NEWS

One of the monuments erected in the 14th century is Khojaly tomb built of the hewn white stones in Khojaly mound.

Twelve angled structure of the monument and projecting entrance door with simple stone-carved ornaments significantly differ the Khojaly tomb from the other monuments of that period. As the stone coating of the Khojaly tomb peeled off, the monument had an unusual appearance.

Ahmad bay Aghaoglu is one of the prominent figures in the history of literary, cultural and socio-political thought not only of the Azerbaijani people, but also of the entire Turkic-Islamic world.

Ahmad bay Aghaoglu played a significant role as a public figure, publicist, politician, lawyer, scientist, and intellectual in the literary and public thoughts and the political life of the history of 20th century of Azerbaijan.

His activity and works had a great impact on the public processes in Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as Europe.

Ahmad bay Aghaoglu, who had a unique analytical mind and the gift of theoretical generalization, and also received excellent education in France, was a more global and systemic thinker.

While studying at the Sorbonne law school in France, Ahmad bay Aghaoglu wrote reviews of two books on the Middle East, as well as articles for the Russian-language Kavkaz newspaper in Tbilisi.

Returning after studying in France, he opened the first library and reading room in Shusha in 1896.

In 1897, he came to Baku at the invitation of prominent Azerbaijani industrial magnate and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, and wrote articles for the "Kaspi" newspaper and, together with Ali bay Huseynzade edited the "Hayat" newspaper.

Ahmad bay, a famous figure of Turkism, became a political adviser to the commander of the Caucasian Islamic Army, which saved Azerbaijan from systematic Armenian massacres.

Ahmad bay Aghaoglu, who was very active in politics, also published dozens of articles on various topics - Islamic history, political and ideological issues, various aspects of national, international life and politics.

In 2019, President Ilham Aliyev signed an Order to mark the 150th anniversary of Ahmad bay Aghaoglu.

Shusha – the pearl of Karabakh, which was liberated from Armenia's decades-long illegal occupation on November 8, 2020, and declared as the “Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan” by President Ilham Aliyev, gave a birth to a host of prominent Azerbaijani personalities, scientists, art and public figures, including poetess, singers, composers.

Firidun bay Kocharli was born on January 26, 1863 in Shusha, and known as "Azerbaijani scientist, critic and pedagogue" in the history of Azerbaijani literary criticism and pedagogical thought.

He taught the Azerbaijani language and calligraphy at the Iravan gymnasium in 1885-1890 and 1893-1894.

While teaching at the Iravan gymnasium, Firidun bay Kocharli translated the works of famous Russian writers such as Pushkin, Lermontov, Koltsov and others, into Azerbaijani.

Renowned Azerbaijani writer Mirza Fatali Akhundzade's story "Aldanmish Kevakib (Deceived stars)" was first translated into Russian by Firidun bay Kocharli.

It is also a gratifying fact that the first notes on the literary relations between Azerbaijan and Russia belong to Firidun bay Kocharli.

In 1884, while studying at the Gori Teachers' Seminary, he wrote “The Teaching of Socrates”.

As a graduate of the Gori Teachers' Seminary, he staged his first theatrical performance in 1886.

In 1890, he staged the comedy "Monsieur Jordan and the dervish Mastali Shah" in Iravan.

He also translated works of Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Jalil Mammadguluzade and other local and foreign writers into foreign languages.

In 1910, he was appointed temporary instructor of the Azerbaijan branch of the Gori seminary.

In 1918-1920, he worked as the director of the Gazakh Teachers' Seminary, which was opened on his initiative on the basis of the Gori Teachers' Seminary.

Later he opened the first orphanage in Gazakh as well.

As Firidun bay Kocharli said, the teaching profession is above of all other professions. He had called a teacher “a beacon illuminating the future”.

The prominent writer had always stressed the importance of involvement of girls in education.

The eminent educator was bringing to the attention of people that an educated woman would raise her children as literate in the future.

