NEWS

The city of Shusha has completely been cleared of mines, but in any case, citizens should be careful, Chief of the Shusha Police Department Samad Maharramov said while welcoming the first passengers of a regular bus service Baku-Shusha-Baku that started today.

"I have to inform you that while walking around the city, you can see ammunition somewhere. Immediately inform the police officers accompanying you," Samad Maharramov said.

The Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku will host a concert on February 1 within "Youth Support" project. The concert is timed to the Azerbaijan Youth Day.

The public holiday takes its origin from the First Youth Forum which was held in 1996.

A year later, national leader Heydar Aliyev signed a decree according to which February 2 was declared the Day of Azerbaijani Youth.

As part of the concert, young musicians  will perform well-known music pieces  accompanied by the Honored Artist, pianist Nargiz Aliyeva.

Recall that "Youth Support" project has been held since 2016 to discover and support young talents in Azerbaijan.

The project is headed by the director of the State Philharmonic Hall, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Murad Adigozalzadeh, and the project coordinator is Ayla Karimova-Zekeriyye.

Within the project, concert programs are traditionally held several times a month.

The programs presented within the project are designed for a wide audience with different musical tastes, including connoisseurs of high academic performance, mugham, jazz, etc.

Azerbaijan`s Ministry of Culture, Baku Media Center and several other organizations will shoot the eight-part series about famous Baku millionaire, philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.

The 200th anniversary of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev will be celebrated in 2023. The 200th anniversary of the philanthropist was also included in the UNESCO anniversaries program for 2023.

Used by every family in Azerbaijan, lavash is a soft, thin unleavened flatbread made of flour and water.

The word “lavash” is repeatedly found in early Turkic written sources. While in other countries, these flat cakes are called “katyrma”, “zhupka” or “yufka”, however, their composition and taste is almost the same, like the way of baking.

Worldwide known “Dīvānu Luğāti-t-Türk” dictionary of 1072-1074 years, one of the first unique scientific written monuments of the Turkic peoples written by outstanding scientist and thinker of Turkic world Mahmud Kashgari, contains information that at that time in Azerbaijan was prepared thin bread.

The flatbread was also highlighted in ancient book - Kitabi-Dada Gorgud” epos, the written Azerbaijani antique monument and Oghuz-Turkic legend, under the name “Bozlamadzh”. The Azerbaijani literature provides essential information about lavash by the greatest poets and writers, including Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati Ganjavi, Khagani Shirvani.

In Azerbaijan, lavash is baked not only in traditional ovens which is tandir (an earth or stone oven in the ground), but also in saj – a large convex pan, under which fires if made.

In Azerbaijan, you can buy fresh, tasty bread of various kinds, even flatbread lavash in bakeries and supermarkets.

Lavash is also used for cooking different Azerbaijani national dishes and the name lavash can be found in various culinary recipes. This is an indication of Azerbaijani people's rich imagination. In many regions of the country, lavash is dried and kept in storage for long periods.

Baking lavash is a collective activity; all members of the family, as well as neighbours and friends in some settlements and villages, participate in the process. During communal work joking prevails, a jovial mood and friendships, and hospitality traditions are strengthened. Perhaps this is why lavash has become a symbol of tradition with deep roots in Azerbaijan.

Lavash is cut during many important events - in weddings, marriage ceremonies, and mourning rituals.

The tradition of preparing and cutting lavash is the basis of Azerbaijan cuisine. In archaeological excavations carried out in the country’s territory, artefacts used for the preparation of lavash and belonging to the Bronze Age have been found.

All of this shows that the method of preparing lavash has remained unchanged over the centuries. And this fact is the embodiment of the Azerbaijani people's commitment to their centuries-old tradition.

Each people have their own customs associated with lavash. In Azerbaijan and Iran, it is put on the bride’s shoulders or crumbled over her head to wish the couple prosperity while in Turkey it is given to the couple’s neighbours.

Bread has been a symbol of abundance and prosperity for centuries. The lavash bread making has been highly respected and preserved tradition that passed down from generation to generation. The Aghdam Bread Museum is a clear evidence in this regard.

Since the first bread museum was established in Zurich in 1940, many others have opened around the world, including in Azerbaijan. In addition to the display of about 2,800 exhibits, the museum provided information about bread and bakery products, agricultural tools and their history.

