Стр. 50 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

50
It is reasonable to associate Zangibasar and Sardarabad carpets with the next group.
Zangibasar was one of the ancient settlements of Azerbaijanis attached to Iravan.
This area could be called the center of culture and education. The people of this dis-
trict studied at different centers of the Islamic world, contributing to the religious
and scientific understanding of people living here. The Zangibasar district was a
cultural center as well. Its geographic closeness to Iravan helped shape the cultural
environment in the area. The soil of the Zangibasar province was fertile due to the
abundant water of the Zengi River, mentioned in several ancient texts.
Many travelers wrote histori-
cal notes about this district. De-
scribing local people and their
daily lives, travelers wrote
about bey and sultan families
living there and stressed that
there were many religious fig-
ures and intellectuals there.
Local people created their own
farming traditions, especially for planting wheat, growing vegetables, and planting
melons. Raising cattle and breeding silkworms was widely developed in the region
as well. With endless and attractive hayfields, Zangibasar developed a tradition of
dyeing with special quarters to prepare the dyes.
People’s attire in this region was very distinctive. Men’s clothing mainly consisted
of arkhaluk (over shirt), chukha (shirt) and pants, large cotton gurshag (waist band),
leather charig (bast sandals), and bashmaks.
Women’s attire included a long arkhaluk, cotton
shirt, shawl, and headscarf. Living on a cara-
van road, the people of Zangibasar wore a great
deal of jewelry. Special silver money, chains
made out of silver and gold, and belts provided
particular beauty for women.
Zangibasar province is celebrated for its rich
cuisine, folklore, country games, and stage
shows, as well as its remarkable carpet tradi-
tions. The world vision, culture, and Turkic
roots of people living here are reflected in the
famous Ulukhanli School, Agdede ojagi (holy
place), Garapirim ojagi, Shahin castle, hamams
(bathhouse), and a number of mosques in Zan-
gibasar. Carpets unique for their fineness and
elegance were woven in Zangibasar’s quarters
such as Arbat, Ashaghy Nejili, Garagishlag,
Demirchi, Zengiler, Zehmet, Renjber, Ulukhan-
li, Aji Ellez, and Shorlu. When most of the vil-
lages of the region were artificially eradicated,
their population was forcefully moved. How-
ever, the carpets woven there have protected the memory of this land even now. The
art samples obtained from the area carry messages about a great culture abolished in
the middle of the last century.
Sardarabad, one of the ancient provinces of Iravan, was well known for its castle.
The Iravan khan used these areas for both protection and combat. Special ties be-
tween this province and Iravan Khanate’s history and historical importance can be
seen. Azerbaijanis populated the city of Sardarabad as well as the villages of Kari-
markh, Gatirabad, Kheyirbeyli, and Shaverdi and different kinds of kilims, palazs,
and khurjuns were woven in these areas. During archeological excavations, several
household items and stone fragments with engraved images were found here, traces
left by Turkic culture.
Carpets woven in this area are similar to Azerbaijan’s Gazakh and Tabriz carpet
schools in their compositional structures. Carpet products depict both the mytholog-
ical and natural beliefs of the district’s people as seen through geometric elements.
Zangibasar and Sardarabad provinces