Navasard festival popular in Iran - official

ArmInfo. This year, 

applications for participation in the Armenian-Iranian culinary and 

cultural festival were received from 15 provinces of Iran. This was 

stated by the cultural attache of the Iranian Embassy in Armenia 

Mohammad Asadi Movahedi during a press conference on August 6.

However, given the restrictions in the format of the festival, only 

culinary experts and artisans from 5 provinces will participate from 

the Iranian side: Khuzestan, Esfahan Golestan, Kashan, Hamadan, as 

well as from Tehran.

According to him, Iran will be represented within the festival by 

three components: culture (national music, sports, exhibitions), 

crafts and cuisine. If in the first year of the festival (2022) 6 

pavilions of the Iranian side were installed on the territory of the 

festival, then last year their number increased to 22. This year Iran 

will be represented by 30 pavilions.

"This is a large and important cultural event that will have an 

impact on strengthening Armenian-Iranian cultural ties. Our nations 

have much in common, and organizing such events will help us get to 

know each other better," said Mohammad Asadi Movahedi.

Chairman of the NGO "Development and Preservation of Armenian 

Culinary Traditions" Sedrak Mamoulian spoke during a press conference 

about the traditional "Navasard" competition between chefs from 

Armenia and Iran, who will compete in three nominations: "Best 

Taste", "Best View" and "Best Presentation". The plans, as he further 

said, include making this competition international, inviting 

representatives of a number of other countries as participants and 

jury members.

Considering the experience of previous years, it is expected that at 

least 5 thousand tourists will visit the festival, most of whom are 

foreign citizens.

The festival will be held traditionally on August 10 in Sisian, from 

16:00 to 22:30 in Sisak Nahapet Square. The event is held with the 

aim of forming a single regional tourism product between Armenia and 

Iran, strengthening cooperation and friendship between the two 

countries, preserving the development and popularization of cultural 

heritage, as well as forming the image of the Republic of Armenia and 

the Syunik region as a stable, safe and attractive tourist 

destination.

The next day, a scientific conference dedicated to Armenian-Iranian 

cultural ties will be held at the Yerevan History Museum.

The festival is organized by the Tourism Federation of Armenia and 

the public organization "Development and Preservation of Armenian 

Culinary Traditions" with the assistance of the Tourism Committee, in 

cooperation with the administration of the Syunik region of the 

Republic of Armenia, the municipality of Sisian, the Cultural Center 

of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Republic of 

Armenia and the Consulate General of Iran in Kapan. It should be 

noted that according to the Tourism Committee, 69 thousand Iranian 

tourists visited Armenia in January-June of this year, which is 7% of 

the total number of international visitors who chose Armenia as a 

tourist destination.  In annual terms, this figure has increased by 

19%.