Shusha: magnificent city under Armenian hostage for 24 years

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

“Shusha -- your mountain peaks are in fog.

For them I will lay down my life and will not regret it!...” says the famous Azerbaijani music.

Could famous singer and author of this song Khan Shushinski, ever think that Shusha, the heart of beautiful Karabakh, would really be covered by fog of grief and tears?!

Today, 24 years pass since Shusha, an ancient town and the cradle of Azerbaijani music culture, fell victim to the Armenian aggression. The occupation day of Shusha is a huge blow to the consciousness of the Azerbaijani people, great sorrow for the whole nation.

Shusha is considered the most beautiful corner of Karabakh, an integral part of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia. Its every grain of sand and every stone is a witness to grand historical events. Nobody remained indifferent to its beauty and nobility.

On May 8, 1992, some 290 square kilometers of Azerbaijan's territory went to the control of the Armenian invaders. Armenian armed forces seized Shusha with the aid of the Soviet 366th regiment, killing and disabling hundreds of innocent Azerbaijani civilians, expelling the entire population of the town, and destroying, burning down and looting numerous cultural, religious and historical monuments.

As a result of the occupation of Shusha, 195 civilians were killed, 165 others wounded, 22,000 displaced and 68 taken hostage by the Armenians. Their fate is unknown to this day.

With the occupation of Shusha, the Armenian invaders completed the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and took the Azerbaijani region under full control.

Now, nothing has left from age-old Azerbaijani Shusha, which once was one of the most ancient centers of culture and art in the East.

The natural resources of the region are being plundered and appropriated brutally by the Armenians. Following the occupation, Armenians have abused the natural sources of facing stone, clay, construction stone, as well as fresh underground waters and mineral waters for their own purposes, subjecting nature of Shusha to reckless and systemic destruction.

Shusha city, founded in the 18th century, was the capital of the Karabakh khanate. Shusha's importance for Azerbaijan was not limited to its political and economic weight. The region was home to a great number of poets, writers, musicians, actors and people of culture from the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Being one of the unique cultural centers of Azerbaijan, Shusha is a city, characterized for its natural beauty, and is a valuable monument of national architecture and medieval urban art.

This city, which went down in history thanks to prominent figures Gasim bey Zakir, Khurshidbanu Natavan, Mir Mohsun Navvab, Najaf bek Vezirov, Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev, Yusif Vazir Chemenzeminli, Firidun bey Kocharli, Ahmed bey Agaoglu and other eminent personalities, is known worldwide as the cradle of the Azerbaijani mugham (national folk music).

As a result of the occupation, Armenians destroyed a number of historical and cultural monuments in Shusha. These include 279 religious, 104 historical and cultural monuments. The numerous cultural and historical sites seized in Shusha by the Armenian vandals include Gala walls, Ganja gates, Castle of Panahkhan, Library of Panahkhan, Govharaga mosque, Saatly mosque, the Castle of Agabeyim Aga, Caravansara, Khan Palace, as well as Khan Cave, Gakhal Cave, and Shusha Castle.

Armenians even targeted the monuments of great personalities like Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Bulbul and Natavan.

They destroyed 7 pre-school facilities, 22 schools, cultural, agricultural vocational schools, 7 kindergartens, 8 houses of culture, 14 clubs, 20 libraries, 2 cinemas, 3 museums and a factory of Eastern musical instruments.

The Shusha museum with over 5,000 exhibits was looted by the Armenians in 1992. This is treachery against Karabakh's 250-year-long history.

One of the symbol of the city is Khari Bulbul (orchis), a beautiful and unique flower which grows in the mountains of Shusha, and doesn't grow elsewhere in the world. The flower looks as if a nightingale is sitting on it. It cannot bear separation from the homeland and does not share its flavor.

But, everyone from the youngest to the oldest in Azerbaijan believes that the dark clouds will fade away over the city in the near future, and Shusha, giving hundreds of lives in the struggle for Karabakh, will be liberated.

And thousands of refugees will finally return to their ruined homes, and the sun of joy and freedom will rise again over Shusha.