By Ruslan Rehimov, Zehra Melek Cat

BAKU

Azerbaijan commemorates the 15th death anniversary of late president Haydar Aliyev on Wednesday.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended a commemoration ceremony for Azerbaijani national leader at the Alley of Honor in capital Baku.

The family members of the president, ministers and high-level bureaucrats attended the ceremony.

Officials placed a wreath on the tomb of Aliyev and the national anthem was played.

Following the official commemoration ceremony, the Alley of Honor was opened to the public.

Turkish Ambassador Erkan Ozoral and Turkish Cypriot representative to Baku Ufuk Turganer visited the tombs of the former president and his wife Zarifa Aliyeva, and placed a wreath and flowers.

Following his visit, the Turkish envoy said in a statement that Haydar Aliyev was a very important figure in Azerbaijan's history.

"Haydar Aliyev was a genius who has reunited a state that had come to the brink of collapse and division and has made it a modern and influential global state," he said.

A ceremony was also held for the leader at the Haydar Aliyev Park in the northernmost Sariyer district of Istanbul.

The ceremony was organized by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul.

Haydar Aliyev -- who is regarded as the founding leader of the country -- served as Azerbaijan's third president from June 24, 1993 to Oct. 31, 2003.

He died on December 12, 2003 at the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S.

*Jeyhun Aliyev contributed to this story from Ankara