BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. At the 12th Conference of Culture Ministers of the Islamic World in Doha (Qatar), Culture Minister Adil Kerimli presented the candidacy of Shusha city, which is considered the cradle of Azerbaijani culture, as the cultural capital of the Islamic world for 2024 to the ICESCO program "Cultural Capital of the Islamic World" the Azerbaijani Culture Ministry told Trend.
Shusha was one of the important centers of historical, cultural, and socio-political life in Azerbaijan, including one of the symbols of Islamic civilization.
"The year 2022 has been declared the year of Shusha city in Azerbaijan. Music festivals, poetry days, and numerous local and international cultural events were held to support the revival of the city's cultural life. The International Turkic Culture Organization (TURKSOY) declared Shusha the cultural capital of the Turkic world for 2023," the ministry noted.
Then a video about Shusha was shown at the event.
"By unanimous opinion of the conference participants, Shusha was declared the cultural capital of the Islamic world for 2024," the ministry said.
The historical glory of the Azerbaijani fortress city heroically liberated from Armenian occupation by the glorious Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, in the 44-day second Karabakh war of 2020 is returning.
Intensive work carried out under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev to restore Shusha in a short time, bring life back to this ancient land, as well as restore and commission historical, cultural, and religious monuments, turning the city of Shusha into a venue for international events, has been highly appreciated by Muslim countries and ISESCO.
Islamic states, taking into account the restoration of cultural heritage, cultural, historical, and religious monuments in Shusha city by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation headed by the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva, unanimously decided to declare Shusha the cultural capital of the Islamic world for 2024.
It should be noted that the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva, provided significant support to the nomination process in Shusha city.
Also, by the relevant decree of President Ilham Aliyev, 2022 was declared the "Year of Shusha City" in Azerbaijan. This year, Shusha is the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World".
Today, Shusha hosts international events and major cultural projects. Messages of peace, unity, and humanism are sent to the world from this ancient city of Azerbaijan.