(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Laman Ismayilova
With many breathtaking and incredible historical sites, Hungary
never ceases to enchant history buffs, Azernews reports.
Being one of the oldest countries in Europe, Hungary is also a
favorite destination for photography enthusiasts.
As someone who is passionate about travel and photography, Aydin
Sadikhov couldn't resist capturing these beautiful sights.
In his interview with Azernews, Aydin Sadikhov shared the story
behind his boundless love for Hungary.
Q: What makes Hungary attractive for you as a
photographer?
A: In addition to being a professional
photographer, I am also an avid traveler. While traveling to other
countries, I always try to see more than one city. In my opinion,
if you want to learn more about a country's culture and history,
you should visit as many cities as possible. It has long been my
wish to visit Hungary and get acquainted with this amazingly
beautiful country.
Looking at photographs of such architectural masterpieces as the
building of the Hungarian Parliament, reading in the British
Telegraph that the St Matthias Church in Budapest is listed among
the 23 most beautiful churches in the world, and also receiving the
souvenir 'Fisherman's Bastion', I promised myself to see all these
beautiful sights with my own eyes and capture them on my
camera.
My first acquaintance with Hungary, or rather with its capital,
Budapest, was in 2018. During that same trip, I visited three
European capitals. In one of them, my first personal foreign photo
exhibition was to take place. Budapest surprised and delighted me
with its incredible architecture and museums. At that moment, I
realized that I would return here again and again.
I was surprised that I did not see photos and stories about
other cities in Hungary. This made me learn more about Hungarian
cities. I wanted to see all the beauty and sights of this country.
Finally, after several visits to Hungary, I have collected a rather
interesting and impressive series of photos that were later
presented in Azerbaijan.
Each Hungarian city, whether large or small, is very beautiful
and unique in its own way with a large number of interesting
places. Here you can find majestic fortresses, beautiful churches,
palaces, and mesmerizing urban and natural landscapes. Each city
has its own legends, and when you hear about them, you immediately
want to visit those places.
With each new visit to Hungary, I got acquainted and collected
unique photographs that capture ancient castles, and the
centuries-old architectural monuments in different cities which
included castles, palaces, and unique architectural monuments. This
helped me create a series of photo projects about Hungary,
I would like to thank the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan for
supporting and organizing interesting photo projects and
exhibitions.
Q: In April, your photo works were exhibited at the
Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts within the
'Parallel Worlds' project. Could you share the details with
us?
A: 'Parallel Worlds' is an absolutely stunning
project which involves different areas of culture including
photography, theater, music, dance as well as ancient legends.
Since childhood, I have been very curious about the myths and
history of different countries. My interest and love for ancient
myths and legends have always found a special place in my photos.
At my personal exhibition, I always share the myths and legends
behind the photographs.
I have been planning to create a unique cultural project for a
long time, where I could show and tell in detail about the ancient
legends, myths, and folklore of different countries. Therefore, the
project 'Parallel Worlds' has been successfully implemented in
Baku. The project was initiated in partnership with the Azerbaijan
State University of Culture and Arts at the end of 2019.
However, this project was suspended amid the coronavirus
pandemic. Finally, it was presented to the public in April 2022.
The first event of this project included a series of interesting
seminars with presentations on the subject of legends (one of which
was mine), as well as my personal photo exhibition. Since this year
we are celebrating the 30th diplomatic relations with a large
number of countries, it was decided to dedicate each event within
the framework of the project to a separate country.
After the return of this project this year, we dedicated the
first event to Hungary. The Counselor for Education and Culture of
the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan, Mihaly Gruber, delivered a
lecture on 'Legends of Hungary'. At the same time, I successfully
presented my personal photo exhibition, consisting of twenty
photographs captured in Hungary. The exhibition showcased famous
architectural masterpieces and sights of Hungarian cities:
Budapest, Esztergom, Vysehrad, Eger, Miskolc, Szeged, Gyor and
Sopron.
Each photograph for this exhibition was not chosen by chance as
it is associated with famous urban and mystical legends. Among them
is the Castle of Diosgyor where according to legends, the elixir of
beauty and youth was made and hidden; the Anonymous Statue
dedicated to the unknown chronicler, who wrote 'Gesta Hungarorum'
(The Deeds of the Hungarians), the fortress walls of the ancient
city Scarbantia; the House Apatur, which is one of the most
beautiful and mysterious houses in the city of Gyor and many other
sights. The university also organized an exhibition of tapestries
and a concert. The audience also enjoyed Hungarian poetry as part
of the event.
