NEWS

Audrey Azoulay was re-elected Tuesday to the post of Director-General of UNESCO with the massive support of the Organization’s 193 Member States.

Ms Azoulay’s re-election took place in a spirit of consensus with the overwhelming backing of UNESCO Member States, obtaining 155 votes out of a total of 169 ballots cast.

An Azerbaijani film has won an award at the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival, Report informs referring to the official website of the festival.

The Azerbaijani film by director Hilal Baydarov ‘Crane Lantern’ has received the festival’s award for artistic contribution.

15 works from Azerbaijan, Albania, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, South Korea and Japan participated in the competition program of the Tokyo Festival. Isabelle Huppert was the president of the jury for this year.

Around 250 exhibits have been showcased at the National Art Museum as part of the exhibition "Pearl of Culture - Karabakh".

The exhibition highlights a contribution of Karabakh art figures to Azerbaijan's cultural heritage and displays valuable exhibits kept at the National Art Museum, the State Museum of Musical Culture, the State Theater Museum, Uzeyir Hajibayli House-Museum, Bulbul Memorial Museum and Niyazi House-Museum. 

In his speech, the Culture Minister Anar Kerimov informed the museum visitors about a series of events held within "Victory Week".

The exhibition "Pearl of Culture - Karabakh" also included in this series of events. The main goal of the exhibition is to demonstrate Karabakh's centuries-old culture. 

The exposition plunges viewers into a wonderful atmosphere of the Karabakh region, a native place of the country's prominent cultural figures. 

Karabakh carpets and carpet products, artistic embroidery, traditional costumes, Khurshidbanu Natavan's manuscripts, drawings by Gambar Karabagi and Mir Mohsun Navvab, Uzeyir Hajibayli's violin, Gurban Pirimov's tar, personal belongings of Bulbul, Niyazi and numerous photographs reflecting the life and work of art figures occupy a special place in the exhibition.

Artistic landscapes reflecting the unique beauty of Karabakh, portraits of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Niyazi, Bulbul, Ilyas Afandiyev, Shamsi Badalbeyli, Farhad Badalbeyli, including public portraits of political and public figure of Karabakh, poet Molla Panah Vagif aroused great interest among public and cultural figures.

The event was followed by a fascinating performance by Honored Artist Tayyar Bayramov.

The exhibition will run until January 31, 2022. Admission is free. 

Ramiz Mustafayev's opera "Vagif" has been successfully presented at the State Opera and Ballet Theater.

People's Artist Ali Asgarov (Vizier), Honored Artists Ramil Gasimov (Vagif), Farida Mammadova (Khuraman), Farid Aliyev ( Ghajar ), Jahangir Gurbanov (Eldar), Elnur Zeynalov (mugham singer), Tural Aghasiyev (Alibay), as well as soloists Taleh Yakhyayev (Ibrahim khan),  Ayten Maharramova (old woman), Rza Khosrovzade (Vidadi), Zumrud Davudova (Gulnar) and others performed in the opera timed to the 120th anniversary of Azerbaijan's prominent mugham singer Khan Shushinski. 

The role of Vagif was performed by Honored Artist Ramil Gasimov. Speaking about his role, Ramil Gasimov said that it was great honor for him to embody the image of Vagif on the stage.

"My love, admiration and attachment to the opera "Vagif " originated many years ago. As a child, I truly enjoyed the performance of eminent vocalist, People's Artist of the USSR Lutfiyar Imanov in this opera," he added. 

The plot is based on the poem of the same name by Samad Vurgun, which tells about the dramatic fate of the Azerbaijani poet and public figure of the 18th century Molla Panah Vagif. The opera was warmly welcomed by the audience.

The opera "Vagif" was conducted by the principal conductor of the Opera and Ballet Theater, Honored Artist Ayyub Guliyev.

The project brought together Honored Art Worker Hafiz Guliyev (director), Honored Art Worker Sevil Hajiyeva (chief choirmaster) and Honored Cultural Worker Yusif Babayev (art director).

