A cemetery like an open-air museum

BAKU - Anatolia News Agency

One of the most visited parts of Fexri Xiyabani Cemetery, which protected by the state, is the late Haydar Aliyev’s and his wife’s, Zarife Aliyev, mausoleums. AA Photo

A cemetery in Azerbaijan where renowned figures such as statesmen, writers and artists are buried is like a statue museum. In the country, the gravestones generally include photos of the buried people but in the Fexri Xiyabani Cemetery, which is located in a central neighborhood of Baku, statues of the people are erected on their graves.

The cemetery, which was established in 1948 by the Azerbaijan Soviet Central Committee, is home to the graves of people who worked in high positions of the state and those who achieved successes in the fields of science, literature, culture and fine arts as well as soldiers who were given the title Soviet Hero in World War II.

The cemetery is under the protection of the state and dozens of people are working to keep it clean. Its atmosphere and the statues on all the graves draw the attention of both Azerbaijani people and foreign visitors.

AA Photo

Aliyev’s mausoleum

Besides those who visit the graves of their relatives, hundreds of people come to Fexri Xiyabani to see the interesting statues of famous figures.

One of the most visited parts of the cemetery is the late Haydar Aliyev’s and his wife’s, Zarife Aliyev, mausoleums. In accordance with Azerbaijani state protocol, foreign statesmen who visit the country, first visit Aliyev’s mausoleum. Also, President Ebulfeyz Elçibey’s grave is among the most visited ones in the cemetery.

Each statue in the cemetery reflects the characteristics and profession of the person. The publisher of the first Turkish paper in Azerbaijan, Hasan Bey Zardabi, is depicted with his paper “Ekinci.” Composer Tofig Guliyev is seen with his piano. Xelil Rza Ulutürk is shown reading a poem, and Rashidr Behbudov is singing one of his famous songs.

Famous poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh; the publisher of Molla Nasreddin magazine, Celil Memmedguluzade; playwright Cafar Cabbarli; the country’s most famous painter, Azim Azimzade; the first opera composer of the East, Üzeyir Hacıbeyli; composers Said Rustemov, Gara Garayev and Muslim Magomayev; singer Bulbul; actress Nesibe Zeynalova; and poet Samed Vurgun are among the figures whose mausoleums are in the Fexri Xiyabani cemetery.