In Saguramo, at the Ilia Chavchavadze House-Museum, among the personal belongings of a Georgian public figure and writer is a century-old stringed instrument, a tar.
Tar was presented to the father of the Georgian nation by an Azerbaijani master. That is how he appreciated Ilia's respect for the Azerbaijani people.
In the newspaper "Iveria," Ilia wrote that Azerbaijanis, like most southerners, are a generous, calm, dignified, and modest nation, that Azerbaijanis never betray those they respect and value. Azerbaijanis value those who are smart, experienced, and dedicated.
Because of Ilia's attitude, the respect was mutual, and he had quite a good relationship with the Azerbaijani intelligentsia.
Anar Rzayev, Azerbaijani People's Writer in his book Azerbaijani Literature, Art and Culture, published in 2013, states that Ilia often published Azerbaijani proverbs in the Iveria newspaper. Distinctive aphorisms from Mirza Shafi's poems were also frequently published.
August 30, 1907, is a tragic date for Georgians. The day when Ilia died of a bullet fired by a Georgian. The ribbons on the wreaths delivered during Ilia Chavchavadze's funeral are kept in the museum. One of them reads, "From Tbilisi Muslims."
In 1972, the Azerbaijani poet Mammad Araz visited the Ilia Chavchavadze House-Museum. As Nizami Muradoglu, the Doctor of Philology, writes, Mammad Araz studied Chavchavadze's works quite well and had great respect for him.
"One of the exhibits in the house-museum made a memorable impression on the poet. There was kept a bullet that killed Ilia," Muradoglu wrote.
After returning to his homeland, Araz wrote the poem "The Bullet That Hit the Glory."
Ilia Chavchavadze's house in Saguramo has repeatedly become a gathering place for the progressive intelligentsia. During such a gathering, Ilia was gifted tar, which still stands in a prominent place in the house-museum.
