Fairs of essential goods at relatively low prices will be organized in Dushanbe on the occasion of the Navrouz festival. According to the Dushanbe Administration, the fairs will be launched on March 16 and will run through March 19.
The fairs will be organized at the entrances to Mehrgon and Sakhovat bazaars, the building of the local authorities of Sino district (opposite Qariyai Bolo National Medical Center) and Kurushi Kabir Park.
Meat, wheat flour, vegetable oil, sugar and vegetables will be sold at these fairs at below-market prices.
The fairs are being held in accordance with mayor’s regulation that endorses the plan for organizing and holding fairs for sale of agricultural and agro-industrial products in 2023.
Recall, fifteen food fairs constantly operate in Dushanbe: at Dehqon and Yakkachinor bazaars; at Mir Sayeed Ali Hamadoni Mosque (Ispechak-2 neighborhood in Dushanbe’s Sino district); in the 104th neighborhood, Dushanbe’s Sinodistrict; Mayakovsky Street in the 32nd neighborhood unit in Dushanbe’s Sino district; and some other places.
Navrouz, which literary means New Day in Persian, Dari and Tajik languages, is the traditional Iranian new year holiday, celebrated by Iranian and many other peoples. It marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (the start of spring in the northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed.
Today, the festival of Navrouz is celebrated in many countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, as well as Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Many peoples in West and South Asia, Northeast China, the Crimea, as well as Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia also celebrate this holiday.
In September 2009, the UN's cultural agency, UNESCO, included Navrouz in its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. On February 23, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Navrouz.