NEWS

Aydin Suleymanli, 14-year-old Azerbaijani chess player has become the sensational winner of the Aeroflot Open held in Moscow on February 28.

The teenager finished the Aeroflot Open in the first rank with the rating of 2,474.

Another Azerbaijani grandmaster Rauf Mamedov who was leading the tournament from its opening day, secured the third place.  

At the beginning of the tournament, Aydin beat grandmaster Alexander Indjic and drew with grandmasters Mustafa Yilmaz, Praggnanandhaa R, Mikhail Kobalia, and Haik Martirosyan. All these games were a superb start for the 14-year-old chess player.

In next games, Aydin Suleymanli managed to catch a row of victories, winning three grandmasters Vasif Durarbayli, Ilia Smirin and Parham Maghsoodloo.

Both Rinat Jumabayev (Kazakhstan) and Aravindh Chithambaram (India) could win with white pieces, who shared the first place with Aydin Suleymanli and Rauf Mamedov, meaning all four getting 6.5 points gained 9,750 euros. But Aydin’s rating (2474) made him a champion.

Aydin Suleymanli had become famous at youth tournaments after winning gold medals at the 2013 European Youth Championship U8, the 2017 European Youth Championship U12, and the 2019 World Youth Championship U14.

The Aeroflot Open took place February 19-28 in Hotel Cosmos in Moscow, Russia. The A group had 97 players from 21 federations, including 63 grandmasters.

Organized for the 18th time, the Aeroflot Open held up a long tradition that started in the legendary 3182-room hotel Russia (demolished in 2006) before it moved to the Izmailovo complex. It has been hosted by the Cosmos Hotel in recent years.

“The Last Jew in the Village”, a documentary by Azerbaijani director Rufat Asadov, was screened at the 23rd Edition of the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival (NYSJFF).

A fascinating, beautifully helmed documentary is about an abandoned village that was founded by Mountain Jews (also known as Jews of the Caucuses) in Azerbaijan in the 19th century. Meir, the last Jew in the village, works in the cemetery. He knows the story of everyone buried there and is the only nexus between the village`s past and present. His wife and his neighbors are buried in the cemetery and he spends his days looking after their graves and reliving his history. All six of his children left the village a long time ago and they would like to take care of him, but Meir keeps rejecting their offers. He won’t agree to leave his native land and the village cemetery, where all his ancestors, friends, and neighbors are buried. “The Last Jew in the Village” is an existential self-reckoning wrapped in a history lesson full of love for family and country.

The NYSJFF showcases contemporary voices steeped in the history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic communities. This year`s festival included premiere film screenings, intriguing stories, evocative documentaries, powerful narratives, Q&As with filmmakers, as well as special honoree, dignitaries, and diplomats.

Art Tower Gallery invites you to enjoy works of local and foreign artists on March 10. The event is timed to International Women's Day.

Co-organized by Icherisheher State Historical and Architectural Reserve, Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Arts Council Azerbaijan (NGO), the project aims to increase interest in art among young people. The curator of the project is Sabina Najafova.

The exposition will last until March 14. The exhibition is open between 11.00-17.00. Admission is free.

Arts Council Azerbaijan is an international and independent art platform, aimed at promotion of Azerbaijani culture and art.

The organization is the head of the International Arts Council Network operating in different countries around the world. Arts Council Azerbaijan is headed by Dadash Mammadov since 2006.

Many projects have been operating for many years under the auspices of the organization. Among them are Art Gazette, Production Studio, Azerbaijan Animation Museum named after Nazim Mammadov, Art School Drawing School, "Under open air" plein air, Art Residence, Youth Network.

Azerbaijan is taking urgent steps to tackle the danger of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection that may spread throughout the country.

In this regard, the Operative Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers decided to suspend the teaching and learning process, and all related activities at all educational institutions from March 3, 2020, till March 9.

The move comes as part of efforts to curb the spread of infectious diseases and to increase the effectiveness of the appropriate medical, preventive, disinfectant, and other measures in this direction in all educational institutions across the country.

