A Community Center aimed at creating new opportunities for engaging with residents has started operating in Icherisheher. The center was established on the administration's initiative. Its main goal is to involve residents in social and cultural activities, organize their leisure time effectively and support their various initiatives.
Previously, a Service Center had also been opened in the area to address residents' requests and needs. The newly opened Community Center, meanwhile, will focus directly on closer engagement with residents, learning about their interests and suggestions, and implementing joint projects and events. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Rufat Mahmud, Chairman of the Board of the Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve Administration, spoke about the contribution the new venue will make to residents' daily lives.
He emphasized that Icherisheher lives not only through its historical monuments, but also through the people who reside there, their memories and traditions. He noted that residents play a special role in preserving the ancient quarter. The Community Center, which is intended exclusively for Icherisheher residents, will host various meetings, clubs, workshops and cultural events for different age groups and interests.
Members of the Icherisheher Council of Elders and the "Goru" Youth Initiative Group, as well as children and adults, will be able to participate in these activities. The center is expected to become an important platform for encouraging residents' active participation in community life, creating opportunities to turn new ideas into reality and further developing the rich social and cultural environment of Icherisheher. Icherisheher, also known as the Old City, forms the historical core of Baku.
Surrounded by fortress walls, the ancient quarter preserves a rich architectural heritage reflecting different periods of the city's history. Among its best-known landmarks are the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. The Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve was established in 1977 to protect, preserve and study the area's architectural and cultural heritage.
The reserve covers the historic quarter and its monuments while also supporting the preservation of its traditional urban environment and way of life. In 2000, Icherisheher, together with the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today, the historic quarter remains not only a major cultural and heritage site, but also a living residential community.
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