After his death, the first part of the "Historical materials of Azerbaijani literature" book was published in 1925, and the second part of the book was published in 1926. His book "Gift to children" written for children was published in 1967, 1972 and 2013 respectively.

YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents the new solo exhibition “Panopticon: Frozen Moments Under A Cyclopic Gaze” by Belgian artist Michel François.

The exhibition is constructed as a dialogue between a restrictive, human-made device and the natural elements surrounding it, symbolising our desire for freedom.

The immersive installation is the result of the artist’s research residency in Baku and consists of a central piece of a surveillance tower that overlooks its surroundings with its cyclopic eye. The Panoptiсon observes everything and also reflects our presence as curious intruders or witnesses. François' construction takes its inspiration from the architectural model of an institutional prison control system invented by social theorist and philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the 18th Century. By replacing the round control room's windows with mirrors, the artist reverses the strategic purpose of the tower. In this way, François' work can be understood as a cynical critique of today’s society, contaminated by the abuse of controlling devices that steal and rob images of our private lives. The tower also reflects the objects that fill the setting around it. The rest of the sculptural interventions are presented as frozen moments on an abandoned filmset.

Like in many of his other exhibitions, the artist always looks for a ‘plan to escape’. He seems to find this freedom in the uncontrollable beauty of natural elements, such as in the exuberant form of an impossible fountain spitting out aluminum peanuts, or in the elegance of a silver fence, floating in the sky like an unnatural cloud.

The same liberating pleasure can be felt observing the repeated images of the film commissioned by YARAT and made by the artist on location, capturing the science fiction-like magic of Azerbaijan’s landscape of mud volcanoes. It shows images of lava in eruption, with fading gas-filled bubbles in non-stop transformation. They possess a secret ‘convulsive’ beauty that the surrealists once tried to define as ‘explosive-fixed’. Most of the other sculptural compositions presented are composed of carefully selected poor, almost banal materials that refer in a certain way to the natural resources that are the country's real hidden treasures.

The exhibition invites us to surf on the riffs of reality and the everyday, and transforms us for a moment into accidental tourists or actors participating in the artist’s melancholic theatre of the absurd. Central to his work is the analysis of how small, simple images and objects are the basic elements that decide how we behave as humans in this complex world.

Michel François (b.1956, Belgium) lives and works in Brussels. His conceptual practice includes sculpture, video, photography, printed matter, painting and installation work. In a manner similar to that of the Arte Povera artists, François uses great economy of means to transform seemingly uncomplicated objects and materials, or traces of past events, into deeply resonant carriers of meaning. His work can be seen as exploration of cause and effect, and the ways in which simple gestures can change the status of an object or have important consequences. He has presented projects at the Havana Biennial (2015), the Belgian Pavilion at the 48th Venice Biennale (1999), the 22nd São Paulo Biennial (1994) and documenta IX in Kassel (1992). He has had solo exhibitions at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Dia Center for the Arts, New York; S.M.A.K., Ghent; Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona; Kunsthalle Bern, Bern; Haus der Kunst, Munich. He has participated in group exhibitions at venues such as Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro; Tapei Fine Art Museum, Taipei; Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz; Jeu de Paume, Paris; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and Fondation Hermès, Brussels.

The exhibition is curated by Erich Weiss, a Belgian born artist/curator, based in Barcelona. At the moment he works as venue coordinator for documenta fifteen in Kassel.

"The "Shusha talks" project is dedicated to the year of Shusha. We want a Shusha holiday mood this year. We must promote Shusha as the mainline in all our events," Minister of Culture Anar Karimov said at the presentation of the Shusha talks project, Report informs.

According to him, this year will mark the 270th anniversary of the foundation of Shusha city. The Minister stressed that the importance of Shusha stems not only from its history but also from the fact that it is the cradle of Azerbaijani culture.

The Minister noted that Shusha would be promoted in the international arena.

