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Fact of the Week:
The sculpture “Hearth” that forms the centerpiece of the newly opened Azerbaijani Cultural Garden is made from eight tons of highly polished stainless steel. This sculpture, which is already garnering accolades from Cleveland residents, was created by Azerbaijani sculptor Khanlar Gasimov, who lives with his wife and two children in Connecticut.
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Ambassador Aliyev and Ohio Officials Open
Azerbaijani Cultural Garden in Cleveland
 Amid rave reviews, Cleveland residents got their first look on May 12 at the new, iconic sculpture that forms the centerpiece of the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden in the city’s famed Cultural Gardens.
The event was held in commemoration of the 85th jubilee of the National Leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson presented a proclamation from his office commemorating the jubilee and the opening of the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden.
Five years in the making, the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden and its contemporary sculpture, “Hearth” was unveiled at a ceremony attended by the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States Yashar Aliyev, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson. The event drew a crowd of citizens including Azerbaijani diaspora, officials, media representatives and schoolchildren.
“In Azerbaijan, the hearth holds a sacred place in the home,” Ambassador Aliyev said. “It is a source of warmth, a place of gathering for the family, and a symbol of love. I have no doubt that the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden will be viewed similarly here in Cleveland, and that it will forever be among the city’s favorite parks, where people of all nations can celebrate peace, mutual understanding and friendship.”
The “Hearth” sculpture is a rounded funnel structure made of eight tons of highly polished stainless steel. The sculpture’s curving form reflects the earth from its smooth sides and the sky from its gently sloping interior.
The installation is the creation of Azerbaijani artist Khanlar Gasimov, who now lives in Connecticut. He was inspired in part by 12th century poetry and 14th century philosophy from Azerbaijan, which since that time has served as a vital crossroads of civilizations, commerce and ideas.
Near the sculpture is a granite bench with an inscription etched into its stone: “Azerbaijan—land of eternal fire, ignites the imagination, warms the spirit and kindles the soul.”
Congressman Kucinich recalled in his remarks America’s motto of e pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”
“That really speaks to the spirit of this moment. This garden is a tribute to peace,” Kucinich said. “This is a signal moment, not just for Cleveland but for Azerbaijan as well. What an honor it is for us all to be here.”
Azerbaijan’s inclusion in the Cultural Gardens is yet more affirmation of Cleveland’s international composition.
“Cleveland has more than 75 different ethnic groups calling this city home,” Mayor Jackson said in welcoming Azerbaijan’s contribution to the Gardens. “This shows our diversity, our strength.”
Today’s ceremony was helmed by Dr. George Parras, a Cleveland physician and past president of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation. His support was instrumental in seeing the project through to today’s opening ceremony.
“I hope that the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden and its sculpture ‘Hearth,’ will serve as a symbol of hope, peace, reflection and understanding for generations to come,” Parras said.
Established in the early 1900s, the Cleveland Cultural Gardens are located in Rockefeller Park. Along its two-mile meandering parkway, some three dozen countries have established their own unique gardens celebrating peace and understanding among nations and cultures. Azerbaijan is the first new garden to open in two years and is located along Martin Luther King Dr., approximately one-half mile from the Rockefeller Park’s north entrance.
Cleveland Gives Glowing Review of Azerbaijani Garden
Following is an article that appeared May 13, 2008 in the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, written by columnist Robert Smith:
 A chorus of "Wow" resounded when the white canvas fell away and a giant stainless-steel bowl shimmered on the wet green grass.
The seventh-grade boys from University School had come to Rockefeller Park to witness a Cleveland ethnic tradition - the dedication of a cultural garden.
Among the Azerbaijani-Americans gathered for the noon ceremony, the response was something softer and more powerful - a collective breath, followed by smiles that lit up a rainy Monday.
"It's a great honor to see our symbol here," Dr. Dilara Seyidova Khoshknabi explained.
The Cleveland Clinic brought her from Azerbaijan, in western Asia, eight years ago for medical research.
Now, she and her husband, Mohammad, call the city home.
"I feel like it's a piece of my land here in Cleveland," she said.
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens have bestowed that gift of belonging upon generations of immigrants, often people from small, emerging nations who badly want the world to know who they are.
The moments of recognition do not come as often anymore. But Monday's ceremony proved that the 92-year-old garden chain still stirs emotion and pride.
Nearly 100 people crowded under a white tent at the north end of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for the dedication of the Azerbaijan Cultural Garden. Dignitaries included Azerbaijan's ambassador to America and its deputy foreign minister.
Smartly dressed families from the region's small Azerbaijani community bore witness to the dedication.
Two Azerbaijan television news crews - one based in Toronto and the other from Washington, D.C. - covered the scene for viewers back in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich nation of 8 million people on the Caspian Sea.
We're pretty new, only 16 years old, and we would like the world to know us," Ambassador Yashar Aliyev said. "Azerbaijan now stands as a neighbor with other nations in this beautiful city."
Dr. George Parras, former president of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation, welcomed the Azerbaijanis to Cleveland's ethnic mosaic and to a garden chain designed to promote peace and tolerance.
Soon after, the crowd moved out of the tent and toward the landmark cloaked in white.
Sculptor Khanlar Gasimov walked for hours through Rockefeller Park on a snowy day in 2004 before choosing this triangular patch of grass for a creation he calls "Hearth."
The eight-ton, mirror-like bowl is meant to evoke several facets of Azerbaijan culture, including the flames that famously flare from the nation's natural gas deposits and the welcoming nature of a people at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.
