Shusha is a symbol of the history and culture of Azerbaijan. The word “Shusha”, meaning the name of this city, comes from the word “glass”, which symbolizes the clean, unusually transparent mountain air of this land. Shusha was founded in 1752 by the Karabakh ruler Panahali — khan. He built the city as a fortress to defend the Karabakh Khanate. At first the city was called Panakhabad in honor of the ruler, and then the city was renamed into Shusha.
Shusha is considered the most beautiful corner of Karabakh. No one can remain indifferent to her beauty. The city is located at an altitude of 1400–1500 meters above sea level. The nature gave Shusha unique springs and mineral waters: Turshsu, Isabulagi, Sakina Bulag, Isti Bulag, Charykh Bulag, Sakhsy Bulag, Girkh Bulag and other springs.
The legendary Jydyr Duzu with its unique nature is located on the edge of the Dashalti abyss and the steep staircase “girkh pillakan”. The Jydyr Duzu is called “the race course” where the famous Karabakh horses competed. A unique flower “Khary-bulbul” grows in Jydyr duzu. It is one of those plants that grow only in one area. The peculiarity of this flower is that the upper part of the flower resembles a nightingale sitting motionless on a flower. Many legends are associated with this flower. According to one of the legends, as a sign of love for his wife Aga Beyim Agha, daughter of the Karabakh khan Ibrahimkhalil, the Iranian ruler Fatali khan built a palace. Agabeyim asks her husband to lay a garden in the palace, as she had in Shusha, so that looking at this garden she could hide the task of her homeland. All the plants brought from Karabakh grew up, with the exception of Khary-bulbul. This means that Khary-bulbul can only grow in its homeland. Therefore, Khary-bulbul is considered as the symbol of Shusha. After the liberation of Shusha, Khary-Bulbul became for us a symbol of patriotism, iron will, courage and invincibility of our people.
Shusha is the cradle of Azerbaijani music. It is the heart of Karabakh. There are hundreds of historical monuments in the city, including the Juma Mosque, the Panahali Khan’s palace, the Khurshudbanu Natavan house, the Govkhar aga Mosque, the Bulbul and Uzeyir Hajibeyov museum house.
The city gave birth to many figures of world and Azerbaijani culture. Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Suleiman Aleskerov, Bulbul, Sadigjan, Khan Shushinski and many others are the symbols of Shusha culture. In 1992, on May 8, Shusha was occupied by Armenian vandals. Historical monuments, houses and museums were destroyed in the city. Thousands of residents were forced to leave their hometown. However 28 years later, on November 8, 2020, the city was liberated from the Armenian occupation by our army. We are grateful to our brothers for returning Shusha to us. We will never forget our martyrs, the memory of them will live in our hearts forever.
Shusha is now a hope for the best for us. We believe that we will revive Shusha and it will again become the cradle of Azerbaijan culture.
