In 2012, a building was built on the site of the former factory, which was recognized as the best. This is the Heydar Aliyev Center. Baku boasts beautiful architecture that attracts both locals and tourists, and the new building has become one of them. In 2014, he was recognized as the best in the world.
Visitors say that there is something to see, and it is better not to come for an hour or two, but for the whole day.
History reference
The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center impresses with its beauty and grandeur. The author of the project, Zaha Hadid, admits that this work was a flight of creativity. In fact, built without a single straight line, both outside and inside, the building seemed to have flown in and froze among the urban stone jungle. According to urban legend, the building is a copy of the signature of the former president, whose name the Center bears. But this is only a beautiful urban myth.
The complex includes underground parking and a park. Inside, it was conditionally divided into three departments:
- a museum dedicated to the life and political activities of Heydar Aliyev;
- halls dedicated to the culture of Azerbaijan;
- the audience.
The park presents works of modern art.
What can be seen in the museum?
The museum includes the most comprehensive information about the life of a national leader in the form of video, photo and audio materials.
It occupies 3 floors, and on the first floor there are cars used by the president during the reign of Azerbaijan - 2 Mercedes, Zil and Seagull.
When moving from one floor to another, you can see an electronic gallery on which some important dates with photos are replaced by others.
The second floor is occupied by an exposition with personal belongings of Heydar Aliyev - costumes, medals, orders, gifts.
The exposition is subtly intertwined with other exhibits that reflect the history of Azerbaijan - pointe shoes of the first Azerbaijani ballerina Gemer Almas-zade, gramophone of the singer Bul-Bul, father of the famous singer Polad Bul-Bul oglu, fan Shovket Aleskerova - the first opera singer.
A separate mini-exhibition is dedicated to foreign meetings.
In order to get acquainted with the materials, you need to touch the flag of the desired country.
What is interesting about exhibition halls?
The Heydar Aliyev Center presents exhibits reflecting the country's cultural and historical heritage. The “Masterpieces of Azerbaijan” hall is dedicated to the historical and cultural heritage of the country: ancient coins and jewelry, clay and copper products from the Middle Ages, rock paintings from Gobustan, ancient copies of holy books, traditional Azerbaijani carpets and musical instruments. An interesting feature of musical exhibits is that stepping on the rug in front of the exhibit, you can hear how it sounds. Here you can get acquainted with mugam - an ancient national musical direction.
Of course, tourists come to Azerbaijan to get acquainted with its culture and history. But not everyone has the opportunity to travel the whole country. The Heydar Aliyev Center offers a journey across the country without leaving the museum. To do this, go to “Mini Azerbaijan” - an exhibition hall where you can get acquainted with the famous architectural monuments - the Momine Khatun Mausoleum, the Maiden’s Tower, the Baku Station, the Philharmonic Hall, the Government House, the Green Theater, the Baku Crystal Hall, the Olympic Stadium and Oil Fund.
For gourmets and those wishing to get acquainted with Azerbaijani culture, the Heydar Aliyev Center offers to visit the exhibition “Welcome to Azerbaijan”. In the presented exhibits you can see photos of natural, architectural monuments, and photos of the culinary diversity of Azerbaijani cuisine. You can not only look at it, but also try the taste in the cafe, which is located in the building.
In addition to permanent exhibitions, the Heydar Aliyev Center also hosts traveling exhibitions. In June 21, 2013, Andy Warhol's exhibition “Life, Beauty, and Death”, which included about a hundred works and short films, was held here.
October 1, 2013 was the exhibition of the Azerbaijani artist, president of the Academy of Arts Tahir Salahov "At the turn of the century."
Audience
The Heydar Aliyev Center includes an audience. It includes:
- concert hall with 4 levels;
- 2 multifunctional conference rooms;
- rooms for official meetings;
- media center.
The capacity of conference rooms is 2000 people. They were completely made of wood to achieve perfect acoustics.
