Foreign travelers traveling to liberated Karabakh [PHOTO]

8 September 2022 17:59 (UTC+04:00)

By Sabina Mammadli

A trip of famous travelers from over 20 countries to Azerbaijan’s Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur has begun, Azernews reports.

The delegation is led by Charles Veley, the founder of MTP (Most Traveled People) Club, one of the four largest travel clubs in the world.

First, the travelers got acquainted with the consequences of the Armenian vandalism in Shusha city.

During the trip, they scrutinize riddled by the Armenian troops, monuments of Uzeyir Hajibayli, Natavan, and Bulbul during the first Karabakh war in the 1990s, as well as the destroyed houses of Azerbaijanis.

Later, they also visited Jydyr Duzyu and were informed about the 44-day second Karabakh war, as a result of which Azerbaijan liberated its land from the 30-year Armenian occupation.

In particular, the visitors were interested in the operation of liberating Shusha city.

Further, the guests will visit Aghdam, Fuzuli, Khojavand and Zangilan districts, including the Aghali smart village, and Jabrayil city.

The trip is of exceptional importance for popularizing the Azerbaijani territories liberated from occupation within the framework of "grief tourism". During the trip, travelers will see the consequences of Armenian vandalism and the huge work being done by Azerbaijan for the revival of Karabakh.

To date, over 100 international travelers from nearly 25 countries have taken part in the trips and this is the fourth such trip that will last until September 10.

Currently, work is underway to restore Azerbaijan's liberated lands. Azerbaijan will rebuild its recently liberated areas in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, and infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy.

In 2021, Azerbaijan allocated $1.5 billion for the reconstruction of liberated territories, followed by AZN 2.2 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2022. These funds will be used primarily to restore infrastructure (electricity, gas, water, communications, roads, education, health, and so on) as well as cultural and historical monuments.

Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl