Ilham Aliyev attends opening of first phase of Cahangirbeyli village
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening ceremony of the first phase of Cahangirbeyli village in the Zangilan district on november 6.
It should be noted that Cahangirbeyli village was occupied by Armenian armed forces in 1993. Before the occupation, the village had a school, kindergarten, cultural centre and communications office. Its residents were mainly engaged in sericulture, grain farming, viticulture and livestock breeding. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces liberated the village from occupation on October 21, 2020. President Ilham Aliyev laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of Cahangirbeyli village in May 2023.
TodayPress TV reports that the first phase of construction in Cahangirbeyli, which covers a total area of 179.5 hectares, has been completed across 62.57 hectares. The project includes 242 private houses, a school building, a nursery-kindergarten, a two-storey administrative building, a market complex and a multifunctional building. The houses have two, three, four or five rooms. All are equipped with water, electricity, gas, solar panels and high-speed internet. The village’s internal roads have also been asphalted.
The multifunctional building will house a medical centre, pharmacy, grocery store, tailor’s shop and beauty salon.
Special attention has been paid to ensuring the comfort of children at the 80-seat nursery-kindergarten in Cahangirbeyli. The rooms have been equipped with the necessary facilities for children’s rest and for developing their basic knowledge and skills.
A flag square has also been built near the administrative building. A children’s playground, a sports area to promote a healthy lifestyle and physical activity among residents, and a park have been established nearby.
Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the head of state and the First Lady on the facilities at the Cahangirbeyli full secondary school, which has a capacity of 264 students.
It was noted that the school offers extensive opportunities for high-quality education. Its classrooms are equipped with the necessary teaching materials and equipment. The school will have 13 classrooms, two laboratories for chemistry and physics, music, computer science, military training, art and make-up rooms, a library, a 160-seat assembly hall, an indoor sports hall and a canteen. Two outdoor sports grounds have also been built on the school grounds.
President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva met with residents who have returned to Cahangirbeyli village and Soltanli village in the Jabrayil district.
Addressing the gathering, President Ilham Aliyev said:
“First of all, I congratulate you on the upcoming Victory Day. We are meeting on the eve of this holiday, which has been celebrated as a national holiday for six years now. Six years ago, our glorious Army drove the enemy from our lands and restored justice. For six years, we have been engaged in reconstruction. We are building new villages and cities, and displaced people are returning to their ancestral lands. These are the issues we are focused on, and I can say that the entire Azerbaijani people share this aspiration.
The return of people who had lived in difficult conditions for many years to their ancestral lands was a great wish of every citizen, first and foremost, of course, those who had been living as internally displaced persons. But you also know that every patriotic person wished for your swift return to your homeland.
Today, we are regularly building beautiful new villages and cities, creating them from scratch. The enemy had completely razed all our towns and villages to the ground, including Cahangirbeyli and Soltanli. Today, nearly 700 families are returning to these two villages. Beautiful homes have been built for you. I am confident that you will make good use of these facilities. The most important thing is that your life as displaced people is now behind you.
The Azerbaijani people stood united as one during the 44-day Patriotic War. This Victory will live forever in our hearts. Our people and future generations will always take pride in it. We restored justice, restored our dignity and reclaimed our rights through bloodshed on the battlefield. May God have mercy on all our martyrs. Their cherished memory will forever live in our hearts. I am confident that their loved ones know that their blood was not shed in vain. They were avenged on the battlefield, and today the most profound tribute to their memory is the beautiful revival of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur.
We won the war. Our people, now living in peace, are also building and creating. For 30 years, the Armenians had left these lands in ruins; not a single stone had been laid upon another. In just six years, however, we have returned nearly 100,000 people to Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur and created the best possible conditions for them.
I congratulate you once again both on Victory Day and on your return to your ancestral lands. I wish you good health”.
The head of state then presented the residents with the keys to their homes.
Later, the President and the First Lady spoke with residents and posed for commemorative photographs.
Female resident: “Mr President, Supreme Commander- in- Chief, dear Mrs Mehriban.
On behalf of the residents of Soltanli village and the displaced people of the Zangilan district, I am proud to welcome you to these lands, liberated at the cost of our martyrs’ blood, thanks to your wise and visionary policy, the unity of our people and the bravery of our Army, as we stand on the eve of Victory Day. Once again, welcome!”
President Ilham Aliyev: “Thank you”.
Female resident: “The only way to heal the wounds of our wounded and captive homeland was through Victory, and you, our dear President, accomplished what seemed impossible. We thank you for this. Throughout these 30 years, we have always felt the care of our state, and we continue to feel it today, both as a family of a martyr and as internally displaced people.
What can we say? The responsibility for rebuilding and reviving our homeland, entrusted to us by our Great Leader and our martyrs, now rests with us, the citizens. We promise that we will always stand behind our state and you in making our homeland prosperous. Long live Azerbaijan, long live the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, long live the Azerbaijani Army!”
President Ilham Aliyev: “Thank you very much”.
