Agdam is our! Karabagh is Azerbaijan!

Aghdam is our! Karabagh is Azerbaijan!

Aghdam – Ghost Town

Aghdam was founded in the 18th century and granted city status in 1828. Before the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, butter, wine and brandy, machine, and silk factories, an airport and two railway stations functioned there.

The district was occupied in 1993. Some 70,000 people were since displaced and settled in the nearby Azerbaijani provinces of Tartar and Barda. The Armenians managed to occupy  8467 sq.km of the territory of Aghdam region, i.e 77.4 percent of the total area.The occupied Aghdam city and 89 villages were destroyed on unprecedented brutality and razed to the ground. For the defence  of Aghdam 5897 people were killed, 3531 became invalids, 1871 children were orphaned. Thousands of people have become physically disabled, more than 126 thousand citizens of Aghdam have been displaced from their native land. The people of Aghdam have longed for their homeland for 27 years.

Aghdam national heroes:

Allahverdi Bagirov

Hidayet Rustamov

Canpolad Rzayev

Rovshen Huseynov

Fazil Mehdiyev

Muxtar Qasimov

Yelmar Edilov

Nadir Aliyev

Faiq Aghayev

Natiq Ahmadov

Shirin Mirzeyev

Asif Maharramov

Alabbas Iskandarov

Bakhskeyis Pashayev and hundreds of more immortal heroes…

However, as a result of the Second Karabakh War, which began on September 27, 2020, and the agreement signed, Aghdam came under the rule of Azerbaijan as a whole. Azerbaijani citizens visited Martyrs’ Alley to celebrate liberation of Aghdam region after 27 years.

Pearl of Aghdam

Tea House

The tea house was based on the idea of the academician Khudu Mammadov during Sadig Murtuzayev’s post as first Secretary of the Agdam District Party Committee of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan SSR. Naik Samadov was chief architect of the Tea House project. In the project, masonry was only used on the first floor. The remainder consisted of metal construction. It was decided to place the tea house near the mosque after discussion with Khudu Mammadov. The tea house was inaugurated on 26 July 1986. In addition to the regional officials, Vafa Guluzade, the head of the Culture Department of the CP CC of Azerbaijan SSR, also participated in the opening ceremony. In 1993, the Tea House was burned down by the Armenian Armed Forces.

Bread Museum

Aghdam Bread Museum was the second in the world, and the first and only bread museum in the USSR.

Among the exhibits collected in this museum are petrified ancient grain samples, rare grain species, numerous valuable books, manuscripts and other materials related to the development of grain growing, ancient agricultural tools: bricks, ordinary and toothed sickles, grain threshers, hand mills and other tools existed.

The museum itself has a very interesting history. So, in the very center of the city there was an old mill that was in ruins. During the difficult years of the war, this mill became the only breadbasket in Aghdam, so it was considered a sacred place and it was considered inadmissible to touch it. The idea that this mill would later function as a bakery is welcomed by all.

Well-known grain academician Imam Mustafayev brought these grains from his rich grain collection along with other samples, which significantly increased the value of the museum. Hundreds of people's bread samples were obtained.

When a Russian woman, a participant in the siege of Leningrad, heard the museum's question, she brought a hundred and fifty grams of charred bread, which she had not eaten to the point of death, and gave it to the museum. Samples of bread were sent from the cosmonaut campus. About two thousand samples of grain were collected in the museum in a short time.

But, unfortunately, this wealth was destroyed during the invasion by Armenian Armed Forces.

 

Aghdam Mosque

The mosque was built by the architect Karbalayi Safikhan Karabakhi from 1868 to 1870. The mosque was built in the typical style for mosques in Karabakh region, which included the division of stone columns on the two-story gallery and the use of domed ceilings. Mosque was one of the few buildings of the town that was not destroyed during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The Agdam Mosque was the only structurally whole building in the city, which Armenians vandalized it with graffiti, and used it as a stable for cattle and swine for years. After the ceding of Agdam back to Azerbaijan The first Friday prayer after 27 years was held in the mosque by the last imam of the mosque and Azerbaijani soldiers.

On November 23, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited the city of Aghdam, liberated from occupation. The head of state raised Azerbaijan's tricolor flag in Aghdam. The national flag of Azerbaijan is now flying proudly in Aghdam, liberated from occupation after 27 years. President Ilham Aliyev presented the Holy Quran he brought from Mecca to the Aghdam mosque.

Prepared by Nasibli Gunay and Anvarli Saltanat.

