«Where are you from?» — «I am from Ordubad»: the history of an answer
Why does a person from Ordubad say not «I am from Nakhchivan» but «I am from Ordubad»? The answer is written in the stone inscription of the Juma Mosque.
«I am not from Nakhchivan, I am from Ordubad» — few have not heard these words from the people of Ordubad. Yet the people of Ordubad themselves do not always know where the saying comes from.
The story goes back to the Safavid era. In 1588 Ottoman troops captured Ordubad; Shah Abbas I, who won the town back, decided to reward the inhabitants who had resisted the enemy during the fighting. The shah's vizier, Hatam bey Ordubadi, a native of Ordubad, played a special part in this decision. According to the sources, Hatam bey, a descendant of Nasir al-Din Tusi, was one of the most influential statesmen of his time.
The decree of Shah Abbas I exempting the people of Ordubad from taxes is carved in stone. The inscription still stands above the eastern door of the Ordubad Juma Mosque — you can see it with your own eyes.
Legend has it that in those days merchants travelling the Safavid lands would say «I am from Ordubad» to be exempt from taxes. Centuries have passed, yet a person from Ordubad still answers the question «where are you from?» the same way: «I am from Ordubad».
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