Nakhchivan declared Capital of Islamic Culture

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

The 6th Conference of culture ministers of member States of the Islamic Conference Organization held in Baku in 2009, declared Nakhchivan the Capital of the Islamic Culture in 2018.

Awarding one of the most ancient cities of Azerbaijan with such a significant status in fact shows the significance the Islamic world attaches to the country.

Nakhchivan, one of the centuries-old cultural center of the world with its five-thousand-year history, played an important and invaluable role in the development of Islamic culture.

It is one of the cradles of human civilization and a popular trade, art, science and cultural center of the East.

The region had been admired and viewed by many travelers and poets of the past as one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities in the East.

To hold the event on the high level President llham Aliyev signed an executive order establishing the Organizing Committee that will deal with preparations for the events.

Under the presidential order, chairman of the Supreme Assembly of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Vasif Talibov was appointed head of the Organizing Committee.

In 2009, Baku was awarded the capital of Islamic culture, which successfully held several interesting events.

Nakhchivan, the central city of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, remains to be an attractive destination for social scientists, architects, historians and those who are interested in world culture and archeology.

The region is closely linked with ancient Eastern civilizations like the other regions of Azerbaijan, and has left a deep trace on the course of historical development.

Archeological research conducted in the territory has revealed samples of material culture dating back to the 2nd and 1st millennia B.C.E.

The region abounds with historical monuments, including ancient Gamigaya, Farhad house, Ajhabi-Kahf, Yusuf ibn Kuseyr tomb, Momina Khatun tomb, Tomb of the Gulistan, Khanagah tomb, Qazanchi bridge, Nakhchivan Juma Mosque, and Qesariyya monument.

Momina Khatun Tomb is one of the most popular places, representing a grand monument of the national architecture of Azerbaijan and a pearl of Oriental architecture, which was built in 1186.

Nakhchivan Juma Mosque, an architectural monument of the Middle Ages, is another significant architectural site.