Male resident: “Mr President, I would also like to say something”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Please go ahead”.
Male resident: “Your bringing us back here after 30 years — no, after 33 years — is truly a miracle. It is a miracle to me. I sometimes think I must be dreaming. Believe me, I am sincere. Then I look around and realise that it is not a dream. May God protect you and grant you good health. May God protect our homeland. May He have mercy on our martyrs”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Amen”.
Male resident: “May God grant good health to our veterans. All of this is thanks to you. We are proud of you, Mr President”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Thank you. As I have said, our glorious Victory will forever remain in our hearts and in history. It is an event without equal. I congratulate you once again. Let us take a photograph together”.
Another male resident: “I am very grateful to you for allowing us to experience this day”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Did you live here?”
Male resident: “Yes, I am from this village. I was born and raised here and worked as a driver. My grandchildren asked me to take a photograph with you, Mr President, and bring it home so they could hang it on the wall”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Where did you live during the occupation?”
Male resident: “In Baku”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “In Baku? Were the living conditions good?”
Male resident: “Not particularly. We spent 33 years there. May God grant you good health”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “What kind of work did you do?”
Male resident: “I worked with my own vehicle. I had a GAZ-53”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Will you be driving again here?”
Male resident: “Driving? I have given up driving and left it behind”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “What will you do here?”
Male resident: “I will engage in agriculture. Our people are hardworking, Mr President. They will plant and harvest”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “What did you do for a living?”
Another male resident: “I served in the army”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Are you from this village or from Soltanli?”
Male resident: “From this village”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “What did you do back then?”
Male resident: “I worked as a driver”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Was there a collective farm?”
Male resident: “Yes, there was”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Where did you live during the occupation?”
Male resident: “I lived in Sumgayit”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “In Sumgayit. What will you do here now? Are you retired?”
Male resident: “Yes, I am retired”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Congratulations”.
Male resident: “Thank you. May God keep you safe”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “You used to work in agriculture here — crop farming and livestock breeding?”
Male resident: “Yes. I have given up driving because I am getting old. I am 72 now. But I will engage in agriculture”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “The land is good”.
Male resident: “Yes, our land is golden. Whatever you plant will grow”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Is there water as well?
Male resident: “Yes, there is water. We have everything. We are accustomed to this land. I was 39 when I left here. Until I was 39, I worked in farming and harvesting. I had my own yard and garden”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “We have just passed through the village of Aghali. I can see that they have already planted trees there, and it has turned into a beautiful garden. It will be the same here”.
Male resident: “Mr President, when you come here a year from now, you will not recognise this place. It will be full of flowers and greenery, even more beautiful than that. We will make it happen”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “You can also use your household plots for vegetable gardens and fruit trees. Separate plots of land are also being allocated to residents here”.
Male resident: “Yes, they have been allocated”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Livestock breeding can develop well here. Grain farming was also practised”.
Male resident: “All of that can be done. It was all done in the past, and we will do it again”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “The air is clean, too”.
Male resident: “Our people love working. As I said, when you come next time, you will not recognise this place. Life here will be different, I swear to God. You have done your part so far; from now on, we will do ours. Of course, we will live here and build our future”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Now it is your responsibility. We have done everything required of us for this village”.
Male resident: “Yes, you have fulfilled your duty. God willing, we will make it even better from here on. Thank you very much”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Congratulations. What did you do for a living back then?”
Male resident: “I also worked as a tractor driver here in 1978–1979. Later, I became a driver and worked at the collective farm and in the vineyards”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “And then?”
Male resident: “I was 30 when the war began”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Where did you go?”
Male resident: “We went to Baku and lived in Buzovna”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “So we are neighbours?”
Male resident: “Yes, we are neighbours. May God help you and protect you”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Now, thank God, you have returned. Are there any employment problems here?”
Male resident: “No, no. I am still working as a driver for now”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “There will be plenty of work here. The Zangezur Corridor also passes through the village. Significant development is expected here, and the railway will also become operational”.
Male resident: “We are very happy. May God make you happy, too. Every time you speak, you make us happy”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Thank you. I have also asked about the school. Teachers will work at the school and kindergarten”.
Male resident: “Welcome, Mrs Mehriban. May God protect you”.
First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: “Thank you. May God protect all our people”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “May God have mercy on those who were martyred in the battles for Soltanli”.
Female resident: “I am the mother of a martyr. I am the mother of Ziyadkhan Aliyev, who was awarded the Order for Service to the Fatherland, 3rd Class”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “May God have mercy on him”.
Female resident: “How can I put it? You have allowed us to experience a miracle we never thought possible, together with our soldiers and Army, and through the unity of our people. God willing, may our unity never be broken. May God keep you safe. You are our President, whose legacy will live forever”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “We will always remain united and support one another”.
Female resident: “Yes, we will always stand behind you. We love you”.
President Ilham Aliyev: “Thank you very much. Congratulations”.
Residents: “Thank you”.