He cut a rope and "Hearth" emerged and the schoolboys jumped to see over its silvery rim. Cameras flashed. Azerbaijanis beamed, some teary-eyed.
"It's so hard to translate - I feel very happy, very friendly," said Tarana Asgrova, who immigrated from Azerbaijan five years ago. "I love America. But now, I feel that part of my country is here."
“Hearth”: Inspired from
Azerbaijan’s Rich Artistic Legacy
 For centuries, Azerbaijan was a mecca for fire worshippers who came to see the flames from gas deposits seeping from the ground that had ignited and burned since before written history. Making their pilgrimage from faraway lands, these ancient fire worshippers brought to Azerbaijan myriad elements from distant cultures.
Now Azerbaijan is a newly independent country with aspirations to serve as an important source of artistic and spiritual inspiration to the world. This is reflected in the sculpture, “Ojag”, which from the Azerbaijani language translates to “Hearth”.
Situated as the centerpiece of the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden in Cleveland’s Rockefeller Park, “Hearth” alludes to the country’s recent re-birth, emerging into its own unique form after being hidden from the world for over 80 years.
At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan has for centuries given the world literature, art, and music that enriched all of civilization. The notion of crossroads was equally important to sculptor Khanlar Gasimov, who walked for hours and hours through the park on a snowy day several years ago looking for the perfect garden site. He found it when he came to the triangular patch of land at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and East Boulevard.
The 43-year-old Gasimov, who was born in Baku and now lives in Connecticut with his wife and children, was inspired for the design in part by the 12th century Azerbaijani poet, Nizami Ganjavi, and his epic poem “Leyli and Majnun.” The poem tells the story of a man so in love with a woman that he begins seeing his beloved everywhere, reflected in every natural phenomenon he lays eyes upon.
Another source of inspiration was the 14th century Azerbaijani mystic philosopher Imadeddin Nasimi, who expressed the living connection between the microcosmos and the macrocosmos, broadly hinting at the infinite possibilities that beckon the true spiritual seeker on the inward journey.
“Hearth” is made from eight tons of highly polished stainless steel. Resistant to corrosion and fluctuating temperatures, this metal is able to withstand the unforgiving action of the elements. It stands five feet high, allowing the viewer to see the reflection of the earth along its sides and the reflection of the sky in its 18-foot diameter interior curves.
The curving granite bench alongside the sculpture is also designed with reflection in mind, reinforced by the words etched into the stone: “Azerbaijan—land of eternal fire, ignites the imagination, warms the spirit and kindles the soul.”
“Hearth” reveals the spiritual and cultural essence of Azerbaijan, a confluence of diverse cultures, east and west, north and south, old and new, and its potential to once again serve as an endless source of inspiration for those who aspire to spiritual and artistic heights. Its physical form, with its definitive height and diameter, represent limits, containment and the finite, while the circles themselves represent boundlessness, openness and infinity.
Full Remarks of Ambassador
at Azerbaijani Cultural Garden Opening
Following are the remarks of Ambassador Yashar Aliyev
at the inauguration ceremony of the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden:
 “Five years ago, the idea of Azerbaijan contributing a garden of its own to the esteemed and internationally recognized Cleveland Cultural Gardens began to take shape. Today, Azerbaijan commemorates the 85th jubilee of its National Leader Heydar Aliyev, who was a steadfast supporter of this monument to intercultural tolerance and understanding.Dedicated people have made this day possible. Azerbaijan’s first Ambassador to the United States, Hafiz Pashayev, initiated the vision of an Azerbaijani Garden. Congressman Dennis Kucinich gave his full support to this Garden. Dr. George Parras of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation worked tirelessly to advance it through all its stages of development. And, of course, we wholeheartedly applaud Mr. Khanlar Gasimov, whose beautiful and impressive sculpture “Hearth” forms the centerpiece of this place of contemplation and inspiration.
The Azerbaijani Cultural Garden brings a new dimension to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. The abstract form of “Hearth” offers itself up to introspection and reflection. Its form is created from a philosophical depth, inspired by Azerbaijan’s tremendous artistic and literary history.
In Azerbaijan, the hearth holds a sacred place in the home. It is a source of warmth, a place of gathering for the family, and a symbol of love. I have no doubt that the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden will be viewed similarly here in Cleveland.
It is indeed a great honor to celebrate this moment with members of Cleveland’s fine leaders and citizens, and to represent my country as we commemorate this historic dedication. It is my strong belief that the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden will forever be among the city’s favorite parks, where people of all nations can celebrate peace, mutual understanding and friendship.”
Cleveland Mayor Welcomes Azerbaijani Cultural Garden
Following are remarks from Clevaland Mayor Frank G. Jackson
welcoming the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden:
 “In my inaugural address, I outlined my vision for the City of Cleveland – that we would be one city, one people, living and working together. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens support that vision and highlight the incredible diversity of this great City.
Part of what makes Cleveland so great is our rich heritage and cultural diversity. With more than 75 different ethnic groups calling Cleveland home, Cleveland reflects the people of not only the United States, but the world. And, although there are differences in our heritage, traditions and culture, we in Cleveland are united by our common vision of a great City.
Today, I am honored to attend the dedication of the Azerbaijani Cultural Garden. It is symbolic of the mission of my Administration and the Cultural Gardens – to embrace Cleveland’s cultural diversity and to make one community. "
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