Lachin City Day was celebrated for the second time on August 26 under the organization of the Ministry of Culture and the Special Representation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Lachin region and with the support of "Baku Maintenance Service" LLC.
The event was attended by officials, cultural figures, and other guests, as well as Lachin residents returning to their homeland.
City Day is celebrated in four places in Lachin: Bayrag Square, the "Lacinema" movie theater, the "Seyrangah" area, and the banks of the Hakari River.
At the opening ceremony, held at Flag Square, a minute of silence was observed to honor the precious memory of our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, and then the national anthem was played.
The Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan in the Lachin region, Masim Mammadov, congratulated the residents and participants of the event on the occasion of Lachin Day. “The enemy destroyed Lachin city during nearly thirty years of occupation. After Lachin was liberated, extensive restoration and construction efforts were rapidly implemented. Now, the city is regaining its former glory," M. Mammadov said. It was mentioned that this is only the second time Lachin City Day is being celebrated, following President Ilham Aliyev's order dated July 31, 2023, "On the Establishment of City Days in the Territories of Azerbaijan Liberated from Occupation."
Other speakers talked about the appealing nature of Lachin and extended their best wishes to the residents of the city on the occasion of the holiday. The Military Orchestra of the Defense Ministry performed patriotic music at the event. Afterwards, the event participants marched to the "Lacinema" cinema with a military band accompanying them.
Exhibitions and films at Lacinema
As part of Lachin City Day celebrations, "Lacinema" hosted the art exhibition "My Lachin" and the photo exhibition "On the Wings of Time".
At noon, the guests watched the documentary film "Shusha, you are free!" The film, jointly produced by the Baku Media Center and the "Salnamefilm" studio with the support of the Ministry of Culture, is directed by Javidan Sharifov and produced by Nazim Huseynov and Orman Aliyev.
This film presents for the first time the highlights of the Shusha operation, one of the most remarkable chapters in modern military history. It features interviews with our brave soldiers and officers who took part in the operation, chronicles the journey of the Special Forces, who played a valuable role in liberating Shusha from occupation, and includes exclusive footage shot during the mission.
In the afternoon, the animated films "Stolen Spring," "Tig-Tig and Friends in Search of Wonders," and "My Little Prince" were shown in the theater.
In the cartoon "Stolen Spring," Spring Girl is kidnapped by Div. When the little hero sees this, he rushes to rescue her. Both the little hero and the Spring girl escape from Div's castle, and then Spring adorns the surroundings with flowers.
The director of the film, which was produced by order of the Ministry of Culture, is Aleksandra Shirinova, the composer is Azer Hajiasgarli, and the producer is Mansur Shafiyev.
In the first part of the two-part animated film "Tig-Tig and Friends in Search of Wonders," Tig-Tig and her friends travel to our southern region and tell the young viewers about the rare ironwood tree that grows there. The film also presents various educational facts to children in a variety of ways.
In the second part, Tig-Tig and her friends visit Gobustan, one of our ancient settlements. They encounter unusual and mysterious events, and the best part of these mysterious events is that she makes a new friend.
Sultan Abbasbeyli is the scriptwriter and producer of the animated film "Tig-Tig and Friends in Search of Wonders," produced on the order of the Ministry of Culture. The composer of the film is Azer Hajiasgarli, the artist is Kubra Binnetova, the editor is Yusif Sheykhov, the sound director is Mehman Nadirov, and the producer is Mansur Shafiyev.
In the animated film "My Little Prince," the oil paintings of the young artist Maryam Alakbarli, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince," were shown within the animated segments. The way her thoughts and feelings about "The Little Prince" were conveyed through 3D animation created a unique new style.
The film was directed by Arif Maharramov on the order of the Ministry of Culture, with Elchin Efendiyev as artistic director, Iman Ismayil as screenwriter, Amil Guliyev as set designer, Azer Hajiasgarli as composer, Mehriban Zaki as sound director, and Mushfiq Hatamov as producer. In fact, the animated film "My Little Prince" achieved success at festivals in Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and South Korea.
Master classes and performances in the Seyrangah area of Lachin city
As part of the festivities, master classes in folk applied arts were held in the Seyrangah area of the city.
Shabaka, mat making, ceramics, and coppersmithing were some of the areas covered in the master classes. The participants received information about these fields, and the preparation processes for many of them were visually demonstrated.
Later, the interactive exhibition "Goçdash" was organized. The independent children's theater "Oyug" performed sketches based on our national fairy tale heroes and held a concert program with examples of children's films of Azerbaijan.
The Shusha State Musical Drama Theatre presented the play "Little Red Riding Hood," directed by the Honored Artist Loghman Karimov, based on the work of the same name by Yevgeny Shvarts. The music was composed by Azad Mammadov, and Valeh Mammadov was the stage designer.