Famous for its gastronomy, Lankaran region has been included in the UNESCO list "Network of Creative Cities."

In this regard, the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry sent a candidate document to the UNESCO Secretariat.

Founded in 2004, Network of Creative Cities unites cities based on creativity and considers innovations and creativity as a key factor in order to promote sustainable urban development. 

Around 49 cities joined UNESCO's Network of Creative Cities in decision of the Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azul. 

The network includes a total of 295 cities in 90 countries that invest in culture and art. It covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.

Meanwhile, Baku is a member of the Network of Creative Cities since 2019 for "design", and Shaki since 2017 – on "art and crafts".

Azerbaijan's south-eastern region is blessed with subtropical crops, such as tea and citrus. Lankaran is a fruit lover's paradise with a multitude of delicious fruits. 

If you visit Azerbaijan, the Land of Fire, you should definitely taste its tea. Lankaran is well-known throughout Azerbaijan for producing the best tea in the country. The subtropical climate of the region is ideal for its growing.

The first tea plantations appeared here in 1896. In 1937, the first packs of Azerbaijani tea were released. In Soviet times, Azerbaijani tea was very popular.

Lankaran is also is famous for its rich and delicious cuisine. Lavangi, Lankaran kulcha, marji plov, white plov, pumpkin plov and turshu kebab are the best examples of local cuisine.

Unique landscapes, wonderful sceneries, historical attractions and great climate create favorable conditions for tourism development.

The region is home to numerous historical sites  Lankaran fortress (18th century) and Kichik-Bazar mosque (19th century) deserve special attention. In 100 kilometers north of Lankaran, there is Khanega village of the Middle Ages, where one can find such historical monuments of architecture as the fortress walls (12-14 centuries), the mosque and the tomb of Pir-Hussein, Mirakhmad Khan's Palace and some other ancient buildings.

Heydar Aliyev Center is filming a gala concert timed to Azerbaijan's Victory Day. 

In 2020, the Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Ilham Aliyev, liberated the country's territories from the Armenian occupation, which lasted almost three decades

People's Artists Aygun Kazimova, Azer Zeynalov, Brilliant Dadashova, Samir Jafarov, Tunzala Aghayeva, Zulfiya Khanbabayeva, various music ensembles will perform at the gala concert, Trend reported.

The gala concert will be aired at  Azerbaijani television on Victory Day, which is celebrated on November 8. 

National Library has enriched its collection with new books. The publications were presented by the Latvian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

The presentation took place in the library's International Cooperation Hall.

Speaking at the ceremony, the library director, professor Karim Tahirov stressed that the national libraries of Azerbaijan and Latvia actively cooperate in this area.  The libraries hold joint exhibitions and exchange books.

Karim Tahirov spoke about the Hall of International Cooperation which operates at the library since 2019. Books of 13 countries, including Latvia are kept there.  At the moment, there are permanent book corners of 16 countries in the hall. 

The donated books will be presented in permanent book corner dedicated to Latvia. The books will be also included the library's collection of foreign literature.

Deputy Ambassador of Latvia to Azerbaijan Via Bush stressed the importance of international ties between the two countries, as well as cooperation in cultural field.

She praised partnership between the libraries of two countries and joint projects implemented as part of this cooperation. 

In conclusion,  Via Bush expressed her books that books donated by the Latvian Culture Ministry to Azerbaijan National Library will further contribute to the strengthening of cultural ties.

Azerbaijan Theater Workers Union has presented a play "The Price of Happiness" based on the work of poet Sahib Mammadov. 

The one-act play was staged by Raul Turkkan in an original way. In the play, love for the main character of the work (Ramin) is expressed by the feelings of one, but in the images of four girls and women of different ages.

Four actresses play one image!. At the same time, the heroine has no name - this image reflects the feelings of mothers, sisters, wives and daughters during the 44-day Patriotic War.

