In Azerbaijan, carpets are found everywhere: on the walls and floors of homes and restaurants, displayed in piles outside souvenir shops and scattered on abandoned cars parked roadside. Some are woven (编织) for special occasions: births, weddings, birthdays and burials. Weaving techniques are passed down from generation to generation — and each carpet has a unique story to tell. They’re such an artistic phenomenon that in 2010, UNESCO included traditional Azerbaijani carpet weaving onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In the country’s capital, Baku, lies the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum. The museum was founded in 1967 by renowned artist and carpet weaver Latif Karimov, who dedicated his life to celebrating and preserving Azerbaijani carpets. It was, at the time of opening, the very first museum of its kind. It has been standing in its current location since 2014 and serves as a vital research and education center.
A short distance from the museum, in Baku’s UNESCO-listed Old City, is Azerkhalcha, an organization dedicated to preserving the age-old tradition of carpet weaving and supporting the women who devote their lives to it. One of them is 61-year-old Sevinj Hajiyeva, who was taught how to weave by her brother when she was just 6. “Carpet weaving is not just an art; it’s a great passion, a source of love, and a lifelong companion,” she says. “My greatest ambition is to pass on this art to the younger generation.” For Sevinj, weavers in Azerbaijan often share emotions and ideas through carpets, “treating them as cherished creations similar to their own children.”
For some, home is where the heart is. In Azerbaijan, however, the saying goes, “xalçam harada, yurdum orada” meaning “ ▲ ” Azerbaijan’s love affair with carpets is an inextricable one — a much-loved art form that’s been woven into its cultural DNA since the Bronze Age and sincerely preserved ever since.
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