Participants of the international conference on “Azerbaijan-Turkiye strategic alliance – a source of peace and stability for the Caucasus and the region”, dedicated to the first anniversary of the Shusha Declaration, have visited Azerbaijan’s cultural capital – the city of Shusha.

The conference participants first came to the city square to view the monuments of prominent cultural figures of Azerbaijan - Khurshidbanu Natavan, Bulbul and Uzeyir Hajibayli, which were vandalized during the occupation.

They were informed that the Armenian occupants carried the monuments to Armenia for melting them down, but on the initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev, they were purchased from Armenia and delivered to Azerbaijan, where they were kept in the courtyard of the Art Museum in Baku, and after the liberation of Shusha, they were returned to their former places.

Then the conference participants viewed the house of the 19th century, another monument subjected to Armenian vandalism. The house belonged to the outstanding Azerbaijani poetess, daughter of the last ruler of Karabakh khanate, Mehdigulu Khan Javanshir - Khurshidbanu Natavan.

It was brought to the attention of the visitors that the Shusha Music School, the first children's music school in Azerbaijan, built on the initiative of the founder of Azerbaijani vocal art Bulbul in the early 1930s, began its activity in the above house.

The event participants were also informed that in 1987, after major repair and restoration work carried out in the house building, the Karabakh Khurshidbanu Natavan branch of the National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi operated there.

It was noted that during the occupation of Shusha, hundreds of rare pearls of art, paintings, carpets, miniatures, memorabilia, and archaeological specimens collected in the museum's local branch were destroyed or looted.

During visit to Shusha fortress, the conference participants were informed about the city’s history and construction of the fortress walls. The fortress, built by the Karabakh khanate’s ruler Panahali Khan, protected the city from external attacks for a long time. During the occupation, the walls of the fortress were subjected to Armenian vandalism. After the liberation of the city, repair and restoration work was carried out in the fortress.

Then they visited the Jidir Duzu. It was brought to their attention that during the second Karabakh war, Azerbaijani soldiers, having climbed the rocks to the Jidir Duzu, and liberated Shusha, and that currently, the Jidir Duzu, as before the occupation, is a venue for grandiose events.