A conference “Digitalization of cultural heritage” has been held at ADA University with the support of the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan, Report informs.

The event was held within the Fantaz EU festival.

Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Viktor Szederkenyi stated at the conference that Baku and Budapest are united by close cooperation in a number of areas, including cultural and humanitarian ties.

According to the ambassador, Hungary is ready to share experience with Azerbaijan in the digitalization of cultural heritage.

The diplomat expressed satisfaction that Azerbaijan-Hungary relations are getting stronger.

Deputy rector of ADA University Fariz Ismayilzade, in turn, noted the importance of preserving cultural heritage, archives, old maps and atlases that have survived to this day. He spoke about the new project “Digitalization of the newspapers of the ADR (Azerbaijan Democratic Republic),” within the framework of which the archives of that period will be digitized.

The next speaker was a representative of the Hungarian company Arcanum, which since 2010 has been engaged in digitalization, as well as restoration of historical maps.

Jabbar Garyaghdioglu (1861-1944), one of the prominent Azerbaijani musicians, was born in the “Pearl of Karabakh” – Shusha city, which was liberated on November 8, 2020, after 30 years of illegal Armenian occupation.

Garyaghdioglu was a singer, composer, musician and People's Artist of Azerbaijan. He was one of the most prominent representatives of the art of singing. His voice was a strong dramatic-tenor type.

With this strong and majestic voice, he sang "Segah", which is considered to be an extremely lyrical-minor spirit mugham, very sad and soft, but at the same time burning, giving the impression that the mugham is sung by a lyrical tenor, not a dramatic tenor.

Garyaghdioglu also played a great role in the emergence of opera in Azerbaijan.

He was the first actor on the country’s opera stage. His "Shahnaz", "Qatar", "Heyrati" are the most precious pearls of Azerbaijan’s musical treasure.

Jabbar Garyaghdioglu was one of the first organizers of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory.

On May 30, 1934, at the South Caucasus Art Olympiad in Tbilisi (Georgia), 74-year-old Jabbar Garyaghdioglu was awarded the first place for his outstanding performance and purity and received the First Order of Honor of the Transcaucasian Central Executive Committee.

On March 31, 1936, the 75th birth anniversary of Jabbar Garyaghdioglu was solemnly celebrated in the building of the Azerbaijan State Drama Theater.

Azerbaijani singers followed the tradition of performing mugham melodies with Persian poems until the beginning of the 20th century. It was prominent Azerbaijani singer Jabbar Garyaghdioglu who has put an end to this tradition and thus, performance of mughams in the Azerbaijani language has become a tradition in Azerbaijan, as well as in the entire South Caucasus, where Azerbaijani mughams are very popular.

Azerbaijan is a country, where national traditions are carefully preserved. Novruz Bayrami (“novruz” means “a new day”) is the most ancient and favorite holiday of the Azerbaijani people, a holiday of spring’s and New Year’s coming. It is celebrated on the day of vernal equinox the 21 March.

Novruz is a symbol of nature’s rebirth, a symbol of fertility. The preparation for Novruz takes much time. Streets and squares are decorated, trees are planted, new clothes are sewed, eggs are coloured, sweets are prepared (shakarbura, pakhlava, etc.)

Every house has certainly on the table samani (green sprouts of wheat) and khoncha- a tray with sweets, nuts, candies dried fruits etc.

During four weeks before the holiday, a campfire is set on every Tuesday, and people, according to the tradition, must jump over the fire for several times.

Akhir Charshanba – the last Tuesday before the holiday is considered to be particularly important. This day is full of various ceremonial activities, which reflect the desire to provide well-being for family in the coming New year.

Novruz is a family holiday. On the holiday everybody gathers, lays the table, lights up candles. In order to make the New Year rich and fertile, many various delicious courses are served.

The holiday continues on the next day by general walking, which is accompanied by performers of national songs and dances, folklore groups; competitions on various national sports are organized.

