Almost three centuries ago, Panahali khan, head of the Karabakh khanate, founded the new capital of Shusha in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains. The city was destined to experience a fascinating fate and a tragic history.
The history of Shusha is full of incident. Its chronicles include enemy invasions, heroic deeds by its inhabitants, periods of prosperity when the city was called the “conservatoire of the East”, and times of decline, with empty market squares and quiet streets. But it has invariably been reborn – just like the striking khari-bulbul flower [Ophrys caucasica] that has become its symbol.
