Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Apples are practically synonymous with fall and this season is not exception.

Dozens of farmers and gardeners brought sweet, crisp, tart and juicy apples to Guba region as part of the 6th Traditional Apple Festival, Trend Life reported.

As annually, public and art figures, diplomats, scientists as well as foreign guests attended the festival aimed at promotion of the Azerbaijani traditions, agriculture and tourism in Guba region.

The festival opened with a spectacular parade with the participation of folk ensembles.

The farmers showed their best in various competitions, including the largest apple or the most delicious apple jam.

At the same time, music and dance groups prepared interesting shows to demonstrate beautiful samples of the national traditions and music. The guests of the festival enjoyed delicious apple cakes as well as fruits and vegetables grown in Guba region.

Local artisans and craftsmen delighted the festival participants with beautiful art pieces. In addition, sightseeing tours in Guba were organized as part of the festival.

Azerbaijan can safely be called an apple orchard with 300 varieties of apples grown all year round.

The largest apple orchards are located in Guba and Khachmaz. There are more than 22,000 hectares of gardens in the Guba-Khachmaz zone, some 13,062 hectares of which fall on the share of Guba region.

Apple is a symbol of Guba, where almost everything is devoted to this juicy fruit. More than 40 different varieties of apples are grown there. Guba’s most famous kind of apple is the "White Apple" (Ag alma).

Nevertheless, Gizil Ahmad is considered the most expensive apple variety in Azerbaijan.

Gizil Ahmad is small in size, but very sweet and juicy. Due to their high iron content, it is recommended for children, pregnant women and those suffering from iron deficiency anemia.

Due to its useful properties, many say that Gizil Ahmad is more precious than gold. This also shows why this is called Gizilahmadi ( gizil means "gold" in Azerbaijani).

Generated locally, Gizilahmadi is mostly grown up in Ismailli, Sheki, Guba and Zagatala regions.

From the 1,000 hectares of fruits field located in Ismailli region, 70 hectares are constituting Gizilahmadi apple.

Azerbaijan is also famous for its "Paradise apples" (Jannat almasi). These small and cute sort of apples look like golden crab apples but taste far sweeter.

Azerbaijanis usually use them for preparing murabba (jam), usually eaten by the spoonful with tea, rather than bread. After cooking they are like jelly and you can enjoy their gorgeous taste, holding their long and thin stems.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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