village people.  According to the ancient believes, a dragon featuring carpet would protect the family from foul weather. Agjabedi, Barda, Aghdam, Nakhchivan are the centers of this type of pileless carpets.

Jejims are woven on simple horizontal looms by narrow stripes 30–35 cm wide and 15–10 cm long. The resulting product is a cloth to be used as a wall carpet, a bedding coverlet, or curtains. 

The major jejim production centers are Barda, Nakhchivan, Zangilan, Shusha, Shamakha.

Zilli carpet is characterized by stylized forms of animals and vegetal elements. In terms of their composition and pattern the Azerbaijani zillis are very diverse. They feature the images of large elements in the shape of big lozenges, paired horns, various stylized elements.

The Sumakh carpets have become widely spread and recognized over the last few centuries. Since the 18th century, they have been made in country's Guba and Gusar regions.

The Sumakh carpets feature the diverse stylized vegetal motifs, various geometrical elements such as large hexahedral, square, rhomboid medallions.

Kilim is the most widespread type of flat-woven carpets. They are made by passing the weft through the warp using the technique of compound interweaving. Kilim is characterized by a slot-like gap (opening) around the geometrical patterns.

The technique of kilim weaving predetermines the pattern shapes in the form of a lozenge, triangle, and trapezium. Images of animals, birds and humans are geometrized in kilims. Kilims of different regions are distinguished by their composition, pattern, and colors. In terms of their technical peculiarities kilims can be classified into five major groups based on the area of production: Kazakh, Karabakh, Absheron, Shirvan and Tabriz kilims.

Palas is one of the widely spread flat-weave carpets. The palas weaving process consists in passing the weft through the warp by a simple technique. The weavers decorate the palas by traditional patterns in the form of horizontal stripes commonly used throughout Azerbaijan. As a rule, the palas is not framed by a border.

People's poet Ramiz Rovshan' has joined a project entitled "Motherland calls us!". The project is initiated by Baku Main Culture Department.

The poet expressed his support to the National Army which is fighting against Armenian occupation.

Ramiz Rovshan is a national writer, film playwright, translator. Since 1981, he is a member of the Azerbaijan Writers' Union. 

He is the author of such books as "The sky does not hold a stone", "Breath is a book of books" and many others. He also translated poems of such famous Russian poets as Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergey Yesenin, Alexander Blok, Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova into Azerbaijani.

Ramiz Rovshan also took a two-year filmmaking course in Moscow in 1978.

Several films are based on his scripts: "The Grandfather of my Grandfather's Grandfather" (1981), "The reapers from City" (1985), "The Pain of Milk Tooth" (1988), "Strange Time" (1996) (This movie was awarded with "The Best Movie" at the First International Madrid Film Festival in 1997), "The Melody of Place" (2001), etc.

Rovshan’s poems and stories have been translated into many languages and published in the USA, Germany, UK, France, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran.

The Ministry of Culture implements multiple projects to support Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the fight against Armenian invaders. 

The Ministry is pleased to announce a new project "Karabakhname" aimed at the promotion of rich cultural heritage of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region.

The project is being held under the slogan "Not only territorial integrity, but the integrity of identity".

In the 19th century, Azerbaijani historians wrote 10 "Karabakh letters" studying the political, economic and cultural life of the Karabakh khanate of Azerbaijan (1747-1822).

The facts about the historical, cultural and socio-political environment of the region, located in these sources, are a fitting response to Armenia which is trying to snatch Karabakh from Azerbaijan.

The new project can also be characterized as a new small "Karabakhname". Here, people of Karabakh region share memories of themselves and their parents through short videos.

The videos also include information on UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 on the liberation of Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia.

Famous conductor and musician Turan Manafzade has released new music pieces. Her new compositions are available at all digital platforms.

Moreover, music lovers have a chance to enjoy Manafzade's music pieces "Rising" (Yukselish) and "My Azerbaijan" on YouTube.

Earlier, Turan Manafzade expressed her support to Azerbaijan in its fight against Armenian invaders.

In her speech, the musician paid tribute to brave Azerbaijani soldiers who died in harsh battles for the liberation of the country's territories occupied by Armenia.

Turan Manafzade breaks down all musical boundaries as a female conductor.

Manafzade graduated from Mimar SinaAzn Fine Arts University, where she studied in the piano class of associate professor Nurferi Onur. Afterwards, she continued her education in the class of Italian conductor Antonio Pirolli.

Today, Turan Manafzade is known worldwide as an incredibly talented pianist and conductor who actively promotes Azerbaijan's rich music.

She has successfully performed in many countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Austria, Romania and Germany.

Manafzade is a winner of multiple prizes at international music competitions in Turkey such as Galleria Piano Competition in Istanbul (2004). In 2017, she was named  Honored Artist of Azerbaijan.