Shusha (Şuşa) is a city in Azerbaijan, in the Karabakh Mountain Range. The city suffered destruction and depopulation after the occupation by Armenian forces in 1992. On November 8, 2020, Azerbaijani special forces retook the city during the 2020 Karabakh War following a three-day-long battle. After the return of the lands, it became clear that the city was not only destroyed, but, almost nothing was built during the 28 years of occupation, turning it into a ghost town.
Now the city is under reconstruction. The infrastructure is being built anew and is being prepared to start resettlement by the end of 2023. Access to the town is still controlled and requires permission. Recently I visited the town for a project and had one day to photograph there. I aimed to capture the loneliness that the city edured for a long time, and the mist helped emphasize that feeling.
These buildings and walls survived 2 wars and almost 30 years of loneliness. Passing inside, stepping on the floors of the House of Khurshidbanu Natavan, my thoughts were - what has been happening here for the last 30 years? How many people came and stood in my place? I tried to imagine how I would feel now if I had been here thirty years ago and had memories of life behind these walls. These are all unknowns. But there is one known in these unknowns - peace, and life have already come here. Trees, plants, and land - from now on they will live in peace. I hope they already feel it...
Castle View
View to the Shusha fortress through the walls The fortress walls were surrounding the center of Shusha town The castle town was named Panahabad in honor of its founder Panahali Khan Javanshir who moved the capital of the khanate to this newly built fortress from the Shahbulag Over time people called it Shusha Fortress and then was simply called Shusha
Green leaves
The house of Khurshidbanu Natavan A plant was growing in the room with a destructed wall It was like a hope for future growing in a abandoned house
View to backyard
Khan s palace View from the window to the backyard The silence quietness of nature out of the window was so soothing
View to the front yard
Khan s palace Big window opening to the yard The spacious size of the window shows how beautifully the house was designed by using the sunlight effectively to brighten up the big hall
Downstairs
One of the houses of Khurshidbanu Natavan Stairs going down with the view to the Khan s Palace complex - one of the earliest constructions in the town Apart from being the daughter of the last ruler of the Karabakh Khanate - Mehdigulu Khan she was a poet and philanthropist
The smooth edged building
This building near Mamay Bulagi had a distinctive feature - at ground level it didn t have a rectangular usual 90-degree edge of the wall at the end of the street The edge part of the building on the ground level was cut vertically to make it available for vehicles to easily turn on the alley without hitting the corner
Monument
The bust of Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayov The holes on it are traces of bullets during the war and invasion in 1992 This bust along with two others were taken away by invaders to be sold as scrap metal It was found and saved by Azerbaijanis and then the Azerbaijani government brought them back to the country They were kept in Baku until the Shusha was retaken in 2020 and placed back in its place
Silent thoughts
Khan s Palace Passing inside stepping on the floors there my thoughts were - what has been happening here for the last 30 years How many people came and stood in my place
Navvabs House
The house of Mir Mohsun Navvab located in Mamay district who was known as a chemist mathematician poet music historian and astronomer
First Music School
One of the houses of Natavan On 10th October 1932 Shusha Music School was founded here which was also the first music school in the country
