Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The fourth Apple Festival was held in Azerbaijan's northern region of Guba on October 8.

Apple is a symbol of Guba, where almost everything is devoted to this juicy fruit. The sculpture dedicated to apple was erected at the entrance to the city. The people of Guba claim that there are more than 40 different varieties of apples there.

The annual festival attracts visitors from across the country, while foreign travelers also try to catch up this colorful and ‘tasty’ event.

The Heydar Aliyev Central Park this year turned into an improvised exhibition hall, where various varieties of apples and their products were put on display.

Dozens of farmers and gardeners brought to the festival their best apples, including palmet, semerinka, fudji, gizilehmed and others, to compete in various competitions, such as the biggest apple or the most delicious apple jam. The participants were able to taste cakes, sweets, compotes made from apples.

During this year’s event, a festive march was held, while music and dance groups presented interesting shows, and folk musicians performed beautiful samples of the national music.

The celebration was attended by about 100 representatives of foreign countries, diplomats, public figures, representatives of art and science, as well as others.

The festival plays an important role in the economic life of the region. Residents have become increasingly aware that their products are in demand, so began to improve the production of apples.

Guba, famous for its most delicious apples grown in the country, considered as a motherland of Azerbaijani apples. The autumn season starts with the harvest -- the best varieties of apples carefully collected in boxes and are sent not only to the domestic market but are also exported to nearby countries.

Guba’s most famous kind of apple is the “White Apple” (Ag alma). One cannot satisfy his/her hunger trying this yellow, fragrant and red cheeked fruit. Azerbaijanis are so proud of this kind of apple that they wrote a song for it called “Guba’s White Apple”. And it is not surprisingly when you think that one-third of them are involved in the apple harvesting in some capacity.

This northern region, located in 168 km from the capital, is a favorite destination for local tourists from Baku for picnics and camping in the forest. While Guba welcomes tourists year-round, the most attractive season to travel to the region is in the autumn, when the smell of its famous sweet apples permeates the air.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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