Khachmaz to welcome second edition of yummy Dolma festival
The second International Dolma Festival, one of the most delicious events in Azerbaijan, will be held in Khachmaz region.
A number of dolma recipes will be presented to food lovers in Chenlibel Park on July 15. The festival will feature several stands with different kinds of dolma, such as aubergines, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers as well as made of cabbage leaves, apple and quince and more.
Azerbaijan will present more than 300 kinds of dolma from forty regions of the country.
The best cooking will be awarded with special awards and the guests will enjoy a concert program with the participation of folklore groups.
The event will be organized by Culture and Tourism Minister, Executive Power of Khachmaz region and the Center of National Cooking and the Association of National Cooking of Azerbaijan. Prominent public figures, representatives of culture and science and diplomatic missions will attend the event.
The first International Dolma Festival was held in Baku on July 1, 2016. The event brought together about 400 representatives from Azerbaijan’s 24 regions, as well as from Turkey, Ukraine and Jordan.
Dolma is a traditional meal in the Land of Fire that no Azerbaijani can imagine living without. It is the number one guest of all feasts along with rich flavored Plov.
The name of this ancient national dish originates with the pure Azerbaijani verb doldurmag (to stuff) as it means various leaves, vegetables and fruits stuffed with minced meat.
There are many varieties of this dish, including vitamin full vegetables. In spring, when many fresh grape leaves appear - the main product for making dolma. Summer brings aubergines, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to stuff. In autumn dolma is made out of cabbage leaves, apple and quince. During the cold winters, it is made of preserved grape leaves.
Stuffed vine leaves ( yarpag dolmasi) are one of the most popular types of dolma. Using vine leaves in spring time is very healthy because they contain 70-80mg per 100g of vitamin C, while at this time of a year potatoes contain only 6-8mg per 100g of the vitamin.
The filling is also diverse, but dolma is basically prepared from meat, rice and aromatic herbs. Dolma is best served with cold plain yogurt, and lavash bread.
Azerbaijan, one of the world’s lesser-known biodiversity hotspots, is home to the Caucasian Leopard.
The Caucasian, Persian or West Asian leopard, as it’s also known, used to be widespread throughout the Caucasus. Numbers fell dramatically in the 20th century, largely because of hunting, persecution, trapping and poisoning.
Number of the Caucasian leopards that have been related by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the list of endangered species is below 1,000 in the Middle East and Asia, and up to 25 in the south-west part of the Caucasian region, at the border of Azerbaijan with Iran.
Until recently, very little information was available about leopards living in the territory of Azerbaijan. But following the studies, zoologists discovered their traces in Hirkan forest, Nakhchivan and Mingachevir water reservoir.
Considered symbol of the Caucasus and the region’s main living beauty, leopards, today are protected under the Caucasus Big Five and Protection of Leopards projects by IDEA Public Association, which holds various events aimed at public education, including summer camps, scientific seminars and workshops for students.
Raising awareness of the endangered status of the Caucasian leopard is an important component in preventing poaching. As part of a public information campaign a summer camp with the slogan “Protecting Caucasian leopards!” was held in July for children from the southern regions of Azerbaijan.
The camp was organized by IDEA Public Association, the Baku office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Education, Trend Life reported.
Over 70 schoolchildren from Masalli, Astara and Lankaran regions took part in the event.
The main goal of the summer camp was to educate schoolchildren living near the habitat of Caucasian leopards, about this unique wild animal and advocating for its protection.
The participants joined various seminars, quizzes and competitions, as well as watched a feature film by wildlife photographer and filmmaker Adrian Stern "Most wanted leopard in the world."
The schoolchildren also visited Hirkan National Park, where Caucasian leopards are protected. In the park, participants of the camp got acquainted with different species of plants.
Overall, IDEA Public Union, founded by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva always draws attention to the Azerbaijani flora and fauna issues. The campaign regularly arranges various activities and projects aimed at the problems of environmental and animal protection.
Since 2014 IDEA Public Union organizes an annual camp on the theme of the environment and biodiversity. During this period, summer camps were attended by more than 300 students from Azerbaijan's Salyan, Shamkir, Goranboy, Samukh, Gakh, Sheki, Masalli, Jalilabad, Yardimli, Lankaran, Astara and Goygol regions.