Copper has forged the history of the Azeri village of Lahic. The community, nestled in the southern Caucasus, feels much further away in time and space from Baku than it is in reality – just 200 kilometres. Lahic seems frozen in time, with the rhythm of life marked only by the sounds of hammer and anvil.
Kablemi Aliyev is a 7th generation coppersmith who owns one of Lahic’s five remaining workshops. The village made its name in the 18th century, supplying the Middle East with copperware and firearms. Little seems to have changed since then. One of Kablemi’s forefathers started the business in 1725 and his father initiated him in the art of copper work when he was just a child.
“There were so many people working here,” said Kablemi. “There was so much noise, that we had to cover our ears. It was like a music for me”.
Set in copper
Kablemi’s maternal grandfather was a blacksmith, while on his father’s side they worked shiny metals like bronze and copper. Kablemi now produces mainl
