Sayavush Karimi

For the first time in 35 years, musicians set out from the entrance of the Zangezur Corridor toward ancient Ordubad. In neighborhoods that have become part of the region's historical heritage, *Ordubad bayatis* are performed to the accompaniment of authentic music for the first time. Customs and traditions—spanning from the city center to the most remote villages, previously unspoken of and unique to this area—are being brought to life. The musicians' primary mission is to reveal the rhythms of Ordubad—rhythms that have endured for millennia yet remained hidden until now.

January 1990, Baku. The Soviet Union hasn't collapsed yet. Around 300 thousand Azeri have been forsed out from their homes in Armenia and Daghlig Garabagh. Rallies of protest, political meetings spring up in Baku. The old patriarch, Ismail gathers under his roof distant relatives, people of different nationalities, beliefs, and ideas. The old man is tortured by everything happening around him: unrest in the city as well as discord and discarder in his own overpopulated apartment. All his efforts to preserve the family are in vain. People want to live separately. Former friends become bitter enemies because of the senseless aggression.