The International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan

"The International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan is a center of Azerbaijani arts and music aiming to promote, preserve and popularize the specific genre of Azerbaijani music, mugham. It is located in Baku Boulevard, in downtown Baku.
The Mugham Center was built on initiative of the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva. Mugham is a genre included in the representative list of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The official opening of the International Mugham Center took place on December 27, 2008. UNESCO’s ninth Director-General Koichiro Matsuura also participated in that opening ceremony.
The construction of the building started in April, 2005. The center covers 7,500 square meters and has 3 stories. The funding was provided by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The design of the building was based on the elements and shapes of the tar, an Azeri musical instrument used in performing mugham. Furthermore, the center was commenced on the base of the architecture works of the Vahid Tansu, Xauddin Yayk and Etirne Ahmed. The concert hall fits 350 people. The center also has a club, 80-seat restaurant called ""Ud"", study halls and record studios. Modern heating and ventilation systems were also provided in the center. The building was constructed with equipments from Italy, Austria, France and Turkey. More than 2000 glasses with various sizes were used for the construction of the building."