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Zivar bay Ahmadbayov – outstanding architect who skillfully blended European and Azerbaijani traditions

Zivar bay Ahmadbayov

Azerbaijan’s greatest architect Zivar bay Ahmadbayov was the first Azerbaijani to receive a European vocational education.

He was Baku’s Chief Architect from 1918 to 1925.

As part of his work in Baku, Ahmadbayov often visited the cities and towns of the provinces. This acquainted him more thoroughly with Azerbaijan’s architectural heritage, with the construction techniques of folk architecture and with the ethnography of the local people. This knowledge and experience of folk architecture, combined with his European vocational education, can be seen in the magnificent buildings he created in Baku, Shamakhi, Goychay etc.

Every building designed by Ahmadbayov was a significant contribution to the modern architecture of Azerbaijan, thus enriching the urban settings and structures of the cities in which this talented architect worked.

His work can be seen in the architecture of the religious buildings, including the Juma mosque, of Shamakha, of the Teze-Pir mosque and Ittifaq (Blue-mosque) in Baku, Mukhtarov’s mosque in Amirjan, the Absheron village, the hospital on Fuzuli street (now the Azizbeyov Hospital), and the Children’s Hospital (currently the Maternity Institute) on Murtuza Mukhtarov Street.

Zivar bay Ahmadbayov studied the ancient buildings of Baku carefully and did everything possible for their protection and restoration.

The statue of prominent architect Zivar bay Ahmadbayov was unveiled in front of the “Nizami” metro station in Baku, on 26 May, 2011.

It is not accidental that Ahmadbayov’s statue was placed in front of “Nizami” metro station, as the author of the architectural building on the left side of the metro station was in fact the chief architect of Baku Zivar bay Ahmadbayov. The street in front of the station was named after him, as well.

About Fidan Abdullayeva