The scientific seminar was held at the Department of Mythology of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS. In addition to the staff of the Department of Mythology, employees of the Department of Ritual Folklore and National Culinary Traditions also participated in the seminar.

At the seminar Narmin Babayeva, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Mythology and PhD in Philology, made a presentation entitled “The Image of Iravan in Western Azerbaijan Ashiq Poetry”.

At the report it was noted that Western Azerbaijan ashiq poetry was rich in various semantic paradigms of the archetype of the homeland. Among these paradigms the image of Iravan occupies a special place due to its semantic content and ideological and aesthetic significance.

The speaker was also mentioned about the rich artistic and aesthetic features of the image of Iravan in Western Azerbaijan ashiq poetry. It was noted that the semantic foundation of this image was formed by the mythological core of Iravan, around which its other layers of meaning develop.

The speaker noted that this poetic landscape was rooted in Turkic mythological thought concerning the creation of human beings from the earth. During the seminar, several bayati, goshma and other examples of ashiq poetry related to the topic were recited.

In conclusion, it was mentioned that in Western Azerbaijan ashiq poetry, Iravan was celebrated not merely as a geographical location, but as a symbol of national memory, cultural identity and national self-awareness. As the historical capital of the Iravan Khanate, the city occupies a special place in the collective memory of Western Azerbaijan Turks.

The scientific seminar concluded with an exchange of views on the topic.