Vagif Poetry Days kick off in Ganja city

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry and the Azerbaijan Writers' Union have once again launched the Vagif Poetry Days.

This traditional poetry festival will this year take place in several cities and districts of the country.

Poetry Days began in the Ganja District, where Molla Panah Vagif was born. Literature enthusiasts traditionally gathered in the "Poets' Garden" in the center of Ganja to enjoy the poetry of Vagif.

During the opening ceremony, speeches were made by the chairman of the Ganja branch of Azerbaijan Writers' Union, poet Barat Vusal, the head of the Ganja City Executive Authority, Rajab Babashov, Deputy Culture Minister Farid Jafarov, member of the Azerbaijan National Assembly Samad Seyidov, Secretary for International Relations of the Azerbaijan Writers' Union Salim Babuloglu, and others who spoke about the poet's invaluable contribution to Azerbaijani literature and the wealth his work brought to it.

Following that, poets and ashugs took the stage. Ashugs performed Vagif's ghazals, and poets read their own poems. A segment from the play "Vagif" by Samad Vurgun was also featured in the artistic part of the event.

The Poetry Days will continue on July 15 in Ganja and July 16 in the Agdam District, and will conclude on July 17-18 in the city of Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. Well-known figures in literature and art, as well as state and government representatives, will participate in the events in Shusha.

As part of the Poetry Days, poetic hours, book exhibitions and presentations, musical compositions, scientific conferences, theatrical performances, and various literary-artistic programs will be organized in various historical and cultural sites of Ganja, Ganja, Agdam, and Shusha, including the museum-mausoleum complex of Molla Panah Vagif, the Natavan House, the Qaraba? Hotel, and the Mehmandarovs' House, all restored by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Note that Vagif Poetry Days were first established in Shusha in 1982 by the initiative of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. It was on this day, with the participation of the great leader, that Molla Panah Vagif Mausoleum and the Poetry House were ceremoniously opened, and it was decided, under his order, to hold the Vagif Poetry Days.

This poetry festival, which was held annually until 1991, traditionally started in the poet's birthplace Ganja city and ended at the incomparable Jidir Plain in Shusha.

After the liberation of Shusha from occupation following the glorious victory of the Azerbaijani army under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the Vagif Poetry Days were once again held in the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.

This year, the Vagif Poetry Days will give poetry, literature, and culture enthusiasts unforgettable moments.