Is It Important that we Cherish Historic Buildings and the Monuments?

Name: Roza Abramova

Age: 21

If you ask any of us: “Is it important to cherish historical buildings and monuments?” everyone will answer “Obviously, it is”. But everyone has his own answer to the question: “Why it is important to cherish historical buildings and monuments?” To my mind, all the new and old cities resemble one another in some ways. What make every city special are people who lived and live in there and the events that occurred and occur in it. Therefore, acquaintance with the Baku city begins with Icheri Sheher (İnner City).

There was time, when Icheri Sheher is also called Old city, because the history of the Baku city begins here in small town surrounded by fortress walls. Old City combines the history of different ages and generations. The heart of Icheri Sheher is the Shirvanshahs’ Palace. The palace became a residence of Shirvan Dynasty in 15th century. The complex comprises of the two-storey palace building, the tomb, the mosque, the divankhane (courthouse), the Mausoleum of Seiid Yakhya Bakuvi, the bath house, the East Portal and Murad’s Gate. There was a time when Maiden Tower stood right in the shore of the Caspian Sea. At that time the Maiden Tower was used as a seamark. But there are legends connected with the history of the Maiden Tower. The most popular is about princess, who dropped herself from the tower, in which her father locked her so that she could not see her lover.

From generation to generation, people in Baku guarded the Old city and protected the history of it as ancestral heritage. In 1977, Icheri Sheher was declared a historical and architectural reserve. The fact that Ichari Shahar has survived to this day speaks of how important it is for all Azerbaijanis and especially for Baku residents to protect historical buildings and monuments of their native city. And not only for them. In 2000, together with the Shirvanshah Palace and the Maiden Tower, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List became the first location
in Azerbaijan to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. But why do we try so hard to cherish the Old city when we have new and modern one?

Well, I think, there are several reasons to do it. Icheri Sheher is the place which keeps history of our city and people who lived there. For some people, Icheri Sheher is the home, the place, where they were born and grew, a place that keeps their memories. So we protect not only the historical buildings in which famous people lived, we also protect our memories. Besides this do you know, what’s the best in the idea of cherishing historic complex İcheri Sheher? As all ancient places Icheri Sheher has his own little secrets. Cherishing historic places like Icheri Sheher means to know these little secrets. For example, every street in Old city leads to Shirvanshaks palace so it’s impossible to get lost in Icheri Sheher. One of the modern sights in Icheri Sheher is the statue of cats and lovers on the facade of one of the buildings near Maiden Tower. There are many cats in Old city and his monument was made to honor them as the symbol of the Icheri Sheher. The workshop house of painter Ali Shamsi also became another modern sight of Icheri Sheher, which often called the city of artists.

If you look in the loopholes of the fortress walls of Icheri Sheher in the evening, you will have a magnificent view of the Philharmonia garden (previously it also called Gubernator`s Garden). Construction history of the Philharmonic Garden is also very interesting, but it’s already another story. So there are a lot of reasons for cherishing historic buildings and monuments and everyone has his own one. And the more you tell about your favorite historic place, the more important you find its preservation. In my opinion, we always need something that will make us
closer to the history and also bend us with the present. There was a time when waves of the Caspian Sea splashed outside the walls of Icheri Sheher. And now, behind the walls of the Old City pass race cars of Formula 1.

The time has passed, the sea has gone, and Icheri Sheher is still the favorite place of the residents of Baku and the first place which we show to the guests of our city. It’s nice to know that, despite all the changes, there are still exist things that will never change, such as the care of the residents of Baku about Ichari Sheher. And for me this is the perfect answer to the question “Why it is important to cherish historical buildings and monuments?” I think people around the world feel the same about historic buildings and monuments in their cities.

More about Roza:

“I study at journalism faculty. And I like to watch travel shows on TV because it’s always interesting to know about new places and meet new people. Besides you can see so many beautiful things you haven’t even dream about. These are the best reasons to watch travel shows and to be journalist. So I like journalism for the same reasons. And if you read this about me I wish you never stop dreaming because all dreams can came true when they became your goals. “

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