The Jidir Plain has always been the main location for festivities and sporting events in Shusha. From the time of Shusha's establishment,
wrestling matches were part of periodic competitions held by the Karabakh Khans. Both horse racing and
camel racing matches were held here.
Chovgan (Middle Eastern variation of
polo) was also played here. Participants of the games also excelled in
jigitovka, a type of horse riding stunt games.
Ibrahim Khalil Khan who was fond of
Karabakh horses, held official semi-annual horse racing games in the
khanate while the regular races took place on a weekly basis. Youth received awards for exceptional horse riding stunts. One of the variations of the Jidir Plain jigitovka was baharbandi where the participants had to throw off their
papakh, rifle,
dagger,
shashka at assigned spots at full speed and then collect them on their way back with the same speed. The Jidir Plain was also a place for
Novruz celebrations as well as official welcoming ceremonies for international guests.{{cite web == Notes ==