In the 1960s, the visits of Iranian cultural figures to Azerbaijan were based more on the mutual interest of the literary and musical environment than on official protocol.
In those years, among the artists coming from Iran, there were Southern Azerbaijanis alongside Persian-speaking officials. Their visits to Baku, Ganja, and other cultural centers were perceived as a meeting of fragmented parts of the same cultural area. In the meetings of artists, there was almost no language barrier; there was no need for translation in theater, poetry, and music. At the same time, these visits were not entirely apolitical either.
Modern.az website presents a photo related to one such visit that took place in the 60s.
It was the autumn of 1964... Renowned Iranian musicians came to Baku for a tour.
The photo shows cultural figures who held an important place in the Azerbaijani cultural environment during that period, together with Iranian artists.
Among those captured in the frame, from right to left, are Khan Shushinski, Iranian singer Ilahe Khanum, Masudi, violinist Habibullah Badir, tar player Farhang Sharif, Ramiz Zohrabov, Marziya Khanum, Sara Gadimova, Emin Sabitoglu, Haji Khanmammadov, Abulfat Aliyev, Jahangir Aslanoglu, and other artists.
