Wikimedia CEE Hub/Microgrants/Applications 2025/MG-06

statusproposed

CEE Hub Microgrant

Registration of monuments located in the historical center of the city of Sheki

The historical center of Sheki, Azerbaijan, has been included in UNESCO's list of cultural heritage since 2019. (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1549/) There are hundreds of historical monuments in this area.

targetWikipedia, Commons

proposed start date6 June

proposed end date30 June

budget (EUR)638 EUR

grant typeGroup of individuals

applicant• Rajab Hasanbayli

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This is a generated Meta-Wiki page by the CEE Hub Staff. The page was copied from the specific Google Form, where grantees has submitted their application for the CEE Hub Microgrant programme. Please do not make any changes. Use the discussion page for your feedback.

Basic information

You are applying as

• Group of individuals

Your name(s)/Organisation name

• Rajab Hasanbayli, Elshad Mustafazadeh

Your username(s)

• Rəcəb Yaxşı, Manchou

What is your role in the movement?

• Editor

If you are a part of a WM community, please state its name here

• N/A

Have you applied for any Wikimedia Foundation grant or any other grant before?

• No

Name of your proposed microgrant project

• Registration of monuments located in the historical center of the city of Sheki

Proposed start date of the project

• 6 June 2025

Proposed end date of the project

• 30 June 2025

In which CEE country/ies will the project activities be implemented?

• Azerbaijan

Project information

What is the main goal of your project?

• The historical center of Sheki, Azerbaijan, has been included in UNESCO's list of cultural heritage since 2019. (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1549/) There are hundreds of historical monuments in this area. These monuments include palaces, mosques, caravanserais, as well as historical houses. The Sheki houses from the 18th-19th centuries in this area have unique architecture and design features that distinguish them from other regions of Azerbaijan. In addition, the architecture of these historical houses includes shebeke (windows), bukharis (fireplaces), and taqqulbabs (door knockers), which are specific to this region. The "Yukhari Bash Historical Architectural Reserve" is located in this area. Several houses in the reserve are functioning as museums. Overall, 1,933 (71.6%) of the houses in the protected area have preserved their original appearance and architecture. However, since some of these houses are privately owned and others have been abandoned, they are subject to gradual decay over time. The number of these houses decreases every year. Moreover, although there are hundreds of historical monuments in the area protected by the state, there are very few articles about them on Wikipedia and very few images of them on Wikimedia Commons.
• I hope that through the articles and photos I will create, people who have never seen Sheki will get to know it. This will also help ensure the arrival of tourists. Furthermore, I believe that the recognition of some buildings will lead to their future use. This will prevent them from falling into disrepair and abandonment.

Describe which activities you plan to implement

• To carry out the work I mentioned, my teammate and I will travel to Sheki. We will stay there for four days and photograph the monuments located within the "Yukhari Bash Historical-Architectural Reserve". We plan to document not only the exteriors of the houses but also their interiors, which are rich in architectural elements. With permission from the homeowners, we will take photographs of the bukharis (fireplaces), traditional shebeke (windows) windows as well as the taqqulbab (door knockers) decorative elements on the doors of the houses. Afterwards, we will return to Baku and, based on the data we have collected, continue working on the project until the end of the month.

Describe your team

• I am Rəcəb Yaxşı, and I have been participating in the "Wiki Loves Monuments" project for many years. The photographs I have taken have repeatedly been recognized with various awards both nationally and internationally. In addition, I am an active contributor to both Wikidata and Wikipedia in several languages. My teammate who will be traveling with me is Elshad. He has been writing articles on Wikipedia for years and has recently started working in photography. I believe he will also make a valuable contribution to this project alongside me.
• Furthermore, after we return to Baku, we plan to create and improve Wikipedia articles based on the information we have gathered, and also ensure the translation of these articles into other foreign languages. A few of our friends who are proficient in various languages will assist us with this task.

For which Wikimedia projects is the project relevant? For which communities is the project relevant? What is your target group?

• The photographs taken will primarily be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. New categories will be created for them, and existing categories will be improved. In addition to creating categories for each individual building, we will also create categories dedicated to specific architectural elements. Later, each monument will be catalogued in Wikidata under the “Cultural Heritage Azerbaijan ID.” Articles about the existing historical monuments will be written (or improved) on Wikipedia and subsequently translated into several foreign languages.

Do you have any metrics for the proposed grant proposal? If yes, please fill in the number of participants, editors, organisers and content contributions (Wikipedia articles, Wikimedia Commons images, Wikidata items, etc.)

• The project will mainly be carried out by two people. A few others will assist us with translations into foreign languages. Based on my estimates, we expect to take around 1,000 photographs in total. If we manage to photograph four historical monuments per day, that would amount to 16 monuments overall. However, I will do my best to increase this number, and I am confident that the total number of monuments we will photograph will exceed 20. The articles to be written will be translated into English, Russian, and Turkish.

Financial information

What is the amount that you are requesting for this grant proposal?

• 638 EUR

Please provide the budget of your grant proposal

Expense type	Expense details	Number of Units	Unit Price	Expense Total
Transport	Transportation costs (railway and public transport for two people, round trip)	1	€128.00	€128.00
Food and beverages	Food expenses (4 days for 2 people)	1	€204.00	€204.00
Accommodation	4 nights for 2 people	1	€306.00	€306.00
TOTAL				€638.00

Other

Any additional comments or remarks about your project

• I have been carrying out this activity voluntarily for many years during my travels. You can see this by looking at my contribution history. I hope that the acceptance of this project will motivate me to take new steps and will also be beneficial for the wiki community.