On March 18, in the Ceremonial Hall of the Central Military Club in Sofia, H.E. Dr. Nargiz Gurbanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Bulgaria, invited distinguished guests and friends for the holiday Novruz, a symbol of the beginning of the new year.

The event was opened by Mrs. S. Shigaeva-Mitreska, director of the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at Sofia University "St. Climent Ohridski". After her address to the guests, she gave the floor to H.E. Dr. Nargiz Gurbanova for a speech. In it the ambassador said: "In Azerbaijan, this is the most favorite and joyful holiday which reflects the traditional values of our people. Every year, we celebrate the four last Tuesdays of winter before Novruz, which is known as the Ile-Akhar Chershembe. The Tuesdays srepresent the basic elements of life - water, fire, earth and wind. Azerbaijan - Land of Fire, has traditions associated with the worship of fire and in this cultural context, Novruz is a symbol of purification. It is celebrated in many ways, one of them is by lighting a bonfire which everyone, regardless of age, has to jump over at least seven times.

Nevruz is a day for family and friends, for festive meals, for dancing and singing. Every year, on the eve before it, people prepare traditional sweets like shakarbura, baklava, salty gogal. The decoration of the festive table is the honcha, a large tray with "Samani" - freshly sprouted wheat as a symbol of hope for rich harvest next year. On the table there should be seven dishes starting with the letter "s". There also should be sumac, vinegar, milk, fresh leafy vegetables".

H.E. Dr. Nargiz Gurbanova emphasised that since 2009 Novruz was entered in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. She added: "I am proud to say that because of an initiative of Azerbaijan and other countries celebrating Novruz, the UN General Assembly declared with a resolution March 21 the International Day of Novruz. The resolution encourages Member States to maintain the culture of Novruz, study their roots and traditions and increase the international awareness of this holiday.

This is particularly important and therefore we in Azerbaijan announced 2016 as the year of multiculturalism, something that embraces the fact that people from different ethnic, religious and race background can coexist peacefully and be connected with the culture and traditions of the others. "

After the greeting from the Ambassador, the guests enjoyed a short musical program. The students at the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski "- Janet Nikolova and Momchil Shopov, shared their impressions from Azerbaijan and its traditions and culture.

At the end, of course, everyone tried all of the wonderful dishes prepared for this holiday in Azerbaijan and sent from there for the occasion.

Photos courtesy of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Sofia.

Above: H.E. Dr. Nargiz Gurbanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Bulgaria during her address to the guests.

Below: The students from FCNF at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski "- Janet Nikolova and Momchil Shopov in Azerbaijani national costumes tell about their visit to the country; the guests try  national dishes prepared especially for the event.