Art

APA's employees visited the territories liberated by the Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev and prepared a series of reports from those areas in the "In the Footsteps of Victory" project. Here is the next reportage from this series:

The beginning is here: https://apa.az/en/xeber/culture-policy/to-shusha-towards-the-summit-of-victory-photo-355741

The second reportage: https://apa.az/en/xeber/social-news/summit-of-the-patriotic-war-history-city-culture-city-photo-355965

The third reportage: https://apa.az/en/xeber/azerbaijan_art/door-of-heaven-bas-relief-found-in-house-museum-of-uzeyir-bey-photo-356045

Destroyed Palace of Garaboyuk Khanim

The road passing through the front of Uzeyir Bey's house museum extends to the castle walls. Here the eastern wing of the castle walls is completed with a tower. Whether because of a tree growing in the middle of the tower or under the influence of years, a part of the building has already collapsed. In the past, Palace of Garaboyuk khanim was located in the part adjacent to the tower. However, currently there are no buildings in this area. It seems that the palace was completely destroyed during the occupation years. Craftsmen are working on the castle walls, restoring the tower and the destroyed parts, returning it to its historical appearance.

Three doors of the fortress

Abyss and rocks, surrounding Shusha like a ring, create a natural defense system. That is why fortress walls cover just north-east of the city. Panahali khan instructed building walls in the directions, of which defense can be weak, when he moved the center of the khanate to Shusha.

Aghoghlan door in the east direction of fortress walls now falls to yard of Shusha prison and place of the door was closed and connected to prison wall.

Cold cells of Shusha prison

As I mentioned a while ago, a part of fortress walls stretch until Shusha prison. The prison was built in 1848 in the down part of fortress walls on a severe rock during the Tsarist Russia

Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, imprisoned in 2014 in Kalbajar by Armenians, were kept in these cameras #4 and #5. As it is said, Gachag Nabi was also lived here as a prisoner for a while.

Saatli Mosque

Running from atmosphere of Shusha prison, which makes a person to feel depressed, we arrive at gala. Coming into Ganja door, we come to Saatli mosque in M. F. Akhundov Street.

Historical-cultural monument of the country was constructed on the basis of architect Karbalayi Safikhan Garabahi in 1883.

Repair works are underway in the mosque now, it is up to completion.

School, where Hagverdiyev got education

I did not use the word of “great” by coincidence. Building of Shusha Realni School is really big and great.

It seems that hole in side walls of the building, appeared as a result of gun, has remained as an unrecovered wound.

Shusha Realni School was a new style school in Shusha city of Azerbaijan with 6 classes in 1881. Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev, Yusif Vezir Chamanzaminli, Khan Shushinksi, and other prominent persons got education here.

The current building of the school has been constructed in 1901-1908 years.

Information about this has been reflected on a note carved in stone in Russian in the upper part of the main building of the school. As with other monuments in Shusha, although the roof of the school, walls, corridors, and room were destroyed, the wooden entrance door is safe. At the entrance, the word "Salve" is written on the tile floor. To be honest, I don't understand the meaning of this word at first, but later I learned that "Salve" means "Be good" in Latin translation.

Nearby the school, there is another building called “Hospital”. Here have been the Shusha hospital once upon a time, after that it operated as a dormitory of the Realni school. This building that is protected as a monument of local importance is, unfortunately, currently in a state of disrepair.

Where are the paintings of Mir Movsum Navvab?

After finishing our works here, E says that he can show us the house of poet, painter, designer, musicologist, astronomer, literary critic, historian Mir Movsum Navvab. We ask him to deliver us there before the weather is getting dark.

The house of Navvab was between the houses on the right side after turning right on the road in front of the mosque in the Mamayi neighborhood. Although we passed several times from front of it, how can we know that Navvab’s house is very near to us. We park our car in front of a "living house" (only the walls are left), which is protected as a monument of local importance. Going down the narrow path between the houses, I look up at the buildings or at the picture of the Navvaab's house museum that I found on the Internet.

Fortunately, our search became fruitful. I enter the yard from the arched yard door where the artist, who never left Shusha in his 85 years of life, probably spent most of his life here. Although there is not accurate information on my hand, I think that members of the “Majlisi-Faramushan” literary assembly, organized by him, also often gathered at this poetry and art center.

Here is a two-story house surrounding by a balcony from the two sides. The house has become a museum since 1989. The artist's printing press, telescope, and paintings have been among the exhibits. The walls of the house have been decorated with paintings which were made by the artist’s own hand.

We enter to the first floor of the house. There are two rooms downside. But there is not anything except fireplaces and niches. Some parts were painted, others were whitewashed. The steps and floor climbing to the second floor of the house have been severely damaged as a result of the fire. Despite this, we climb up from the second floor and continue our "investigations". Unfortunately, we do not encounter anything like a painting in the upstairs rooms, either left under the wallpaper or scratched. Maybe Navvab, who was known as an astronomer has put his telescope here where I stay and watched the stars, or when he got tired, he was watching inscriptions on the minaret of the Upper Govhar Aga Mosque, which is his handiwork, how can we know.

The Navvab, also known as an astronomer, may have left his telescope where I stood and looked at the stars, or when he got tired he could look at the inscriptions on the minaret of the Upper Govhar Aga Mosque, which is his handiwork - what do we know?

I stayed in front of the Khoja Mərjanli mosque

The lower part of Navvab's house is the Khoja Marjanli neighborhood. It is one of the upper quarters built in the 19th century, in the center of the city. There is a bath, a mosque, and a spring of the same name. E gives information about this: “Do you want to shoot?”. “Of course”,- I said “Let's shoot until it gets dark” and we pass through the blackberry bushes and take a narrow path in the direction shown by E. Unfortunately, the bathhouse was completely destroyed and turned into a pile of stones, and the sawdust, which disappeared in the branches of the blackberry bushes and branches, "says" that it is a historical monument. Khoja Marjanli mosque places a little ahead of that only some part of its wall left and remains has been destroyed. Inside of the mosque was covered by trees. There is a spring with the same name in the upper part of Khoja Marjanli.

The muezzin sings: GOD IS ONE, THERE IS NO SUCH! But the enemy hears these sacred words also in this way, even in a way of threat: SHUSHA is the ONE for us among the cities, THERE IS NO SUCH!. This has been confirmed by the blood of our martyrs, and the bravery of veterans!

(To be continued)

Photo-Ilkin Nabiyev© APA GROUP

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