German scientist presents book about Shusha city [PHOTO]

By Laman Ismayilova

Associate Professor at Germany’s Giesen University, turkologist
Michael Reinhard Hess has presented his book dedicated to Shusha
city, Azernews reports, citing Azertac.

The presentation of “Shusha’s heritage. History and development
of Azerbaijan’s culture capital ” took place in Vienna,
Austria.

Head of the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Vienna Leyla Gasimova,
who opened the event with an introductory speech, informed the
guests that 2022 has been declared the Year of Shusha in
Azerbaijan.

Many large-scale events are being organized in Azerbaijan and
outside the country to mark the date.

She recalled that Michael Reinhard Hess’ new book was presented
for the first time in the German-speaking world and in Europe.

Leyla Gasimova emphasized that such scientific works make an
important contribution to the spread of Azerbaijani truths in the
world.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Austria Rovshan Sadigbayli stressed
Shusha’s role in the formation of the cultural and
national-spiritual identity of the Azerbaijani people, as well as
the city’s political, geographical, and economic importance.

He outlined the significance of Shusha city for Azerbaijan and
recalled that this year the city has been at the center of
attention, reminding that a number of events are being held to mark
the Year of Shusha and Azerbaijan’s Victory Day.

Head of the Linguistic Support Department at Azerbaijan Ministry
of Foreign Affairs Rizvan Nabiyev said that such epithets as “the
cradle of Azerbaijani culture and music”, “the art temple of the
Caucasus”, “the conservatory of the East”, “the main crown of
Karabakh” are an appreciation of the historical role played by the
city of Shusha. At the same time, celebrating the day of the end of
the war as Victory Day, when the glorious Azerbaijan Army liberated
the city of Shusha from the occupation in the 44-day Patriotic War
under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, has a great symbolic meaning.

In his speech, Rizvan Nabiyev noted that the book provides
information not only about the city of Shusha but also about the
stages of the general and cultural history of Karabakh and
Azerbaijan in the last 270 years.

A detailed analysis of Shusha’s cultural and literary legacy is
based on scientific facts and sources, the achievements of the
Azerbaijani people in these fields.

In the monograph, which refers to more than 600 sources in
different languages, attention is also paid to the works of
Armenian authors, and important historical maps and photos are
included in the book.

It was stated that Shusha is not only an integral part of
Azerbaijan from the point of view of its history, politics, and
international law, but also belongs to the Azerbaijani people with
its literary, cultural, and ethnographic heritage, and the
political administration of Karabakh was carried out by Azerbaijani
statesmen.

The monograph proves that Shusha and Karabakh have never been
part of any Armenian state, and the elements of the literary,
cultural, and ethnographic heritage of these territories confirm
this fact.

At the end of the XIX century, 95 poets and writers, 38 singers,
22 musicologists, 11 calligraphers, and 16 sculptors, astronomers,
architects, and teachers lived in Shusha, and almost all of them
were ethnic Azerbaijanis.

The author compares the position of Shusha in Azerbaijani
culture with the city of Weimar in Germany and Vienna in
Austria.

In his book, Michael Reinhard Hess pays special attention to the
driving role of the city of Shusha in the development of
Azerbaijani culture.

Speaking at the book presentation, he underlined that Shusha
inspired many prominent poets, writers, musicians, and composers
like Uzeyir Hajibayli, who lived in this centuries-old city.

German scientist believes that Uzeyir Hajibayli’s first ideas
for writing the opera “Leyli and Majnun” came in while he was in
Shusha.

The literary-artistic environment, music, and stage performances
influenced the composer’s growth and the creation of the first
opera in the Eastern world. This once again shows that there was a
deep and rich creative environment in the city.

The book presentation was followed by a classical music program
with the participation of Anar Ibrahimov, an Azerbaijani violinist,
conductor, and composer living in Germany.

Along with the works of Azerbaijani and European composers, Anar
Ibrahimov’s “My Heart Shusha” was also performed at the
concert.

The heart-touching composition performed by young musician
Orkhan Jalilov, was met with great interest and sympathy by the
audience.

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