Q: If we look back, it is impossible not to mention your
personal exhibition 'Hungary through the eyes of an Azerbaijani
photographer' held in Baku (2018). Please, tell our readers about
this project.
A: My first personal photo exhibition about
Hungary was organized by the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan in
2018. October 23 is a very important date in the history of
Hungary. This is the National Day of Hungary, which is celebrated
every year. The Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan organized this
photo exhibition on the occasion of the date. The opening of the
exhibition took place at the Intourist Hotel as part of the
celebration of the National Day of Hungary. This exhibition summed
up my first two trips to Hungary. At this exhibition, I showcased
five amazingly beautiful cities in Hungary, including Budapest,
Eger, Esztergom, Gyor, and Miskolc.
Through photography, one of the languages of culture, I
invited visitors to the exhibition to plunge into the history of
Hungary, get acquainted with historical sights, visit majestic
castles, see beautiful architectural structures, and mysterious
monuments, and even learn a number of interesting legends. The
exhibition was attended by diplomatic missions of foreign
countries. The presented works made an impression on all visitors,
who studied the exposition with great interest. For this
exhibition, I chose a rather interesting and unusual approach that
I had not used before. I did not limit myself to just one genre of
photography but showed the country using various photo genres.
Thus, exhibition visitors were able to get to know Hungary and its
sights through travel, architectural, street and landscape
photography.
A number of photographic works presented at the exhibition
aroused special admiration of visitors and guests of the
exhibition. First of all, this is certainly an original view of the
image of the building of the legendary Hungarian Parliament.
This is the Ister Fountain, amazing in its beauty and
transmitting an incredible mystical aura, located in the city of
Esztergom. I'll tell you an interesting fact, from whichever side
you shoot the fountain, it comes out as a work of art, since, in
fact, it is. The fountain depicts five female figures in a marine
theme.
The author of this masterpiece is Peter Parkani Raab. Each
figure is different from the other, as the author of this work used
various models when creating the fountain. And the fountain got its
name in accordance with one of the ancient names of the Danube
River. The city of Esztergom was also represented by another very
important historical building located on the castle hill - the main
Basilica of the city of Esztergom.
This Basilica is the largest in Hungary. The building of the
Basilica, both outside and inside, is a masterpiece of architecture
in Hungary. This is the legendary Hungarian castle Diosgyor,
consisting of four high towers, which was completed in the 14th
century by King Lajos the Great, who made it his favorite
residence. One of the most interesting legends about this castle
says that it was here that the Elixir of Youth and Beauty was
developed. The elixir was developed according to a special secret
recipe for Queen Elizabeth and it is only known that rosemary was
part of the mysterious drink. Very often this castle is called the
'castle of the queens', as it passed from hand to hand to six
queens. Therefore, if you like it or not, you begin to think about
the efficiency of this mysterious elixir. This is the city of Eger
and its legendary fortress, which is associated with the name of
the brave captain - Istvan Dobo, and the legend of the appearance
of the drink Bull's Blood.
I would like to additionally note that in 2019, during the
celebration of the National Day of Hungary at the Dynamo Hotel in
Baku, I also presented an interesting photo project 'Hungarian
monuments'. In this project, I mainly focused on Hungarian
historical sights.
Q: What can you say about your photo exhibition
dedicated to Azerbaijan held at BUD Gallery in Budapest in
2019).
A: The idea to present the beauties of my
country within the framework of a separate, large photo project was
born quite a long time ago. At first, I presented individual
photographs of our attractions within group exhibitions,
international photo contests, as well as at my personal photo
exhibition about Baku, held in Greece.
So, I promised myself that I would definitely present a new
photo project about my country in a wider format, thereby showing
the history and the beauty of other parts of Azerbaijan. In 2019,
the photo project 'Azerbaijan' was presented in Hungary. The venue
for this exhibition was the new and very popular BUD gallery in
Hungary, which is located at the Ferenc International Airport Liszt
in Budapest.
The gallery hall, where the photographs were presented, was
conveniently located between the two terminals, thereby allowing a
huge number of passengers to see the exhibition.