The roles are performed by Surahi Alimammadova, Pustakhanim Zeynalova, Aybeniz Jahangirova, Nihat Heybatov, Orkhan Abishov, and Javid Javadzadeh.
The children who returned to their homeland enjoyed the play "Little Red Riding Hood" very much.
Celebrations on the Banks of the Hakari River.
The Lachin City Day celebrations carried on with various events on the banks of the Hakari River.
First, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Adil Karimli, got acquainted with the exhibitions organized for the special occasion.
Next was the "Jan Lachin" fair, presenting samples of regional cuisine. At the same time, children's activities such as kite flying, mask making, balloon games, sack races, face painting, and others were organized. Children met authors Sevinj Nuruguzi and Solmaz Amanova and took part in quizzes.
Participants of the event showed great interest in the cutting of carpets "Father's Will—Son's Victory" and "One Nation, Two States" from the looms. The "Father's Will—Son's Victory" carpet was created based on the Karabakh testament of national leader Heydar Aliyev to President Ilham Aliyev. The "One Nation, Two States" carpet is inspired by Heydar Aliyev's famous saying about Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood.
In the background of the carpet with the flags of the two states, fragments of the "Ajdahali" carpet of the famous Khatai group (XVII century) of Karabakh and the "Lotto" carpet (XVII century) of Turkey were given. The author of both carpets is Elnara Rasulova.
Then a "poetry hour" was organized as part of the program. Ilgar Fahmi, secretary of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers, hosted a presentation of the newly published literary anthology "Lachin-100.". The book, collected and compiled by poet and essayist Ilham Kahraman, is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Lachin (1924-2024).
The anthology collects the works of poets, prose writers, and ashugs who created in the territory of present-day Lachin. The poetry section, which spans 400 years, begins with the works of classics such as Sarı Ashug and Mir Hamza Nigari.
The book also includes examples of the creativity of people from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries whose works have not fully reached our era and whose names are unknown to the literary community, such as Ashug Ali (from Suvat), Amir Bey, Ashug Abbas, Gara Karim, the poet Mammadali, and Ashug Jafargulu.
Later, a mugham and poetry gathering called "Fuzuli 530 - majlisi-uns" took place. Writers from Lachin, including Sharif Aghayar and Saddam Lachin, and musicians such as honored artist and singer Ehtiram Huseynov, Khayal Huseynov, Ashiq Sahil, Ashiq Afil, and others presented an artistic performance at the event.
At the end, "The Story of Sari Ashug" was performed by actors of the Shusha State Musical Drama Theater.
City Day events ending with a gala concert and fireworks
On the afternoon of August 26, a grand gala concert was held on the main stage set up along the Hakari River to celebrate City Day.
The concert was attended by officials, well-known cultural figures, Lachin residents, and other guests.
The event started with the screening of a video depicting President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Lachin and his interaction with the city's residents.
The event featured performances by People's Artist Faig Aghayev, honored artists Ehtiram Huseynov, Lala Mammadova, Ilkin Ahmadov, Rashad Ilyasov, Elza Seyidjahan, Gunel Sheikhova, performers Ashug Ramin, Araz Humbatli, Kamila Nabiyeva, Fuad Musayev, Konul Mammadli, Vusal Hajiyev, and Murad Arif, as well as the "Amarok" group, the Azerbaijan State Song and Dance Ensemble named after Fikret Amirov, and the "Lachin" Mugham group.
Performances in the program included Mahabbat Kazimov's "My Lachin" and "I Have a Mountain of Mountains," Aydan Aliyeva's "Beautiful Azerbaijan", Rauf Mammadov's "Long Live Azerbaijan," Ogtay Kazimi's "O Life, How Strange You Are," Emin Sabitoghlu's "My Thin-Waisted," Elsa Seyidjahan's "In the Mountains of My Lachin," Alakbar Taghiyev's "In the Name of Homeland," Bahram Nasibov's "Cradle of Dreams," Telman Hajiyev's "Homeland Suite," and Khanim Ismayilgizi's "You Are a Winner."
The concert included "Pearls" composition, "Jangi" dance, "Folk bayatis", "Misri" ashug song, "Uzundara" folk dance, "Ay Lachin" folk song, and the "Shur" tasnif.
Later, the audience enjoyed a solo performance of Ibrahim Babayev, laureate of republican and international competitions, young tar performer. The artist performed the folk song "I can't forget", "MughaMix", which refers to the synthesis of Azerbaijani mugham with modernity, "Dance in the sky" and other songs.
Each performance was received with great enthusiasm and thunderous applause by the audience.
The Lachin City Day events concluded with a breathtaking fireworks display that lit up the sky of the liberated city with colorful lights.
Thus, Lachin City Day, once again celebrated with great solemnity, went down in history with unforgettable moments.
