Since his first journey there in 1987, Reza has sought to capture the joys and sorrows of the men and women of Azerbaijan. In 1997, he remained several months in Azerbaijan to do a reportage forNational Geographic on the Caspian Sea. Over the course of his travels from the West to the Far East, he began to discover the traditions associated with the country’s different regions.

Consequently, the exhibition Azerbaijan: Land of Tolerance at the City Hall of the 1st arrondissement of Paris presents his work from a series of reportages from the heart of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities which live side by side in Azerbaijan, each with a deep commitment to sharing, respect and an open dialogue with the other. This exhibition sheds light on the communal ties which each religious group has forged with the others and which have thrived over millennia.

May this dream which has become reality in this corner of the world someday spread throughout.