President’s special rep: Azerbaijan restores 16 monuments in Karabakh

Special representative of the Azerbaijan President in Shusha district Aydin Karimov has said that construction work is underway in Shusha, the city is constantly changing, it is regaining its former historical appearance.

Karimov made these remarks at the official closing ceremony of the year “Shusha - the cultural capital of the Turkic world - 2023”, APA reports.

“The construction work is underway in Shusha, the city is constantly changing. Shusha is regaining its former historical appearance,” Karimov noted.

“Our monuments, reflecting the history of Shusha and Karabakh, are being restored. To date, 16 of our monuments have been completely restored,” he said.

Karimov noted that it is a great honour that Shusha was declared the cultural capital of the Turkic world 2023.

“We see how much Shusha means for the entire modern Turkic world,” he added.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Culture Minister Adil Karimli has said that TURKSOY’s activity in promoting and presenting Turkic culture are invaluable.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture is always ready to render the necessary support in this sphere.

“TURKSOY’s activity in promoting and presenting Turkic culture are invaluable. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture is always ready to render the necessary support in this sphere,” the minister noted.

The minister spoke about the importance of local anti-terrorist measures carried out by Azerbaijan in September 2023 for the Turkic world.

“We think that one of the most memorable events of this year is Azerbaijan’s complete restoration of the sovereignty. This became a holiday for the entire Turkic world,” Karimli added.

Karimli touched upon the large-scale restoration work carried out in the territories liberated from occupation under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“At the same time, events of local and international significance are being held in Shusha and other liberated territories under the leadership of First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva. The traditional cultural atmosphere in Shusha and Karabakh is being revived and promoted,” he said.

In the final part of his speech, the minister expressed gratitude to journalists for their work in propaganda.

The official closing ceremony of the year “Shusha - the cultural capital of the Turkic world - 2023” is being held in Shusha, jointly organised by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and the International Organisation of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) on December 10.

The officials, scholars and representatives of art, writers, delegations of TURKSOY member states, heads of Turkic cooperation organisations and other guests attended the event, organised in accordance with the order of the Azerbaijani President dated December 6, 2022 “On measures related to the declaration of Shusha city as the ‘Cultural Capital of the Turkic World’ for 2023”, according to Azertac.

The official opening ceremony of the year “Shusha - the cultural capital of the Turkic world - 2023” jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture and TURKSOY was held in Shusha on May 12.

Shusha was declared the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” for 2023 upon the decision of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of the TURKSOY member states in the Turkish city of Bursa on March 31, 2022.

The project entitled “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” was initiated in 2010 at the 10th summit of the heads of Turkic-speaking countries in Istanbul. According to the decision, every year one city of the Turkic world is declared a “cultural capital”.

So far, Astana (2012, Kazakhstan), Eskisehir (2013, Türkiye), Kazan (2014, Tatarstan - Russian Federation), Merv (2015, Turkmenistan), Sheki (2016, Azerbaijan), Turkistan (2017, Kazakhstan), Kastamonu (2018 Türkiye), Osh (2019, Kyrgyzstan), Khiva (2020, Uzbekistan) and Bursa (2022, Türkiye) became the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World”. Shusha is the 11th city as part of this mission.

During the event, guests will see a musical and folklore concert programme from the countries of the Turkic world.

The TURKSOY Press Awards will also be presented as of 2022.

Following the event, the Turkmen city of Anev will be declared cultural capital of the Turkic world for 2024.