We Are Our Mountains, Monumental sculpture in Stepanakert, Azerbaijan
We Are Our Mountains is a monumental sculpture in Stepanakert consisting of two figures carved from volcanic tuff. The two characters stand at a height of 9 meters at an elevation of approximately 720 meters above sea level.
The work was completed in 1967 by Armenian sculptor Sargis Baghdasaryan and quickly became a central landmark of the city. Its location in the northern section of Stepanakert made it a defining symbol for the region.
Locals call the monument "Tatik-Papik" (Grandmother and Grandfather), or "Dedo-Babo" in the Karabakh dialect. The woman's face is covered by a scarf, following local tradition, and the two heads recall the twin peaks of Mount Ararat. The figures appeared on the coat of arms of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and of Stepanakert.
The sculpture stands on a grassy hilltop north of the city, reached by a road climbing from the centre; there is no separate base, so the ground around the heads is uneven and slopes. The site is exposed, with no shelter or facilities nearby, and the monument has been defaced with graffiti and vandalism, so surfaces should be viewed from a distance. The heads face the approach road, making them visible before arrival.
The local name is "Tatik-Papik" (Grandmother and Grandfather), rendered "Dedo-Babo" in the Karabakh dialect. The sculptor's son said the original composition of a man's and a woman's heads had nothing to do with Karabakh: it began as an idea for Quasimodo and Esmeralda from Notre-Dame de Paris.
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