On the 16^th of March, at the Central Military Club in Sofia, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Bulgaria, together with the Center for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at "St. Kliment Ohridski" University, celebrated the traditional spring celebration - Novruz, with a concert and a treat of traditional Azerbaijani cuisine.

At the beginning H. E. Dr. Nargiz Gurbanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the country, welcomed her guests and pointed out that Novruz is a "dear holiday" for over 300 million people from different nations; and that this is a "proof of its main philosophy, its mission for unity and ability to be a uniting bridge between nations and to create dialogue”. Her Excellency expressed her special thanks to the Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov, for his support for the event at the Military Club, as well as, to the Delegation and the Minister of Foreign Affairs - Ekaterina Zaharieva and the mayor of Sofia Municipality - Yordanka Fandakova, for their greeting letters.

In Azerbaijan Novuruz is the celebration of spring, the renewal and revival of nature. It is celebrated each year on 20^th or 21^st of March (at the time of the spring equinox). But the excitement and preparations begin much earlier. Each of the last four Tuesdays, before the holiday, is dedicated to one of the elements of life - water, fire, air and earth. Nowadays, all members of the family gather around a well-arranged table with delicious traditional dishes and sweets.

And yet, for three millennia, the holiday has been an inspiration for philosophers, poets, musicians, singers who have marked it in their work. It is no accidental that for its celebration in Sofia this year again there was a concert. The program included Asian jazz compositions performed by a Bulgarian group led by Minko Lambov.

The Novruz Festival is listed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and at the 64^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly-the date of March 21^st is declared as the International Day of Nowruz, due to the fact that the tradition is filled with messages of peace, tolerance, respect and mutual understanding between people.

The photos are provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Above: H. E. Dr. Nargiz Gurbanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan in our country, and Sofia Shigaeva-Mitreska, Director of the Center for Arabic Language and Culture at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".