Baku – Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat, paid, on Sunday in Baku, a visit to the International Carpet Festival in Azerbaijan, which celebrates the wealthy cultural heritage of this West Asian country and honors master craftsmen and their ancestral skills.
Held in the historic setting of the ancient city of Icherisheher, the International Carpet Festival celebrates one of the most emblematic arts of Azerbaijani identity: the traditional art of carpet weaving, which was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
Upon arrival, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, Guest of Honor at the Festival, was greeted by Emin Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of “Azerkhalcha,” an establishment dedicated to preserving and promoting Azerbaijani carpet-weaving, Honored Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Rufat Mahmud, Mayor of the ancient city of “Icherisheher,” in the presence of Morocco’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mohamed Adil Embarch, and the General Manager of the Maison de l’Artisan, Tarik Sadik.
On this occasion, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa paid a visit to the pavilions of countries participating in the Festival, namely Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Tatarstan.
Her Royal Highness also paid a visit to the Azerbaijan Center for Traditional Arts, which works to preserve and develop Azerbaijan’s traditional arts and crafts, by training talented and creative young artist-craftsmen in trades such as ceramics, batik, jewelry and woodcarving.
On the same occasion, Her Royal Highness followed the various stages in the weaving and processing of Azerbaijani carpets, then followed the weaving of carpets representing the various regions of this West Asian country, distinguished by their great variety, weaving method and composition, the geometric figures used, the subtle harmony in the play of colors, the richness of their ornamentation and the singular character and finesse of the details of each example.
Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa then followed explanations, presented by designer Narjis Asgarova, on the “Zaman” (Time) digital exhibition, aimed at promoting Azerbaijani culture in a modern style, by bringing to life the architecture of the ancient Icherisheher and the rich ornamental motifs of the local carpets.
The digital exhibition, which invites the public to an infinite travel through time, is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the inscription of Icherisheher’s monuments on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the 15th anniversary of the inscription of the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Through exhibitions, interactive experiences and educational programs, the Azerbaijan International Carpet Festival is a high-caliber event designed to pay tribute to master craftsmen, the true repositories of precious know-how handed down from generation to generation. It also aims to perpetuate ancestral traditions that occupy a crucial place in Azerbaijan’s cultural and artistic landscape.
