Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan’s ancient city of Ganja, with more than 4,000-year history will be a new cultural capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

CIS city of culture is selected for one year period. Currently, the city is Turkmenistan's Dasoguz. Ganja will be announced as a culture city officially on September 16.

Bishkek meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of the States on September 16 will announce Ganja a new cultural city and a relevant action plan will be approved.

The summit, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the CIS, will summarize the activities of the organization and the defined goals and objectives for the future.

Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Baku with about 313,300 residents has many amenities that offer a wide range of cultural activities, drawing both from a rich local dramatic portfolio and an international repertoire.

Located some 375 km away from Baku, the city differ for its ancient architectural monuments.

This year, the city also became the eight European Youth Capital. The title will allow the city for the period of one year to showcase, through a multi-faceted program, its youth-related cultural, social, political and economic life and development.

The region is famous for its nature, namely for majestic Goygol Lake and reserve. A large mountain lake surrounded by the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus was formed as a result of a devastating earthquake that destroyed the mountain Kapaz in the 12th century.

The northeastern foot of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains is a picturesque place which has attracted many people across the centuries. This made the history of the region profound and captivating. Ganja is significant to the politico-economic and cultural life of the country since the earliest times.

The city was also the capital of Azerbaijan, when the country first declared its independence in 1918, thus playing a leading role in the history of the country.

It is one of the science and education centers of Azerbaijan. The city has four public higher education institutions.

Despite numerous cases of destruction during its long existence, Ganja has retained the appearance of a beautiful city with many monuments of architecture. One of the main features of the city is the Juma Mosque - Ganja central mosque.

Among other ancient monuments are bridges, the palace of Sultan Darus, towers, mosques, madrasas, baths, caravanserais and complex of buildings Imamzade.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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