page_title: Ali and Nino
section_title: Plot
hierarchical_section_title: Ali and Nino / Plot
caption_attribution_description: English: Realni School (today, Economics University), located on Istiglaliyyat (Independence) Street in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan. The School was the setting for the opening classroom scene in the novel "Ali and Nino." Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli attended Realni beginning in 1906 and graduated in 1909. Inside this same building, another school was located during the early years of 20th century - Men's Gymnasium No. 2. Lev Nussimbaum, who later wrote under the pen name of Essad Bey, attended Men's Gymnasium from 1914 to 1920 (Junior Preparatory to Grade Four). Then Nussimbaum, like many others, fled the Bolsheviks who had taken control of Baku.
context_page_description: Ali and Nino is a novel about a romance between a Muslim Azerbaijani boy and Christian Georgian girl in Baku in the years 1918–1920. It explores the dilemmas created by "European" rule over an "Oriental" society and presents a tableau portrait of Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic period that preceded the long era of Soviet rule. It was published under the pseudonym Kurban Said. The novel has been published in more than 30 languages, with more than 100 editions or reprints. The book was first published in Vienna in German in 1937, by E.P. Tal Verlag. It is widely regarded as a literary masterpiece and since its rediscovery and global circulation, which began in 1970, it is commonly considered the national novel of Azerbaijan.
  There has been a good deal of interest in the authorship of Ali and Nino. The true identity behind the pseudonym "Kurban Said" has been the subject of some dispute. The case for Lev Nussimbaum, aka Essad Bey, as the author originally surfaced in 1944.
context_section_description: Ali and Nino is the story of an Azerbaijani youth who falls in love with a Georgian princess. Essentially, the book is a quest for truth and reconciliation in a world of contradictory beliefs and practices – Islam and Christianity, East and West, age and youth, male and female. Much of the novel is set in Baku's Old City (Ichari Shahar) on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution beginning around 1914.
  Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a descendant of a noble Muslim family, is educated in a Russian high school for boys. While his father is still culturally Asian, Ali is exposed to Western values in school and through his love of Georgian princess Nino Kipiani, who has been brought up in a Christian tradition and belongs more to the European world.
  The book describes the love of Ali for Nino, with excursions to mountain villages in Daghestan, Shusha in Azerbaijan, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Persia. Upon graduating from high school, Ali determines to marry Nino. At first she hesitates, until Ali promises that he will not make her wear the veil, or be part of a harem. Ali's father, despite his traditional Muslim view of women, supports the marriage while trying to postpone it.
  The book takes a dramatic turn when a (Christian) Armenian, Melik Nachararyan, whom Ali thought was a friend, kidnaps Nino. In retaliation, Ali pursues him on horseback, overtakes his "lacquered box" car and stabs him to death with a dagger. Contrary to the tradition of honor killing urged by Ali's friend Mehmed Heydar, Ali spares Nino's life. Ali then flees to Dagestan to escape the vengeance of Nakhararyan's family.
  After many months, Nino finds Ali in a simple hilltown in the mountains near Makhachkala. The two marry on the spot and spend a few months in blissful poverty. As turmoil follows the Russian Revolution, Ali Khan makes some tough ideological decisions. When the Ottoman Army moves closer to his native Baku, Ali Khan watches the developments closely. The Bolsheviks recapture Baku, and Ali and Nino flee to Iran (Persia). In Tehran, Ali is reminded of his Muslim roots, while Nino is fundamentally unhappy in the confinement of the harem.
  Upon establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Ali and Nino return and become cultural ambassadors of their new country. Ali is offered a post as ambassador to France – an idea Nino had arranged – but Ali declines, because he fears he will be unhappy in Paris. When the Red Army descends on Ganja, Azerbaijan, Ali takes up arms to defend his country. Nino flees to Georgia with their child, while Ali Khan dies in battle as the Bolsheviks take the country. (The Bolshevik victory led to the establishment of Soviet domination of Azerbaijan from 1920 to 1991 and the end of the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which lasted from May 1918 to April 1920.)
caption: Baku Realni School, the setting of the first scene in the novel Ali and Nino. Today, this building houses the University of Economics, Istiglaliyyat (Independence) Street.
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3267", "Image ImageLength": "2101", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8, 8]", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "5", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "4", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2011:03:26 21:20:39", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "394", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6789", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2400", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1543"}