Oleg Kusov exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Different seasons suit different cities. For example, Norilsk, Murmansk, Reykjavik are associated with winter, while Baku is always sunny and warm. So a story about the Icheri Shekher Fortress told by Baku artist Ali Shamsi seemed unusual and interesting for me. Ali told me about the winter fortress which woke up early in the morning. Perhaps he has pictures about it, but even his story was amazing.
“Snow is a rare thing for us,” Ali Shamsi says. “That’s why it was interesting to wake up early in the morning after sudden snowfalls. I took my camera and walked around Icheri Shekher. The city life began beyond high fortress walls; I heard cars and talking people. But inside it was a calm island of peace. A different world. Old houses, untypical snow took me to a fairytale. I was full of freshness. I didn’t want to spoil the beautiful snow, but I could see traces of people who couldn’t stay home. Everything was covered by snow – trees, houses, benches.”
The Icheri Shekher Fortress is a fairytale which Ali Shamsi can tell for hours. The fortress was built as a maze, so in summer it is cool, and in winter it is warm. It seems the artist knows every brick of it. He speaks in detail about five active mosques (there are 17 mosques here). He knows all 53 films which were shot in the fortress. He survived the earthquake of 2000 inside these ancient walls. When he was told that several dozen people died in Baku, he was surprised, as only two buildings were hurt in Icheri Shekher, even though the earthquake was strong.
“That’s what we have when a city is built by people who are in love with it. They improved buildings by their feelings,” the artist concludes, and turns to the main miracle of the Old City for him – the Maiden’s Tower (Gyz Galasy in Azerbaijani). The whole fortress is a puzzle, but the Maiden’s Tower is a special place. The understatement is clear, like in the Shirvanshah Palace. The roofs are flat because of the strong winds. If the tower’s walls are lifted by 100 meters, the roof will stay the same size, as the walls are straight. If we look at the tower from above, we will see the number nine. All in all, the construction resembles the sign of infinity. Scientists have no common view on the function of the tower. Some say it is a giant breakwater on the seashore; others that it is a lighthouse, others speak about the Zoroastrian origin of the tower.
The history of the fortress and the Maiden’s Tower is rich and well-known. Icheri Shekher was built in the 12th century, and actually it was the whole of Baku till 1809. Then, the city began to grow beyond the fortress’s walls. Scientists say that Maiden’s Tower was also built in the 12th century. In the 12-18th centuries the tower was used as a lighthouse. Later, it was considered a unique historic monument. However, numerous scientists couldn’t answer questions about the goals of its construction and the forms of its existence. The tower is full of treasures.
One day Ali Shamsi decided to deepen his workshop. He took 40 cm off the ground and found several mediaeval lamps and dishes, which decorate a wall of his workshop. Imagine how many items were found by archeologists in Icheri Shekher over all these years? However, the richness of facts makes the situation complicated rather than clarifies it.
