"...Shusha is called the cradle of music and poetry. Almost all the famous singers and musicians of Azerbaijan are natives of Shusha."
Samed Vurgun, prominent Azeri poet
"Shusha provides the Transcaucasus with musicians and singers. This is a blissful land of poetry, music and songs, it serves as a conservatoire for the Caucasus, providing new songs and motives for every season, and even for every month."
V. Karganov, an Armenian musical critic
(V.D.Karganov, Kavkazskaya muzika ('Caucasus music' in Russian), Tiflis, 1908, p. 28)
"...if he doesn't sing, then he is not a Shushavian".
Sergey Esenin, prominent Russian poet
(S. Yesenin, Sobraniye Sochineniy ('Collecton of works' in Russian), vol. 5, Moscow, 1962, p. 205)
"On steep slopes with green meadows a picturesque town of Shusha is located. Its beautiful landscapes attract excursions of tourists every year. Voyager's look is fondled by the contours of mountains covered with greenery. But esthetic impression from Shusha does not end with this; here there are plenty of music, here, more than in any other part of Azerbaijan, one can come across the folk songs, dances, singers and musicians. Shusha is a musical center from old times and is famous in the whole Caucasus as an inexhaustible spring of national musical talents. "The Shusha musicians" have created the history of the Azeri music and represented it not only in their Motherland, but also in other countries."
V.S. Vinogradov, a Russian music historian
(V.Vinogradov, Uzeir Gadzhibekov i azerbaydzhanskaya muzika ('Uzeyir Hajibeyov and the Azerbaijanian music' in Russian), Moscow, 1938, p. 9)
"Shusha is the major town of the Karabakh khanate and a quite well fortified place. It is protected by natural cliffs from two sides, and by fortifications, walls and towers from the other two.
Shusha completely sets apart from other Transcaucasus towns which I happened to visit. Erivan, Nakhchivan and Yelizavetpol, which I visited at a glance, bear the traces of an Oriental character.
The houses in these towns are small, low, built mostly from bricks and mud and have only few windows and low roofs, which are lost in surrounding greenery of the gardens. Streets are narrow, dirty and incorrect, there is virtually no pavement.
Shusha represents a total contrast in comparison with these towns. Its houses are correct, beautiful, high, and get light through beautiful numerous windows. The town is built of stone, taken from the cliffs, on which it is situated. The streets are paved everywhere with wide stone slabs, the roofs of the houses are made of planks, in a European manner."
V.Vereschagin, a Russian traveler to Shusha in 1865
(V.Vereschagin, Puteshestviye po Zakavkazyu v 1864-1865 gg. ('Travels in Transcaucasus in 1864-1865' in Russian), p. 260 )
"Imagine a town in the mountains, shrouded in greenery in spring and summer; and in mist and snow in autumn and winter. This is my town..."
Yousif Vezir Chamanzaminli, prominent Azeri writer
...
| If you have a quote about Shusha, which you would like to see on this page, please, send it to me by email. |
Home |