TRIP TO SHUSHA!

With its stunning setting atop a mountain in Karabakh as well as its immense literary, musical and carpet-weaving heritage, Shusha is a place where nature and culture combine perfectly.

The city of Shusha in Karabakh is a stunning sight amid the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. But while the nature and views here are truly wonderful, there’s much more to the place than that. This is Azerbaijan’s cultural capital which is awash with literary and musical heritage, carpet-weaving traditions, and history – as the former capital of the Karabakh Khanate and the birthplace of countless prominent people.

On 31 March 2022, during an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of the member countries of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) in the city of Bursa, Türkiye, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, the city of Shusha, was announced as ‘Cultural Capital of the Turkic World’ for the year 2023.

This decision was a mark of special respect for Shusha, a shining pearl of architecture and the art of urban planning with a 270-year history. Shusha holds great cultural and spiritual significance for the people of Azerbaijan. It can now serve as a new symbol of unity and solidarity among the entire Turkic world, contributing to further prospects of increasing cooperation between Turkic peoples.