# Hiroshima of the Caucasus: How Did Agdam Become a Symbol of Creation?

Baku TV aired the first episode of the new project Gör nələri qaytarmışıq ("Look What We've Brought Back"). It is dedicated to the Aghdam district, which was once a vivid example of vandalism and has today become a symbol of great creation.

This land, whose history stretches back millennia and whose antiquity is confirmed by the Leylatepe and Uzerlitepe monuments, became an important center of the Karabakh Khanate in the 18th century with the construction of the Shahbulag fortress and the Imaret complex. The region, which found itself on the front line of the conflict that began in 1988, gave the lives of thousands of its sons for the sake of the Motherland, including the first martyrs Ali Hajiyev and Bakhtiyar Guliyev.

However, on July 23, 1993, after fierce battles, Aghdam was occupied by Armenian armed forces. During the occupation, the city was completely destroyed. International journalists called it a "ghost city" and the "Hiroshima of the Caucasus." Only the historic Juma Mosque stood as a silent witness to this vandalism.

The end of the 27-year occupation was brought about by the landmark victory achieved in the 44-day Patriotic War in the autumn of 2020.