During the specified period, the Ministry of Education and the relevant executive authorities will continue the preventive and disinfecting measures in all educational institutions under their jurisdiction.

Poems by Azerbaijani Peoples’ Poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade have been published in the Republic of Korea.

The publication of the anthology in Korean was initiated by Azerbaijan`s Embassy in Seoul, and supported by Dongduk Women's University, Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) and Daesan Foundation.

The book was translated into Korean by well-known professor Eunkyung Oh.

Vahabzade’s well-known poems “Gulustan”, “Istiglal”, “Shahidlar” are included in the book.

It is the first Azerbaijani book translated into Korean language.

A  book is like a best friend who will never walk away from you. It helps you to answer the most Important questions in your life. Reading books give us a chance to immense into the wonderful world of knowledge. They can bring joy to our lives.

Back in the times when paper did not exist, in ancient Egypt,  books were written on papyrus.

The sacred book of the fire-worshipers "Avesta" was written before our era on the skin of twelve thousand cows.

As is known from history, Albanian alphabet consisting of 52 letters were prepared in the 5th century AD.

Many books were translated into the Albanian language, and small libraries were collected at schools and churches.

The library science in Azerbaijan stepped into the stage of a turning point in the 11th century.

The creation of many libraries in the country has been associated with a number of prominent persons.

Abulhasan Bahmanyar, philosopher and a student of Ibn Sina, played a major role in the development of librarianship in Azerbaijan.

Bahmanyar’s private library was considered one of the most beautiful libraries of that time.

This library was full of books and Bahmaniyar turned it into the center of the scholars’ exchange of ideas. 

One of the main places in the library was occupied by the books of Bahmanyar himself.

The Book of Education translated into Arabic and Farsi brought him a great fame not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the world.

One of the Persian duplicates copied in following years is kept in the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Biruni in Uzbekistan, while Arabic manuscript copies of the work are being protected in a number of libraries around the world in Beirut, Istanbul, Cairo, London and Vatican City.

He also established libraries in Tabriz, Gazaniya and other cities. In the city of Rashidiya named after him in the north-west of Tabriz there were two libraries, as well as a library as part of the university.

It is also difficult to overestimate the importance of the works of Nasreaddin Tusi in the matter of preserving and transmitting to future generations samples of the Azerbaijani and world books.

Tusi had arranged a library in the Maragha observatory built by order of Hulaki khan. The library stored over four hundred thousand books. 

Nowadays, libraries and publishing houses in Azerbaijan are of great importance. There are also over 150 publishing houses that are engaged in printing.

The Mirza Fatali Akhundov National Library of Azerbaijan is a central state library of Azerbaijan. Its facades feature the statues of various writers and poets: Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati, Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin and several others.

Founded in 1922, the library houses books, printed materials, newspapers, maps, dissertations and records. The hall has been provided with alphabetical catalogs of the books in different languages. The rare books, as well as the books about Azerbaijan covering the period until 1920 are stored in the rare book and library museum.

The country is also home to the Museum of Miniature Books.  Located within the oldest part of Baku city - Icherisheher, the museum is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the museum with the largest number of miniature books. 

The museum opened its doors in 2002 and owns one of the world's great collections of miniature books.

The creator of the museum, Zarifa Salakhova has made a unique contribution to the world of small books. 

The main objective for the establishment of the Museum was to revive love for books among the youth.

One of the world’s first miniature books museums is home to over 6,500 books published in 71 countries.

The collection contains "Flower Alphabet", "Pictures of English History", Pushkin’s "Yevgeni Onegin", "La Fontaine Fables" and the 24-volume "One Thousand and One Nights" a seminal work in Arabic literature.

Landscape paintings by eminent artists Sattar Bahlulzade and Fyodor Vasilyev have been discussed in Baku.

The event took place at the Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku in the framework of project "Conversations on Art.

Both artists are prominent representatives of this art genre. Their works are filled with patriotic spirit and love for their native lands.

The lesson was conducted by Mehriban Kadasheva, a teacher at school No. 27 in Baku. Her students prepared for the lesson their reports on the work of Fyodor Vasilyev and Sattar Bahlulzade. Some of them painted reproductions of their favorite paintings.

