Goychay

Goychay, sometimes Gokchay (azerb. Göyçay) is a city and the administrative center of the Goychay region of Azerbaijan. The name in translation from Azerbaijan means Blue River. The distance from Baku to Goychay is 220 kilometers. Goychay is located on the bank of the picturesque river of the same name and is surrounded by tall old plane trees and solid orchards are around it. Goychay began to develop actively in the 1930s. The twentieth century and the most rapid development reached in the 70-80s. Viticulture, animal husbandry, fruit and silk production began to develop here. And, of course, garnet

In addition, several industrial enterprises were built in the city many of which still operate today. November is coming and this means that on its first Saturday, the Pomegranate Festival will be held in Goychay. Pomegranate in Azerbaijan is a cult fruit, one of the symbols of the country, not without reason it is called the King of fruits. For the celebration Goychay was not chosen by chance - this area has been famous for its gardens since ancient times. Nowadays, total gardens occupy 4 thousand hectares and up to 50 thousand tons of pomegranates are harvested annually from them - Goychay is the center of pomegranate farming, although many other fruits grow here, which can be purchased at the festival. Preparation begins in a few days: they prepare the main fairground, decorate the city, produce products from the area. The fair starts early in the morning, at 9 or 10 o'clock. At first, as it should be, there should be a solemn part: welcoming speeches of officials, guests of honor, aksakals, performances of folklore groups. Then the thing for which thousands (and this is not an exaggeration!) of tourists from foreign countries come to Goychay begins. Quite often, pop stars, famous folk performers come to the Pomegranate Festival. National competitions of sportsmen are held, wrestlers and tightrope walkers show their art, children's groups perform, etc. There are various contests with the award of prizes. All these performances are organized in the park Heydar Aliyev and also on the improvised concert venues, located between many tables on which there is nothing! All imaginable and inconceivable varieties of pomegranate which the Bakuvians have not even heard of, from burgundy to white, are picturesquely laid out there. The most famous are Shirin, Shihbaba, Veles, Guleisha. Everyone has their own taste and color. Interestingly, these fruits are of various sizes, there are even real mutants the size of a small melon. Such exhibits, of course, are not sold - you can only admire them. Next to the solid grenades are crystal vases in which pomegranate grains lie, again of all imaginable colors. There are various jams, including non-pomegranate in the other vases, also many types of pomegranate juice and wine. They differ in taste, because made from different varieties of pomegranate by different manufacturers and by different technologies and you can choose from what - products for every taste! Artists who sell their work sit between all this magnificence,they paint portraits and cartoons. Every year more and more national crafts are introduced: embroidery, ceramics, etc. There are often decorative panels made with the help of multi-colored pomegranate seeds by gardeners themselves at the fair tables. The drawings are very different: from the map of Azerbaijan or the coat of arms to landscapes.

You can get to the tasting of great wines and pomegranate juices produced in Goychay-Cognac LLC where you can be treated with a spoonful of jam or fifty grams of juice - to try, admire and buy.The first part of the Pomegranate Festival ends with a solemn passage of the Queen's pomegranate, followed by a column of decorated cars and trucks (to the best of your own imagination - you can find national carpets, balloons, and just flags on the cars) carrying picturesquely colored fruit on inclined pallets - pomegranates, apples, quince, etc. All this is matched in color, size and represents the dream of the photographer. Then you can have a snack somewhere and in the evening  come to the main square, where the final concert of the pomegranate will be held a magnificent concert with the participation of art masters of the Republic. There is an impressive firework display after the concert. And what to do between dinner and the final concert? For a start, you can walk around the city.

Goychay is a beautiful city, the tenth largest in Azerbaijan (there are more than two hundred streets) and thanks to the state program for the improvement of the regions, it is now as clean and tidy as other cities in the country. Magnificent roads, renovated residential buildings, beautiful shopping centers with a wide range, spectacular fountains some of which in the form of a pomegranate. The city has the only museum of pomegranate in the world that you just need to visit, if you already came to the Pomegranate Festival, as well as a good historical museum telling the history of the city and the region. And it is interesting.

Historical sights in the city are few. The most interesting of them are the three mosques, each of them is curious in its own way, an underground bathhouse preserved from the 18th centure and the Abulfaz poured Abbas Mosque in the nearby village of Karaman, built in the 19th century, Surkhai fortress of the 12th century - not to be confused with the tower of the same name in the village of Filfili of the Oguz region and the fortress of the village of Arabjabirli of the 18th century. Of the most ancient monuments, cemeteries found on the territory of the villages of Idja and Arabjabirli and belonging to the 2nd century BC are of undoubted interest. BC. At that time, burials were made in earthen vessels. These curious vessels can be viewed in the historical museum.