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Meeting with heads of Azerbaijani media outlets held in National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi

18 May 2009 13:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Meeting with heads of Azerbaijani media outlets has been held today in the National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi, APA reports. Director of the museum, correspondent member of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Philology, Professor Rafael Huseynov said the 70th anniversary of the National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi would be marked on November 1, 2009, 800th anniversary of the death of great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi would also be held this year. Huseynov noted that May 18 was Day of Museums and underlined that it was of great importance to hold meeting with media representatives on such a day. He said such special receptions would be given in the upcoming weeks. Huseynov said lectures on â€œAzerbaijani studiesâ€ would be regularly delivered in the big hall of the museum, outstanding experts would give lectures on important issues of national value, the first meeting of the â€œClub of intellectualsâ€ would be held soon.
â€œWe plan to hold first night and discussion of new films, nights of thematic poems in the big hall of the museum. The new Steinway piano will be open for the most skillful pianists in the musical nights. Films directors and cameramen known in the republic and abroad have been gathered in the newly-established department â€œLiteral chronicle. Feature-documentary video chroniclesâ€. Short films will be produced about our classics and monuments. The aim is to promote our word wealth and the creators of the word wealth at secondary schools, television and abroad. We are laying the foundation of the tradition to present the card of â€œHonorable visitor of the museumâ€ to the persons cooperating with the museum and having special contributions to the enrichment of exposition and funds, development of our literature. The owners of these cards will have free access to the museum,â€ he said.

Giving information about the history of the building Rafael Huseynov said it was built as a one-storey caravanserai in 1850, the second storey was built in 1915 and became Metropol hotel. In 1918-1920 the building was used as the working and dwelling place by the Cabinet of Ministers of the first Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. In 1920-1930 Azerbaijan Trade Union Organization was located in this building.

The government of Azrbaijan passed decision in 1939 to establish the memorial museum of Nizami to mark his 800th anniversary in 1941. The architects Sadig Dadashov and Mikayil Huseynov prepared a project to hold fundamental repair work, to install the statues in the facade and to add two more stores to the building where the Nizami museum would be established. The building was not reconstructed after 1939 and there were only routine repair work.

The intensive work was done during the war to establish the museumâ€™s exhibition, but the museum started to receive the visitors only after the victory â€“ on May 14, 1945.

The museum, earlier dedicated only to the life and creative activity of Nizami, was turned into the unique museum of whole Azerbaijani literature and culture year by year.

Huseynov said after the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to the museum on December 30, 2004, fundamental repair and reconstruction work was started there within the projects prepared in 2005. â€œThe Cabinet of Ministers assigned 13 million AZN for the reconstruction work in the museum. 18 % was deducted as a value-added tax and a part of the resources was spent to the projecting and technical work and only 10 million AZN was transferred by the Ministry of Finance to the account of executive construction organizations. The area of exhibition was extended from 800 to 2500 square meters. There were 18 rooms until the reconstruction and now there are 30 main and 10 pilot rooms in the museum. Two 250- and 7-seat conference halls were reconstructed and equipped with new furnishings. The exhibition was re-established and damaged statues and art works were restored again. The museum administration didnâ€™t demand resources from the government for this work and the exhibition was restored by the artists and sculptures, who have personal relations with the museum administration. Only 1000 elements of more than 120 000 exhibits were demonstrated before the reconstruction, but the new exhibition contains more than 25 000 exhibits. The museum has already published two of five collectionsâ€.

Huseynov said President Ilham Aliyev visited the museum on April 14, 2009 and looked at the results of reconstruction work. â€œThe museum was re-opened on May 14, the day of its first opening in 1945 and there will be free entrance every year May 14â€.

Then Huseynov invited the guests to see the museum exhibitions.