Baku (Showbiz Desk): Over the past two decades, Azerbaijan has made significant progress in preserving and promoting its cultural and historical heritage. Between 2003 and 2023, 36 important cultural artifacts were repatriated from abroad, as part of the Azerbaijan Culture 2040 initiative approved by President Ilham Aliyev.
During this period, 20,085 artifacts were restored, and over 42,700 exhibitions were held across museums and galleries nationwide.
Azerbaijan also added four sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List between 2003 and 2023:
- Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (2007)
- Historical Centre of Sheki and Khan’s Palace (2019)
- Hirkan Forests (2023)
- “Koch Yolu” Transhumance Route (2023)
These additions bring Azerbaijan’s total UNESCO-listed cultural and natural heritage sites to five. Additionally, Baku (2017), Sheki (2018), and Lankaran (2019) were included in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network.
The country also boasts 24 intangible cultural heritage elements recognized by UNESCO, including 22 on the Representative List and 2 on the Urgent Safeguarding List.
Azerbaijan’s heritage achievements extend to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, which now includes three medieval medical and pharmacology manuscripts:
- Zakhireh-ye Khwarazmshahi by Rostam Gorgani
- Al-Maqalat al-Thalathin by Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi
- Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb by Ibn Sina
Other notable inclusions are Muhammad Fuzuli’s Divan (2017) and Khurshid Banu Natavan’s illustrated poetry album “The Flower Notebook” (2023).
These efforts reflect Azerbaijan’s long-term commitment to preserving its rich cultural legacy and sharing it with the world.
