President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has visited the palace complex where the Palace of Panahali Khan, the founder of the Karabakh khanate, is located.
Informing the head of state about the palace, the executive director of the “White City” project, Ruslan Sadigov, said: Mr. President, this is a well-known place in the castle. Panahali Khan kept his horses here. These horses were displayed and put up for sale here. At the same time, it later became a place where the public of Aghdam spent their holidays.
President Ilham Aliyev: Was the stadium located here?
Ruslan Sadigov: Yes, the stadium was here and these are its stands.
President Ilham Aliyev: Are these the stands?
Ruslan Sadigov: No, those destroyed stones are.
President Ilham Aliyev: Everything will be restored.
Ruslan Sadigov: Inshallah. The complex was located here. There is a place here where he worked, where he lived, and there are also burials. The first thing you see is the tomb of Panahali Khan, the second is the destroyed tomb of Ibrahim Khan.
President Ilham Aliyev: They have destroyed the graves.
Ruslan Sadigov: These are the ruins of Natavan’s grave. In front of us is the palace, the residency of Panahali Khan. There was his garden here in the middle and his caravanserai over there. His visitors stayed there
Subsequently, the palace became a place where the Azerbaijani public spent holidays. These photographs captured some moments from the life of Aghdam in the 1970-1980s.
President Ilham Aliyev: This is the “Kharibulbul” festival. It was held here.
Ruslan Sadigov: During the occupation, these places were completely ravaged. As elsewhere, animals were kept here too. Everything is in a terrible state.