Zhingyalov Hats Festival to Be Held in Artsakh

• 05.07.2019, 14:30
•  Armenia,  NKR,  Diaspora

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Celebrating its second year, this years Zhingyalov Hats festival will be held in Haterk, a village in Artsakh. The festival, which opens on May 11, attracts not only Armenians but tourists from various countries, as well, Asbarez reports. 

Zhingyalov hats is a type of flatbread stuffed with finely diced herbs and green vegetables. The world’s largest zhingyalov hats will be baked at this year’s festival. The record breaking bread will be more than 3 meters long, with the goal of being registered in the Guinness World Records.

“In order to attract a lot of visitors we plan to present unprecedented and attractive offers. For instance, some part of the cost of the transportation, which will serve the guests, will be compensated by the sponsors and the prices will be quite affordable,” said Samvel Mirzakhanyan, festival organizer.

The festival is primarily organized by the Ecotourism initiative group in Artsakh, with the support of Artsakh’s ministry of culture, youth affairs and tourism and the administration of the Martekart region.

“We plan to contribute to the development of ecotourism in Artsakh, ensure great flow of tourists, raise awareness on the community and take the community on the path of proportional development by using the ecotourism potential. A number of cultural activities and events will be held during the festival,” he said, adding that these events include paintball, jeep tours and visits to beautiful sites in Artsakh.

The festival will be accompanied by live music, where singers from Armenia and Artsakh will perform.

“There will be more than 100 pavilions, and the zhingyalov hats will be baked in nearly 90 of these pavilions. The visitors will have an opportunity to watch the whole process of making the bread. Other national dishes will also be made,” explained Mirzakhanyan.

In response to ARMENPRESS’ question about how many guests are expected to attend the festival, and more specifically how many guests from foreign countries, Mirzakhanyan said they plan to host 12 – 15,000 visitors both from Armenia and various European countries.

“Last year the scales of the event were smaller, there were nearly 3,500 visitors and the number of pavilions was just 15. But this year their numbers reaches over 100. We expect President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan, as well as President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian to be in attendance,” he said, before mentioning that there will be tourists from Russia, Czech Republic, France, U.S. and Canada.

Mirzakhanyan left an open invitation to foreign ministers and representatives of various international organizations.