Baku settled the embarrassment with the Turks; but questions remain

Baku/30.05.21/Turan: At midnight, May 30, AZERTAC published a lengthy explanation of Presidential Aide Hikmet Hajiyev to the misunderstanding that occurred the day before about the proposal of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) of Turkey Dovlet Bahcheli to build a building for an art school in Shusha.

The leader of the Turkish nationalists announced a plan to build such a school in Shusha with funds raised in Turkey among fellow party members. The intention of the Turkish party provoked a sharp reaction in the territory still occupied by the Armenians. The so-called "Foreign Ministry" of the separatists announced that it was inadmissible for Turkish nationalists to build anything on the "territory occupied by Azerbaijan." The reaction of the separatists to the Turkish initiative went unnoticed in Baku. Unexpectedly, the Azerbaijani side announced that it did not like the project presented by the Turks.

Then Dovlet Bahcheli rejected the intention to build the building and announced about the imminent return of the money provided to donors. As a result, Baku urgently disavowed the previous decision on disagreement with the project of Turkish architects.

“Azerbaijan gratefully accepted the initiative to build an art school named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli in Shusha as a gift from the chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahcheli,” said Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration.

Receiving the Minister of Education of Turkey on May 27, President Ilham Aliyev said that within the framework of the expected visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Shusha, the program includes the ceremony of laying the foundation of the school, offered by the Turkish side as a gift, said Hajiyev.

“It was proposed to hold working discussions at the level of specialists in order to bring the architectural design of the building of the arts school in line with the original architectural style of the city of Shusha.

There can be no talk of giving up this kind initiative. It is possible that the absence of a full report on the merits has caused misunderstanding. We are confident that architectural issues of a technical nature will be discussed at the working level in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, and the construction of the Shusha School of Arts named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli will soon begin,” the presidential aide said.

Hajiyev's statement gives the impression that the Azerbaijani side is concerned about preserving the historical appearance of the ancient city of Shusha. Perhaps the Turkish project somehow contradicts the Shusha city architecture. However, considering the project that Bahcheli shows, speaking in the parliament, it is clear that the work of Turkish architects was done with respect to the historical appearance of Shusha.

In this case, it is unclear: how does the architectural plan for the construction of a new mosque in Shusha, invented by President Aliyev and executed at his suggestion, correspond to the historical appearance of this city? The ultra-modern design of the new mosque, reminiscent of the Moscow monument to Yuri Gagarin, contradicts the architectural style of the medieval Azerbaijani city.

Other questions arise. Why was the work on the master plan of the city of Shusha in Baku entrusted to an English company, and not to Azerbaijani or Turkish architects, who are better aware of the peculiarities of Azerbaijani historical urban planning? The tender was not held; there was nothing close to competitive competition. What is the reason that the rich potential of Azerbaijani architects remains aside from the large-scale restoration work in Karabakh?—0—