About Azerbaijan

The Republic of Azerbaijan is located in the eastern part of the South Caucasus, at the western coast of the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan borders on Russian Federation in the North, Georgia in the North-West, Armenia and Turkey in the West and South-West, and Iran in the South. The country has a sea border with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani is the official language

Azerbaijan is a secular and unitary republic. The country features rich and beautiful nature with wildlife varying a lot among its major areas like Nakhchivan, Sheki, Zagatala, Gusar, Lerik, Shamakhy, Shusha, Aghdam. Azerbaijan is a true goldmine for archaeologists.

Excavations held in the cave of Azykh in Garabagh revealed human remnants exceeding 2 million years of age. This unique finding placed Azerbaijan on the map of the most ancient inhabitants of Europe.

Azerbaijan is also known for its deeply rooted history of science and education. The State University of Baku, established in 1919, and the institutes of the Academy of Sciences, founded in 1945, played a significant role in promoting science, education and culture in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is a country of ancient culture Azerbaijani carpet

THE NATIONAL FLAG OF AZERBAIJAN

The three-color national flag of Azerbaijan was accepted by the government of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan on November 9, 1918. After the collapse of the Democratic Republic in April 28, 1920 and the establishment of the Soviet regime this flag was relinquished in Azerbaijan. Yet the flag was restored by the order of the Supreme Medjlis of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and was declared the national flag of the Autonomous Republic on November 17,1990. At the same time the Supreme Medjlis of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic petitioned to the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR for recognition of the three-color flag the national flag of Azerbaijan.

The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan Republic considered the petition of the Supreme Medjlis of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and approved the three-color flag the national flag of the Azerbaijan Republic on February 5, 1991.

The national flag of the Azerbaijan Republic consists of three equal strips. The upper strip is of

THE LAND OF FIRE - AZERBAIJAN

Today, we would like to talk about a miraculous country of Azerbaijan with its unlimited natural resources, centuries-old culture, history and ancient people, whose lifestyle presents a unique and harmonious combination of the traditions and ceremonies of different cultures and civilizations.www.azerbaijan.az/
Azerbaijan is a geographical name. On the one hand this name is linked with the population, which lived in this region for thousand of years before our era, and who were mostly fire-worshippers. Local population considered that fire was their God and so they worshipped the fire. "Azer" means fire. The Turkic name "Azer" was used for this territory for a long time. The word "Azer" consists of two parts - "az" and "er". In Turkic languages, "az" means a good intention and a fate of success. Thus, the word "Azer" means "a brave man", "a brave boy", "the fire keeper". The word "Azerbaijan" originates from the name of an ancient Turkish tribe, who resided in those territories.
Azerbaijan is one of the most ancient sites of humankind. The humankind was present here at every stage of their historical development. There were living settlements in Azerbaijan even at the earliest stages of humankind. Azerbaijan made its own contribution into the establishment of the current culture and civilization, progress and dialectics.

Speech by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the inauguration ceremony

- Dear ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to thank my dear people of Azerbaijan for showing me great confidence and electing me President. I want to assure the people of Azerbaijan that I will continue doing everything in my power for the comprehensive development of our country and prosperity of our people, and faithfully serve our nation.

Azerbaijan celebrated the Day of State Independence yesterday. I consider that the presidential election and the results of this election represent yet another assessment of our state independence on the part of the people. The presidential election fully reflects the will of the Azerbaijani people. The election has been held in a transparent, free and fair manner and the outcomes of this election reflect the will of the people of Azerbaijan. Thus, the people of Azerbaijan have given the highest assessment to the work done in the last 10 years.

THE HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC

Azerbaijani music was developing through the centuries. The traces of ancient music of Azerbaijan were found in a number of monuments, excavated in time of archeological digs, as well as in rock carvings of Gobustan (18-3 millennium B.C) and Gemigaya (3-1 millennium B.C). Kitabi Dede Gorgud (8th century), creative works of Nizami, Fizuli provide full coverage of medieval music art, music genres and music instruments. The records of such prominent medieval scientists of Azerbaijan as Sefiaddin Urmevi (18 century), Abdulgadir Maragai (17 century), Mir Movsum Nevvab (19 century) pointed out the highly developed art and culture of music and mastery performance and cited theoretical issues of music in medieval Azerbaijan.


The first written monument of our country epos Kitabi Dede Gorgut , containing several chapters, related to music and citing the names of different musical instruments, testifies that out music art possesses ancient history.

Mir Movsum Nevvab Garabagi

The first book on music dates back to the 13th century. Two prominent scientists and musicians of Azerbaijan Sefieddin Urmevi (1217-1294) and Abdulqadir Maraghai made a great contribution to the development of theory of Near and Middle Eastern music in the 13-15th centuries. Booklets Kitabi el-Edvar and Seferiyye by Urmevi established the science of music of Azerbaijan and laid the foundation for its further development. Urmevi entered the history of Azerbaijan as the founder of the school "System" and tabulator science. The system musical notation, created by Urmevi, was the most perfect system of that period