Azerbaijan - a country of ancient multicultural values (Protection of jewish national and moral heritage)
Ayna Alihanova

Azerbaijan is a land of ancient multicultural values. There is a great respect to the religion, language and national values of the jewish people in our country like other minority nations, where contains different cultures, including jewish national music, folklore, ethnography, oral and written literature.

After the leadership of Heydar Aliyev to the republic in 1993, the peace was established in the country. As a result of it, the process of leaving here by Jews stopped. Recently, even the fact of their return is reported. According to information of religious community leaders, at present Jews more than 20 thousand live in Azerbaijan. Approximately 14 thousand of them are Mountain Jews.

Mountain Jews engaged in farming, melon cultivation, gardening and cattle-breeding throughout history. They grew wheat, barley and tobacco, also produced marena, the only natural coloring agent in the Caucasus.

In the post-war years, the number of members of the Mountain Jews community was more than 20 thousand in Baku. They took part closely in political, economic and cultural life of the country. At present, there are Mountain Jews more than 6 thousand in Baku in regard to mass return of Jews to their native lands. They reserve their habits and traditions, cultural values, also take part actively in the life of Azerbaijan.

Keywords: mountain jews, national literature, national heritage, multiculturalism, tolerance