By Azernews

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.