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Nay Bayrami Festival



The Goychay Pomegranate Festival or Nar Bayrami is celebrated from mid-October/November in Goychay, an area renowned for cultivating the greatest number of pomegranate species in the world.

The Pomegranate Festival, which has been held since November 3, 2006, has become a firm symbol of Azerbaijan over the years. Approximately 200 varieties of pomegranates are cultivated throughout the country. The most famous ones are Veles, Shirin, Guleysha, and Shikhbaba. These pomegranates differ in their size and the thickness of their peels.

The fruit is used for many culinary applications, as well as for crafts, decorative arts, myths, storytelling, and other creative endeavors. The element is associated with rural agriculture and with the farmers and rural communities that grow the fruit. Members of these communities are proficient in environmental understanding and harvesting techniques.

In traditional Azerbaijani society, the pomegranate plays a variety of cultural and social functions, including being used in traditional meals and being cited in poetry. Symbolically, the pomegranate represents prosperity, abundance, and energy, and it is often associated with love and local legends. Religious people view the fruit as representing eternity.

Each year, the festival includes a fair and exhibition, which showcases various varieties of pomegranates and products made by local enterprises. Music and dance performances are also part of the festival, as well as athletic performances, pottery, milling, blacksmithing, folklore groups, art, and paintings. Along with traditional Azerbaijani music and dances, the people in the area also bond over recipes, storytelling, art, and craft all related to the fruit.

Approximately 50,000 tons of the fruit are grown each year, and pomegranate-related products (including juice, concentrate, jam, jelly, wine, grenadine, and seeds in syrup) are on display. Many people use the seeds to tell their fortunes, and the annual celebration displays pride in centuries-old traditions. As part of the festival and culture, there is an active exchange of information and communication between community members and visitors to the event. This demonstrates the diversity of nature and culture in the region.


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