June 3, 2024

Happy post-May 28 everyone! I was hoping to share this blog on May 28, however, today is the day – the first blog of ACYN! 

To remember those who fell on May 28 to make our country not just a land of fire but also a land of free, I always used to visit The Independence Museum of Azerbaijan (İstiqlal Muzeyi) before I came to Calgary. This museum was established in 1919, during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. However, it was closed during the Russian-Soviet occupation. After restoring our independence on the 18th of October, 1991, the museum got its second life. This museum would always be crowded, especially by history majors around 28 May or the 9th of November (aka National Flag Day). There are many items in the Museum of Independence, but my favourite has to be “Müstəqilliyə Tələsən Bayraq” (literally: the flag in hurry for independence).

At first sight, this flag looks like our current flag, but the order of colour is changed and the crescent with its 8-pointed star is too much on the left side. However, it has a fascinating history. Azerbaijanis took the streets of Baku starting around 1988. Everything began with a simple protest against the destruction of the Topkhana forest in Shusha in those years. "Top" translated from Azerbaijani in this context means artillery and the xana suffix represents "the place of" or to exaggerate "place full of". So the word Topkhana means the place full of artillery. Topkhana was referred to as such for the first time in the collection of books named Qarabağnamə written in the 19th century. This collection is vital in studying Karabakh Khanate's history. According to it, when Agha Muhammed Shah Qajar used this forest as a strategic point to attack the city's defences. So many artilleries were kept in this forest during the campaign. However, Khan of Karabakh Ibrahim Khalil Khan attacked the source of their weakness - artilleries in the forest. After this blow, Qajar's side had to retreat. And that's how Topkhan got its name. Many people in Azerbaijan especially Generation X and millenniums just remember this place because of the Meydan Movement that started in 1988. The Soviet government was planning to open an aluminum factory there. It was a historic opportunity and a great cause to go out to the streets to demand an end to Topkhana’s destruction. Many knew that it was not just about a forest in Karabakh but rather about regaining the independence of Azerbaijan. In 1989 one of the protestors, Faiq Hasanov much motivated by Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh’s “Once raised flag, will never fall again” quote decided to wave the republican tricolor on the Maiden Tower. He does so on 28 May 1989. But there is one problem this flag has its colour order wrong. The night before the 28 May he gives the fabric to his close relative who is a tailor. But there is a pickle. The Soviet army was present in Baku those days. Nights especially were difficult. Lights would go off because of the imposed curfew. When the tailor starts sewing the flag he does not realize he messed up the colour’s order by the morning. However hero of this story, Faiq Hasanov could not care less about the order, because the day is special, 28 May! You can guess why the flag’s name is “the Flag in Hurry for Independence”. He goes to Maiden Tower and waves the flag there before members of the Soviet army remove him and his flag from there by force. Faiq Hasanov donated the flag to the museum in 1995. Faiq was remembered for his interest in turkology and one of his biggest dreams was to wave this flag in Karabakh. Sadly, he passed away in 2016. However, Karabakh as we know finally got liberated and historic justice found its place. Also, the restoration of the Topkhana forest started in 2021. That being said we from the ACYN team wish Canadian Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijanis of the world to celebrate this day with more happiness and joy every year.

References: 

1. Бакинский рабочий [Baku], 11 November 2021, p. 5.

2. Sahəd, Aytac. “Müstəqilliyə tələsən bayraq - Bələdçi.” 525-ci qəzet [Baku], 11 November 2020, https://525.az/news/155117-musteqilliye-telesen-bayraq-beledci. 

Ismayil Imanli // 03.06.2024