House-Museum of Bulbul, House museum in Shusha, Azerbaijan.
The House-Museum of Bulbul in Shusha is a single-storey house of two rooms and a balcony, built in 1788 according to an inscription found on one wall. Bulbul was born here and spent his childhood in it. The rooms hold his dayereh, manuscripts, articles and reports, concert posters from 1925–1926, and photographs with family, friends and colleagues.
Bulbul lived in the late 1800s through the 20th century and transformed Azerbaijani vocal music through his innovations and teaching. His home was later converted into a museum to preserve his contributions to the nation's musical development and legacy.
Bulbul took his stage name from the nightingale, and the house where he was born and spent his childhood became a museum in 1982 by decision of the Shusha city executive committee, following Heydar Aliyev's instruction. Its courtyard now holds a summer concert hall for 250–300 people; the first event there was the 125th anniversary of Bulbul's birth, closing the 8th International Vocal Competition named after him.
The museum sits in a historic neighborhood in Shusha and can be reached easily on foot while walking through the old town. Plan to spend around an hour moving through the rooms at a relaxed pace to view the displayed items and read any available information.
The bronze portrait of Bulbul as a child by sculptor Khanlar Ahmadov was one of the memorial plaques on the museum facade, not an entrance marker. After the 2020 liberation of Shusha, no item recalling Bulbul remained in the house; every exhibit now on show came from his memorial museum in Baku. In the courtyard stands a new bust of the singer, while the vandalised old bust is kept to document the damage.
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