William Hurt, whose laconic charisma and self-assured subtlety as an actor made him one of the 1980s foremost leading men in movies such as “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died, according to AP.

He was 71.

Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died Sunday of natural causes. Hurt died peacefully, among family, his son said. The Hollywood Reporter said he died at his home in Portland, Oregon. Deadline first reported Hurt’s death. Hurt was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to the bone in 2018.

In a long-running career, Hurt was four times nominated for an Academy Award, winning for 1985′s “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” After his breakthrough in 1980’s Paddy Chayefsky-scripted “Altered States” as a psychopathologist studying schizophrenia and experimenting with sensory deprivation, Hurt quickly emerged as a mainstay of the ’80s.

In Lawrence Kasdan’s 1981 steamy neo noir “Body Heat,” Hurt starred alongside Kathleen Turner as a lawyer coaxed into murder. In 1983’s “The Big Chill,” again with Kasdan, Hurt played the brooding Vietnam War veteran Nick Carlton, one of a group of college pals who gather for their friend’s funeral.

This year marks the 190th anniversary of Khurshidbanu Natavan, a great poetess and the daughter of Mehdi Gulu khan, the last ruler of the Karabakh khanate.

On March 14, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to celebrate famous poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan's 190th anniversary.

The Culture Ministry has been tasked with developing and implementing a plan of action in this regard.

The Cabinet of Ministers is in charge of all issues that arise as a result of the order.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was born on August 6, 1832, in the town of Shusha. Being the only child in the family and descending from Panah Ali Khan, she was the only heir of the Karabakh khan, known to the general public as the "daughter of the khan".

She grew popular through her relationship-themed ghazals and rubaiyat. Kindness, friendship, humanism and love were the main themes of Natavan's ghazals. 

Her romantic poems express the feelings and sufferings of a woman who was not happy in her family life and who lost her son.  She adopted the pen name Natavan, a Persian term meaning "powerless", after her son’s tragic death in 1885. Some of her poems are still used in folk songs.

In addition to poetry, Natavan was also engaged in painting. She was exceptionally good at pencil sketching and attractive embroidery as well. Her landscape sketches were the first-of-a-kind in European style in Azerbaijani art, which perfectly combined the concepts of the Western and Oriental art forms. Her embroidery works were regarded as masterpieces.

After her father's death, she was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh.

Even though she took over the Karabakh Empire at the young age of 13, Natavan successfully established her literary career and managed the responsibilities of developing her city, Shusha.

She did a lot for the welfare of people, including building waterworks, opening schools and building hospitals.

Prominent for her charity and social activity, Natavan was the first to provide her home city Shusha with drinking water.

Among her famous deeds was a water main that was first laid down in Shusha in 1883, thus solving the water problem of the townsfolk.

Moreover, she also did a lot for the development and popularization of the famous breed of Karabakh horses. Karabakh horses from Natavan's stud were known as the best in Azerbaijan. In an international show in Paris in 1867, a Karabakh horse named Khan from Natavan's stud received a silver medal.

The daughter of the khan was also active in sponsoring one of the first literary societies. She established the first literary society in Shusha and went on to sponsor several more across the country. Majlis-I Uns (Society of Friends) became a renowned poetic group in Karabakh.

In 1858 the poetess met in Baku with French writer Alexander Dumas and presented her manual works. 

The French novelist is said to have been charmed by her oriental beauty, literary and artistic talent. As an honored guest at Natavan's family home, he was given a chess set after playing chess with his host. 

The Alexandre Dumas Museum in Paris houses a hand-crafted pouch given by Natavan to the French writer when she defeated him in a chess game upon his halt in Shusha during his trip through the Caucasus.

Natavan died in 1897 in Shusha. As a sign of respect, people carried her coffin on their shoulders all the way from Shusha to Aghdam, some 30 km northeast, where she was buried in a family vault.