"This is both a patriotic project and at the same time a performance that tells about true sincere love... After passing all the trials and prohibitions of parents, loving hearts are reunited and when it seems that real happiness comes, the war begins. Ramin goes to the front to free the native land from the occupiers, "Raul Turkkan told Trend Life.

The play  "The Price of Happiness" was presented as part of the festival " Azerbaijan is the winner" jointly organized by the Culture Ministry and Azerbaijan Theater Workers Union.

The main goal of the festival is to increase the number of dramatic performances reflecting the courage and heroism of the Azerbaijani army, headed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev.

The performance was presented in Russian, but the musical compositions were performed in Azerbaijani.

The play brought together actors of the State Academic Russian Drama Theater, Honored Actors Inna Imranova, Milana Sokolenko, actors Olga Arsentieva and Yaroslav Trifonov,Honored Actress, dancer Nigar Rzayeva and the 13-year-old student of the Baku Choreographic Academy Aylin Turkkan.

Light artist Karim Askarov, sound designer Huseyn Aliyev, assistant director Nargiz Majidova worked on the production.

The books "Black Book of Karabakh" and "Karabakh-Towards Victory" have been presented at the International Mugham Center.

The books were presented within the IRS Heritage project  implemented by the Culture Ministry, Pasha Life Insurance, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) and IRS Publishing House since 2013.

The event was attended by prominent public figures, representatives of culture, art and science.

The memory of the martyrs was honored with a minute of silence.

In his speech, the Culture Minister Anar Karimov stressed that Azerbaijani people waited for the liberation of the country's territories occupied by Armenia for almost three decades.

The Minister expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani Army which under the  leadership of  Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev restored the country's territorial integrity.  

Today a large restoration work is being carried out in these territories. Culture, traditions and customs are returning to Karabakh region. 

The Culture Minister stressed the importance of informing the world community about the destruction caused as a result of the Armenian occupation.

The publication of these books is an important initiative in this matter.

Chairman of the Executive Board Pasha Life Insurance Niyaz Ismayilov, editor-in-chief of the IRS Heritage magazine Musa Marjanli spoke about the project.

Vice President of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Eldar Hajiyev noted that the information war still continues. 

Notably, new editions, attracting attention with their design and high artistic and aesthetic solutions, tell about the occupation of Azerbaijan's territories by Armenian invaders. 

Around 17 books, including "Dreams of an ancient fortress", "Gobustan - the book of millennia", "Tales of the magical Tabriz, "Nakhchivan - the legend of the East", "Enchanting city", "Baku  symphony", "Karabakh-Chronicle of Centuries", "Hello, Azerbaijan!", "Shaki-Magic of Beauty", have been already published as part of the project aimed at promoting Azerbaijan's  cultural heritage.

The 4.4 Festival of Short Performances is underway in Baku.

The festival is being held for the first time and is co-organized by the Culture Ministry and Teatro.az with the support of the State Academic Musical Theater and the International Union of Theater Critics.

Theater teams from Baku and the country's regions, including 1 state, 6 private and 5 independent theaters, are taking part in the festival which reveals new talents. 

Addresing the event, the project manager Vidadi Gafarov expressed gratitude to the participants and jury members for their fruitful activities and announced the program of the festival's last day.

The main goal of the festival is to increase the number of dramatic performances reflecting the courage and heroism of the Azerbaijani soldiers. It also focuses on reviving the work theaters which were previously suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The theatrical performances "Until the last breath", "Mother", "Fighting Tar", "Sunday" and others were shown in a video format. 

Baku Children and Youth Theater, Lankaran State Drama Theater,  Mingachevir State Drama Ganja State. ESA Inclusive Theater, etc took part in the festival. 

After performances, jury members and theater workers joined panel discussion on the topic "How to write a play (War and theater)". 

The awarding ceremony will be held on October 5. The jury members includes Honored Art Workers Israfil Israfilov ( jury chairman), Aydin Kazimzade, Mehriban Alakbarzade, Ali Amirli and People's Artist Parviz Mammadrzayev.