The 23-year-old Presidential Award winner spoke about his memorable meeting with the President

Atabay Ismayilov attended the recent meetings of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva in Fizuli who is an orchestra artist, assistant conductor, Presidential Award winner and member of the Golden Book of Young Talents of Azerbaijan. The young musician, who set foot for the first time in the lands of his ancestors, whom he had never met, shared with us his unforgettable impressions:
"It's such a great feeling that I can't express it in words. Although a few days have passed, I still feel that I am in those holy lands. I was very proud to attend the meeting, which was attended by the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and prominent representatives of the local community. Although I was originally from Garakollu village of Fizuli, I was born on October 16, 1998 in Horadiz settlement. When I was born, my parents were already IDPs, and then fate brought us to Baku as a family. Fizuli region was one of the regions where intense battles were fought from the first days to the last days of the Patriotic War. But I have always hoped that one day our future lands will be liberated from occupation ... We have seen our Chronicle of Victory with our own eyes. That day has come, and a year has passed since then. Last week I was almost reborn at the age of 23…
We are a victorious people. We have a sacred duty to understand this and to bear the responsibility on our shoulders. As a citizen of a victorious country, I am proud to be Azerbaijani. As the Supreme Commander-in-Chief said, our iron fist not only crushes the enemy's head, but also symbolizes our solidarity. The political determination of our President, the high professional training of our army brought us to those native lands. Several of our heroes sacrificed their lives on this path, but they did not take a single step back. Thanks to sons like my colleague, the light of our theater, my martyred friend Aliaga Mammadov, we achieved our dreams. May God have mercy on all our martyrs! I wish good health to our veterans, our victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, "Atabay Ismayilov said.