Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The construction of social apartments will be of great help to those who need houses.

President Ilham Aliyev made the remark as he laid a foundation stone of the first nine-storey building and school in Yasamal residential complex, the first project of the State Housing Construction Agency (MIDA) under the President of Azerbaijan on December 24.

He added that the implementation of a social apartment project will revitalize the country's construction sector.

"In 2017, we will witness huge development in the construction sector," President Aliyev said.

President Aliyev said the construction sector, which has experienced a downturn recently, will revitalize thanks to the activity of the State Housing Construction Agency and other projects.

He said this downturn was caused by decrease in government funding. “And this is natural because our revenues fell, and we invested our revenues in addressing social issues. I should note that no social project has been cancelled this year.”

The president said that the policy of reforms and diversification allowed Azerbaijan to provide itself with major building materials.

“So, we will not depend on imports while implementing these projects. Some 80-90 percent of the building materials to be used in the construction of these buildings will be Azerbaijan-made materials. This will, first and foremost, decrease dependence on imports. On the other hand, by manufacturing building materials local companies will improve their financial status,” President Aliyev added.

President Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva were informed about the project, which occupies a total area of 11.6 hectares.

Following the ground breaking ceremony they attended the opening of the Baylar mosque after renovation.

Since the first half of the 7th century Islam was widely spread in Azerbaijan, including Baku, which led to the construction of numerous religious monuments - mosques, chapels, schools, mosques and tombs in the city.

This process continued for centuries, and as a result dozens of ancient cultural monuments have survived until nowadays.

Built in 1895, the Baylar mosque is an historical and architectural monument of local importance. It is the last mosque built on the territory of the Old City.

The mosque embodies the principle styles of European, Eastern and local architecture. The drafted dome of the mosque has perfect stratches and masonry styles.

There mosque features 99 exhibits in total, including 73 editions of the Koran, 7 religious books, and 19 religious attributes.

Among the eye-catching exhibits are the pages of books, saved from the fire and immured in the wall by akhund. The Koran saved by this method belonged to Derbent mosque.

Conservation work here was carried out by a group of local and foreign experts under the leadership of Erich Pummer, an Austrian specialist restorer.

On the same day, President Aliyev and First Lady attended the opening of Marionette Theatre in Icherisheher (Old City).

Marionette Theatre was built in neoclassical style in 1880 using antique images and motives. It operated under the Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve Administration since 2013.

Complex measures were taken to expand the activities of the theatre through support of President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Mehriban Aliyeva.

Marionette Theatre was first established in the mid-1980s in Azerbaijan at the initiative of director and artist Tarlan Gorchu.

President Aliyev and Mehriban Aliyeva then watched a scene from Leyli and Majnun opera performed by marionettes.

Arshin Mal Alan (The Cloth Peddler) operetta, and Leyli and Majnun opera are major highlights of the repertoire of Marionette Theatre.

The theatre successfully premiered Arshin Mal Alan in France in 1990, then traveling to a number of other countries. Today, the theatre's tour map includes Germany, the U.S., Russia, Poland, and Switzerland.

President Aliyev and First Lady also reviewed the new "Shirvanshakhs" collection of the Icherisheher Center of Traditional Arts here. The center was established in October 2012 at the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation under an agreement between the Administration of Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan and the Prince's School of Traditional Arts of Great Britain.

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

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