Euro to Azerbaijani manat – a fresh view of an Austrian designer

Azerbaijani manat is the first thing You will meet whether of need to set off to Your accommodation or of a wish to try a fresh-out of the tandir choreck tantalizing with its scent.

Have a look in this banknote: what can it describe to You? Have You ever thought about what means the imagery on a particular bill? But each of them in denominations of one, five and ten manats constitutes an element of the jigsaw puzzle doing which You can create overall picture of the country. On the obverses of manats there are illustrated as well-known symbols of republic as some completely unfamiliar national Azerbaijani details for a foreigner. There are shown Azerbaijani national instruments on a carpet rich with ornaments on the bill in denomination of one manat: tar, kamancha and gaval complemented by viola clefs; while on the reverse shebecke is pleasing to the eye – a unique art of Azerbaijani craftsmen, some kind of vitrage in an Azerbaijani style. The statues of poets and writers of Azerbaijani Literature museum, several letters of Azerbaijani alphabet and a stack of old-time books perfectly grace each other on the banknote in denomination of five manats. While a classified map of Icheri Sheher is depicted on the bill in denomination of ten manats; so You wouldn’t get lost in the maze of narrow and tight streets, which braided with grapevines of the Old City, having ten manats in your pocket.

Whom do these luckily interwoven ideas expressed in the monetary paper belong to? Robert Kalina (born in 1955) is an Austrian designer, who gained glory and fame after a winning the euro-banknote decoration competition at the age of forty one. That was him, who became the developer of Azerbaijani manat, contributing freshness and uniqueness of the author feather. The denomination of national currency of Azerbaijan was in 2006, a year later in 2007 the republic adopted a new updated version of manat design which was created by Kalina – a worker of Austrian OeBS company. Money signs were printed with technical support from Switzerland bank.

Talented Robert Kalina succeeded in a referring spirit and virtues of Azerbaijan in the bills of every face value: from one to one hundred manats. Insertions of delicate Kharibulbul flowers which are grown only in Karabakh on the banknote in domination of twenty manats, chemical compounds containing benzene ring on the banknote in domination of fifty manats and buildings from past to present revealing an evolution development of Azerbaijani architecture on the banknote in domination of one hundred manats are reflection of an ingenious and extraordinary approach of a banknotecreating master Kalina to his pet project.