A trip to Karabakh helped better understand what it means to live in a territory that has survived war, and to see how quickly Azerbaijan is recovering, a traveler from the Netherlands Nik Ter Hoorst told Report.
He noted that he was impressed by how the country is not only dealing with the consequences of war but also actively developing the region.
"I had previously visited Azerbaijan, been to Baku. I had very good impressions from my first trip to the country, during the Formula 1 Grand Prix, when I was supporting Max Verstappen. Now I joined this trip to see Karabakh, to learn about state reconstruction and restoration projects," he said.
The traveler added that his father also managed to pay a similar trip to the Karabakh region last year and highly appreciated these projects: "That's why I decided to join this trip this year. It's amazing to observe how actively restoration is progressing and how quickly new facilities are being built."
Ter Hoorst also shared his impressions of visiting Aghdam, noting how much the city has changed over the past year: "My father said that a year ago there was practically nothing there, and now buildings have appeared. For me, coming from a city of 150,000 people, it's hard to imagine that such a place could disappear. But it's incredible to see how quickly everything is being restored and how beautiful the city is becoming."
Speaking about destroyed historical monuments, Ter Horst added that he was shocked by their scale.
"Our guides told us what happened, showed us graves along the roads and destroyed territories. Coming from Western Europe, it's difficult to imagine such destruction, as we haven't had war for 80-90 years. But here, the war was very recent. It's like imagining that you're sleeping, wake up, and realize that war has started in your country. It's terrible," he added.