Today, Azerbaijan’s Tourism Office, who represents Azerbaijan officially in the State of Israel, invited me to give a talk about Karabakh’s tourism potential in honor of Azerbaijan’s Victory and Flag Day. In the talk, I discussed how Karabakh used to be a major resort area during the Soviet period due to the beautiful nature in the area, such as the Umbrella Waterfall, the Kalbajar Springs and other beautiful cultural and historical heritage sites. I also discussed how Armenia ruined this beautiful pristine region, yet mentioned how Azerbaijan is trying to make Karabakh great again.
Karabakh translates into English as Black Garden. Thus, with all of the forests, meadows, rivers, springs and waterfalls, the area has wonderful tourism potential for nature lovers across the globe can easily fall in love with Karabakh. Karabakh is one of the most ancient regions of not only Azerbaijan but also the entire world. The site of the most ancient human beings was found in the Azykh cave of this region. It proves Azerbaijan to be one of the cradles of civilization.
The researcher of the Azykh cave, Azerbaijani scientist M.Guseynov, wrote: “River stone instruments discovered in the Azykh cave are close to those of the Orduvay culture of East Africa. At the same time the instruments were prepared in different ways thus making it possible to single out the Guruchay culture composed of the labor instruments found in the lower layers of the Azykh cave…The Guruchay culture can be dated back to 1 million 200 thousand years ago.”
Historically, Shusha is the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. Rich in history, Shusha, founded by Karabakh Khan Penahali in 1752, has numerous historical monuments, and many distinguished scientists, intellectuals and cultural icons were born there. It is known as the "cradle of Azerbaijani music" because of its famous composers and musicians such as Jabbar Garyaghdioglu, Gurban Pirimov, Bulbul (Nightingale), Seyid Shushinski, Khan Shushinski, Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Rashid Behbudov, Niyazi, and Fikret Amirov.
Writers and thinkers including Hurshidbanu Natavan, Gasim Bey Zakir, Suleyman Sani Akhundov, Abdurrahim Hagverdiyev, and Najaf Bey Vazirov were also born there. Ahmet Agaoglu, a politician, jurist, writer and journalist, is also a native of Shusha. Late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev termed Shusha “a holy city, castle, and monument" not only for the people of Shusha but for all Azerbaijanis.
A refugee from Aghdam once related: “In Aghdam, there were many things: A cinema, a theater, factories, farms, etc. Aghdam specialized in grapes. They produced wine. They had very famous wine. Before the occupation, it was one of the richest regions of Azerbaijan because of trade in that region. In Aghdam, you could find many things that you could not find elsewhere in the Soviet Union, like leather jackets. That is why Aghdam was important for Azerbaijani trade. There were a lot of people in that region.”
Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries Altynbek Mamayusupov stressed with confidence that life in the liberated lands will revive and the Karabakh region will become one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the region soon. Already, the town of Fizouly has been rebuilt and includes an airport, many roads have been built connecting different areas, the Shusha Fort and many other historic sites have been restored. Pretty soon, people will look back at Karabakh in 2020 as they saw Jerusalem in 1967, but see that the area has been rebuilt and become a hub for tourism since then.
In honor of Azerbaijan’s Victory Day and Flag Day, members of the Azerbaijani Diaspora and students at the prestigious Tel Aviv University together are recalling how wonderful it is that Karabakh and the seven Azerbaijani districts have been liberated from the Armenian occupation and hope for a brighter future in the region, where Karabakh can be mine free and fully restored to be a resort area once again. Already, today, Karabakh has much more greenery than it did six months after the liberation. With the time, Karabakh will not be a black garden but a beautiful green garden, with flourishing flowers, tall trees, vibrant meadows and beautiful animals grazing in the fields surrounded by rebuilt homes, restored historic and cultural landmarks and amazing cafes, restaurants and even shopping malls.
By Rachel Avraham
