Garabagh View on map
The ancient Garabagh is the heart of Azerbaijan, the land that gave the country a great number of talents. Garabagh is not only the unique nature, the landscapes included in the List of Natural Monuments of the Republic; it is also a constellation of gifted individuals - poets, writers, musicians, khanendes (performers of mugam - the national music). Garabagh is the cradle of the Azerbaijani music. The nature and resources of this ancient land leave no one untouched. Probably that is why this beautiful land is occupied now.
The district of Barda is located in the center of the Garabagh Plain, in the northwestern part of the Kura-Araz lowlands, on the bank of the Terterchai River.
The land features many relict trees; there are oaks, hornbeams, garagaches, walnuts and plane trees. The fauna includes wolves, foxes, jackals, wild boars, hares, pheasants, gooses, francolins etc. Hunting and fishing are available.
Natural conditions favor melon, cotton and grain growing.
The town of Barda is located 314 km from Baku.
Archeological expeditions revealed ruins of an ancient town near present Barda. Numerous objects found there evidence the high level of culture, trade and crafts: jewelry, forging, pottery, silk production, woodworking and carpet weaving.
This was a town with advanced infrastructure: archeologists found underground water communications and sewer systems built with the use of ceramic pipes. The streets of the town were cobbled; red brick was used in construction works. Money was coined at the mint. The findings indicate established links between Barda and the adjacent towns of Azerbaijan and the whole Middle East. Archeologists have also found objects of material culture covering the period from the 2nd millennium BC to the Late Middle Ages.
Many architectural monuments remained to the present day. They include remainders of the famous bridge across Terter (7th-9th centuries), the mausoleums of "Akhsatan Baba", "Guloglular" (with the burial of Bakhman Mirza Gajar, a famous scientist) built by Akhmed Ibn Ayub al-Khafiz, an architect, "Imamzade" (scientists believe this mausoleum to be the place of Sheikh Ibragim's burial). There is also a square-shaped cob fortress.

Remained on the territory of Agdam district are numerous ancient architectural monuments. They include the Mausoleum of Khanaoglan (17th century), a caravanserai (18th century)in the village of Shahbulag, a mosque (17th century), The Palace and Mosque of Panahali-Khan , "Gutlu Musaogli" mausoleum (14th century) in the village of Khachinturbetli, two mausoleums and a mosque in the village of Papravend, a cave temple dated to the Christian period of Caucasian Albania, carved out on the northern slope of the Bozdag Mountain.

The town of Agdam is the administrative center of the district, located 362km from Baku. Agdam was also one of the large towns located on the Garabagh plain. Turkic tribes would often build small defensive fortresses on lowlands (the word "Agdam" is translated from the ancient Turkic as "a small fortress").
Later the word gained its modern meaning of "light, white" - connected to the fact that one of Garabagh Khans, Panahali, built a house of white marble here, in the18th century. It was a whole complex of harmonic structures - an imaret of white stone.
The town houses an unusual museum - The Museum of Bread. The museum's collections include unique artifacts - archeological findings relevant to bread and grain growing. There are petrified seeds, grain graters, hand mills, ware, ancient books, manuscripts, various documents describing the history of tillage, farmers tools (sickles, ploughs, threshing boards) etc.
The town of Shusha is located 373 km from Baku. The town's name owes much to the splendid clean and transparent air of the land. "Shusha" is literally translated as "glass" (Azerbaijanis usually associate clean air with transparent glass). This is one of the most beautiful towns of our country, blessed by nature with unique springs - Isa Bulag, Turshsu , Sakina Bulag, Isti Bulag, Soyug Bulag, Yuz Bulag, Girkh Bulag, Charikh Bulag and many others.
The quarters had indoor galleries with stone pillars, market squares were large and the town's main square - Meydan - housed rows of shops and a two-storied caravanserai. There was also a cathedral mosque with two minarets.
Located near the border of the town was the "race track" - Jidir Duzu. It was located near the deep canyon of Dashalty. Steep staircase steps of Girkh Pilakan (forty steps) led downwards to the river of Dashalty, to the secret cave of "Khazina Gala"(the fortress of treasures). Every guest of Shusha would visit this place. To count all ancient monuments of architecture and art in Shusha is not an easy thing to do - only the number of architectural monuments is estimated at 170, monuments of arts - 160. They include house museums: of Khurshud Banu Natavan, a poetess, museum of General Mekhmandarov, a participant of a heroic defense of Port Arthur, prominent composer Uzeyir Hajibekov, singer Bul-Bul, poet and painter Mir Mohsum Navab, there are the castles of Ibragim Khan and his daughter, Gara Beyukkhanum, "Ganja Gates", the fortress wall etc.

The district of Kalbajar is located on the slopes of the Lesser Caucasus. Its administrative center is the town of Kalbajar (translated as "high pass" or "highland").
The area is famous for its mineral springs, including thermal ones. The most famous of those, Istisu ("hot water") gave the name to a local resort. Other healthful springs are located 2000-2400 m above sea level, on the banks of the Terter River. In terms of chemical composition their waters are almost identical or even superior to waters of the world-famous Karlovy Vary springs (Czech Republic).
It has to be mentioned that natural landscape, historical-architectural monuments, transit-communication set of Nagorny Garabagh and surrounding districts, occupied by Armenia, have been destroyed by Armenians, in a word, tourism infrastructure of the region has fully been destructed.