Unfortunately, however, the Museum of Bread in Aghdam, like much of this once blossoming town, was destroyed during the first Karabakh War and remained in the Armenian-occupied zone of Karabakh region for almost three decades.

After the Second Karabakh War, the city of Aghdam was liberated and under the instructions of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, restoration work of the city, including the improvement of historical, architectural and cultural monuments have begun.

Lavash, together with Katirma, Yupka, Yufka - the preparation, meaning and appearance of traditional bread as an expression of culture, jointly presented by Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, at Azerbaijan’s initiative, was included in UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the 11th Session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held from November 28 to December 2, 2016, in the capital city Addis-Ababa of Ethiopia.

"Just recently, the statue of the well-known philanthropist of Azerbaijan, founder of the 1st secular school, Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, was inaugurated in Baku.

"And next year we will be celebrating his 200th birthday at UNESCO HQs as part of the UNESCO Anniversaries List," Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO tweeted, Report informs.

The anniversaries of the philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev are included in the anniversary list of UNESCO. The decision was made at the UNESCO General Conference held in Paris, France, on November 9-24 last year.

The State Art Gallery has launched a virtual exhibition dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of the Black January.

The exhibition includes works from the gallery's collection. Among them are art pieces by prominent artists Nazim Rakhmanov, Rafael Muradov, Faig Ahmadov, Ayyub Huseynov, Namig Zeynalov, Beyim Hajizade, Eldar Babazade, Rashid Heydarzade, Nazim Rakhmanov and others.

The exhibition is available on the gallery's social networks.

On January 20, 1990, hundreds of civilians were crushed or injured by the Soviet troops in Baku, upon an order from the USSR leadership that was trying to maintain the Communist regime in Azerbaijan and strangle the national liberation movement.

The invasion was launched at midnight and was committed with brutality. Some 137 people were killed, 611 were wounded, 841 were illegally arrested, and five went missing as a result of the intrusion of troops into Baku and other regions of the country.

Founded in 1975, Azerbaijan State Art Gallery displays more than 14,000 paintings, graphics, sculptures, decorative and applied arts and contemporary art examples. 

The main activities of the gallery include preservation and restoration of Azerbaijan's cultural heritage, research on the current situation and prospects of the fine arts and decorative-applied arts and much more. 

The majority of exhibitions in Azerbaijan and abroad are mainly composed of the works stored in the gallery. 

The State Art Gallery regularly successfully holds various art projects, lectures and other events.

On January 18, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of a monument to philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev in Baku, Report informs, referring to the press service of the President of Azerbaijan.

New regular flights are launched between Azerbaijan’s Gabala and Russia’s Moscow as part of a new route network for 2022, Report informs, citing the press service of Azerbaijan Airlines.

Nordwind Airlines performed the first flight from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Gabala on Boeing 737-800, which can carry up to 189 passengers. The total flight time was three hours.

A regular flight on the Moscow-Gabala-Moscow route will be operated once a week - on Sundays. At 4:10 local time (GMT +4), the plane lands in Gabala, at 5:20 it returns to the capital of Russia.

The Gabala International Airport meets all international requirements and standards and is able to accommodate aircraft of any type.

Gold prices rose slightly on January 17 morning, Report informs.

The price of February futures for gold on the New York Comex exchange increased by 0.18%, or by $3.25, to $1,819.8 per troy ounce.

Investors’ attention is focused on the further actions of the Fed, which is likely to raise the discount rate already at the next meeting.

The Wall Street Journal reports that recent comments by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, which signaled a very measured course of action in the fight against inflation, imply that the rate can rise only slightly, which means that the precious metal has room for a rise in price.

Global oil prices rose, albeit weakly, on January 17 morning due to increased global demand, according to trading data, Report informs citing Prime.

As of 8:50 a.m. (GMT+4), the price of March futures for Brent rose by 0.05% to $86.1 per barrel, March futures for WTI grew in price by 0.18% to $83.44 per barrel.

According to ANZ analysts quoted by the Wall Street Journal, global oil demand was higher than expected as the omicron strain of the coronavirus appears to be milder than others.

Strong global demand has helped ease concerns about China, where the anti-COVID strategy has led to increased restrictions, the experts added.