Ganja is called the mother of Azerbaijan cities. It is one of the most ancient and most beautiful cities of Azerbaijan; from time immemorial it has been famous for its richest culture, original architecture, magnificent silk and carpets. All this made Ganja a cultural and political center of the entire Middle East. Ganja is the birthplace of the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjevi. It was there that Mikhail Lermontov wrote his famous Persian poems.