Considering that the Budapest International Airport annually
receives more than 15 million passengers from around the world,
there is simply no better platform for exploring Azerbaijani sights
at the international level.
The exposition was presented in this gallery for a whole month.
The exposition includes twenty-two photographs showing the rich
historical, cultural, and natural wonders of Azerbaijan such as
ancient and modern architecture of Baku, palace and temples in the
Agat Mountains' and much more.
In 2021, a personal photo exhibition 'Treasures of Hungary' was
opened at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport on the initiative
of the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan in cooperation with the
Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL).
The opening of this exhibition was timed to coincide with the
celebration of the National Day of Hungary, as well as the
resumption of direct flights between Baku and Budapest, which were
temporarily suspended due to the pandemic.
Q: In 2020, you were awarded the Order of the Hungarian
Bronze Cross for strengthening the cultural ties between Azerbaijan
and Hungary. How can you comment on this?
A: The resolution on the decoration was signed
by Hungarian President Janos Ader. I feel a great sense of pride.
Each received and well-deserved award for any photographer, the
figure of culture, and art is of great importance, both in terms of
professional career, and in general, throughout life.
Creating all my cultural projects and exhibitions, I always try
to make them as informative as possible, and therefore interesting
for the viewer. Through the art of photography, I try to acquaint
the viewer with the most interesting world of culture and history
of the country.
Hungary is one of the most interesting and amazingly beautiful
countries in Europe with a rich cultural heritage.
Hungary has a large number of ancient castles and fortresses with
mysterious legends, beautiful natural places, reserves, and, of
course, many interesting centuries-old customs.
Over the past four years, I have managed to implement a number
of interesting photo exhibitions and cultural projects in Baku and
Budapest, during which I introduced the citizens of our country to
the history, architecture, and culture of Hungary, and the citizens
of Hungary to the history, architecture, and culture of my
country.
Thus, I hope that I have managed to make my small contribution
to the development of cultural relations between Azerbaijan and
Hungary.
Q: What about your photo project about Hungarian
Railways (2019)?
A: In 2019, the building of the Central Railway
Station hosted my large-scale exhibition 'Kalman Kando - 150:
Hungarian Railways' co-organized by the Hungarian Embassy and the
Azerbaijan Railways.
The exposition provided insight into the history and development
of railway transport in Hungary. The exhibition featured the famous
architectural buildings of the Hungarian railway stations, and
photographs of unique historical models of steam locomotives,
railway equipment, and electric locomotives took center stage. It
was no coincidence that the exhibition was held in 2019 since this
year was the anniversary of the history of the Hungarian Railway.
The number 150 in the name of the project meant the fact that 150
years ago, a famous Hungarian engineer, electrical scientist, and
pioneer in the development of electric traction was born in the
city of Pest.
In 1894, Cando Kalman developed a high-voltage three-phase motor
and alternator for an electric locomotive, thus becoming known as
'the father of electric trains'. The inventions of the Hungarian
engineer played a huge role in the electrification of the railways
in Hungary, Italy, France, England, and other European
countries.
Q: What projects should be expected in the
future?
A: The year 2022 turned out to be very active for me and at the
same time successful in terms of completed projects and
exhibitions. Among them, it is worth noting a series of events and
exhibitions of the“Parallel Worlds” project, a personal photo
exhibition 'Legends of Hungary' and a group exhibition 'Bridges of
Europe' held within FANTAZEU Festival.
In June, my personal exhibition 'V4' was organized at the ADA
University, where I spoke not only as a photographer but also as
the creator and curator of the project.
The exhibition displayed historical sights of the countries of
the Visegrad Four (Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia). This
project was organized by the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan during
the Hungarian presidency of the Visegrad Four.
At the exhibition, I presented photographs of Budapest and
Prague, while Jamshid Mustafayev showcased photographs of Krakow
and Emil Gazi-Bratislava. These photo works will be also shown at
other venues in Baku.
For the next year, I have planned the implementation of many
original and very interesting projects related to architecture,
history, culture, and cultural traditions of different countries. I
am also planning to publish my photo books next year.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @Lamiva993
- Tags:
- Azerbaijan
- exhibition
- Hungary
- Budapest
- photographer
- Culture
- monuments
- history
- photography
- Aydin Sadikhov
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