The lesson was attended by representatives of the Children's Department of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum. The event aroused great interest among art lovers.

With his stunning art pieces, Sattar Bahlulzade is regarded as a founder of contemporary Azerbaijani landscape painting. The artist skillfully expressed his feelings through art.

The artist's legacy includes countless works that have been exhibited all over the world, including personal exhibitions in the U.S., Britain, Turkey and Russia. Many of his works include specific areas of Azerbaijan, for example, a series of landscapes dedicated to Guba area (in the north-east of Azerbaijan): "The Shore of Gudiyalchai", "A Road to Gyz-Benevsha", "The Valley of Gudiyalchai", and "The Green Carpet".

The first personal exhibition of Bahlulzade was held in 1966 in Prague. It was the first personal exhibition of a soviet Azerbaijani artist in Europe.

In 1940, Bahlulzade worked on his final project "Revolt of Babek", dealing with a great hero of the 7th-century struggling against the Arabic invasion.He also created around 30 sketch diaries that contain his reflections on life and art.

Fyodor Vasilyev was a Russian landscape painter who introduced the lyrical landscape style in Russian art.

Vasilyev’s early works, such as After a Thunderstorm (1868), Near a Watering Place (1868) are influenced by the Barbizon school.

Vasilyev’s painting Thaw (1871) made him famous immediately. The tzar family's ordered a copy, and the Society for Promotion of Artists awarded him first prize. In 1870, he became a member of Peredvizhniki movement (one of the original twenty members).

His most famous paintings included "Volga Lagoons", "After a Rain. Country Road ",  "Illumination in St. Petersburg ",  "After the Storm " and others.

Roof by Eleven Restaurant will host an audition for Top Model Azerbaijan 2020 on February 29.

Top Model Azerbaijan will be held for the second year in a row. The winners will be selected by jury members. The contest is open for little fashionistas.

Notably, last year winners  Nigar Mammadzadeh and Murad Sultan took part in prestigious Versace fashion show, Azerbaijan Fashion Week and Boutiques Fashion Day and other fashion events. The project is headed by Novruz İsmayil.

Head of Azerbaijan’s Culture Center in Switzerland Gasim Nasirov held “Khojaly-92” pedagocial quest/simulation game with the participation of the students dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide at the “Karabakh” Azerbaijani school in Solothurn city operating under “Azerbaijan-Turkish Culture Association”. This event was Co-organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Swiss Confederation and Principality of Liechtenstein and the State Committee for Diaspora Affairs.

The quest was prepared by G.Nasirov in accordance with the UN experience.

The quest was a game of horror experienced by the people forced to leave Khojaly. During the game, the participants played for 2 hours, taking the names and surnames of real people from Khojaly.

In the second part of the project, the students gathered in one room and shared their thoughts about the game.

At the end of the project, the students wrote their impressions on the pigeon-shape papers to commemorate the spirits of 613 innocent Khojaly residents who were brutally killed. “Nor war again”, “let this horror not happen”, “those who did it are far from humanity”, “it should not be forgotten” and other impressions were written on the papers.

After the game, the students' comments about their experiences confirmed that the project had a great impact on them and was a successful project to promote the international recognition of Khojaly truths.

On the night of February 25-26, 1992, Armenian occupants committed one of the bloodiest crimes in the history of mankind in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.

The statistics of Khojaly genocide are as follows: of 3,000 people who were in the town at the moment of the attack 613 were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elders; 487 people were severely wounded, including 76 children; 1,275 people were captured and subjected to unprecedented torture; the fate of 197 people still remains unknown.

Eight families were totally annihilated. All these people were slaughtered, tortured and disabled solely because of their ethnic background, only for being Azerbaijanis.

Thousands of Baku residents arrived at the Khojaly memorial in Khatai district on February 26 to pay tribute to victims of the genocide on its 28th anniversary.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the commemorative ceremony.

A guard of honor was arranged near the memorial.

President Ilham Aliyev put a wreath at the monument.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, state and government officials put flowers at the monument.