#aghdamisour

#karabaghisazerbaijan

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The sycamore forests in Zangilan

                      

       Zangilan's sycamore forest is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world after Canada 

       Along with material and cultural monuments, Azerbaijan is also distinguished by the richness of its flora and fauna. From this point of view, Zangilan is one of the most attractive regions of our country. According to the famous 14th century geographer and historian Hamdullah Qazvini, the Zangilan region has attracted attention since ancient times with its dense forests, fertile valleys, green vegetation and abundant rivers. The sycamore forest occupies an important place in the richness of flora and fauna not only of Zangilan region, but also of the whole of Azerbaijan. Sources prove that the natural sycamore forest located in the Basitchay basin, Zangilan region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, is the second, perhaps the first forest in the world in terms of physical health and appearance of trees. Geographer Ogtay Alakbarov notes that The plane tree (Platanus) is a plant species of the plane tree family and is considered to be a relic of the flora of the third period of the Cainozoic era, which has a very ancient history. Other authors and geographers note that the Zangilan plane tree is unique for its appearance, physical condition, and unique bioecological features, and is called the pearl of the flora of the East, and the giant tree of the South for its magnificent trunk and charm.

   

           The sycamore forest is a very rare source of greenery and charm, giving a special, irreplaceable beauty to the Zangilan region. Zangilan plane trees were one of the 8 species of plane trees growing in the world. It is known that two species of sycamore trees of cultural origin and wild species have disappeared in Azerbaijan. Zangilan plane trees are the basis of the plane tree species spread in Azerbaijan. This type of plane tree is called Oriental plane tree or finger-leaved plane tree. The eastern plane tree is widespread in a number of regions of the world, including the foothills of Greece, the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, the islands of Cyprus, Crete and Rhodes, Asia Minor and Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. At the time of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the plane tree in Zangilan, with an area of ​​about 120 hectares, belonged entirely to Azerbaijan.

                       

     In the first years of Soviet rule in Azerbaijan, with the transfer of Zangazur lands to Armenia, part of the plane tree forest in the Basitchay valley - along the Khachin River and Shikhavuz river valleys - remained in the villages of Nerkin-Hand, Sav and Shikhavuz in the present-day Gafan region of Armenia. Thus, the Armenians occupied part of the plane tree forest at the hands of former Soviet patrons for a while.Now these trees are also liberated like other our lands by Azerbaijanian Army

   On the initiative of prominent natural scientist, academician Hasan Aliyev, Basitchay State Nature Reserve covering 117 hectares was established in Zangilan region by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR dated July 4, 1974 to protect the plane tree forest, which is a unique natural monument. Unfortunately, in 1980, the total area of ​​the sycamore forest decreased by 10 hectares to 107 hectares. According to estimates, the total area of ​​sycamore forests in Azerbaijan is about 120  hectares. Zangilan's sycamore forest is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world after Canada. Today, the image of the Eastern plane tree leaf on the flag of the State of Canada has long been a symbol of Canada. However, many authors even conclude in their research that Zangilan's plane tree forest - East plane plane forest is the largest forest strip in the world. 

   

     Researcher, geographer Oktay Alakbarov, based on his research, came to the conclusion that Zangilan's sycamore forest is the largest sycamore forest on Earth and the first in the world in terms of the size of this forest massif. According to our scientists, Oriental plane trees are fast-growing, drought-resistant and long-lived trees. Planes can live up to 200-300 years. The plane tree is also considered very valuable in terms of its use for various purposes. Its materials are used as building materials, parquet, furniture, shipbuilding, as well as landscaping as decorative wood. 

"Zangilan's sycamore forest has attracted the attention of not only local specialists and geographers, but also prominent researchers of world science. Researcher, geographer Ogtay Alakbarov writes in his article" Zangilan's sycamore forest ". Representatives of the expedition got acquainted with the Zangilan plane trees, collected detailed information about their height, diameter, features, appearance and talked about them in their writings. According to scientists, plane trees tend to spread along the river. It sprouts, grows and grows more naturally. In this regard, formed in Zangilan region, the giant and beautiful sycamore forest begins on the eastern slopes of the Zangazur Range and spreads over an area of ​​12-15 kilometers along the flowing Basitchay.

As a result of the Armenian aggression, the Zangilan plane tree forest, like our other historical and cultural monuments, was savagely looted by our hated neighbors.

After the next military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan on September 27, our army launched counter-offensives and liberated a number of territories in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, including the city of Zangilan, a number of villages, Minjivan and Agband settlements, including the plane tree forest. We are confident that our liberated territories will become prosperous and charming places by our state. Also, the former condition, appearance, beauty and charm of the sycamore forest will be restored and will be in the center of the world's attention again.