Journey from the Caspian in Shamkir

The Baku 2017 Journey from the Caspian reached Shamkir yesterday. This tour that will include 15 regions of Azerbaijan will bring the spirit of a celebration of sports, as well as the feelings of solidarity and joy to the people.

Yesterday morning an event was held near Shamkir’s water reservoir. Shamkirchay River enters the mighty Kura River. This new reservoir was put into operation in 2014 to provide the region with drinking and irrigation water.

The water festival was hosted by chess and wrestling enthusiast Murad Namazov, merited boxing coach of Azerbaijan Republic Ramiz Yusifov and Olympic and European wrestling medalist Elchin Hasanov, as they poured water from the river into the vessel. This water vessel was later presented during the Water Festival. The vessel, which began its journey from Baku, will be a part of the Opening Ceremony in Baku Olympic Stadium on May 12.

Afterwards, during the day another great project - “Sport joys - Regional sporting event” - took place in Shamkir Olympic Sport Complex as part of the Domestic Grassroots program. This event, held in order to promote Baku 2014 4th Islamic Solidarity Games and awaken interest towards sports among the youth, included several sporting competitions. The event rewarded its participants with happy and colorful memories.

The ceremony continued in the evening at the Flag Square with the Water Festival. The festival with free admission allowed the visitors to enjoy performances by Mirvari dance group, Vugar Valiyev and Khayal Gasimov, as well as magnificent water effects.

At the same time, footage of President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev giving a vessel full of water from the Caspian to inhabitants of Shamkir during the first water festival was presented to the public.

Merited boxing coach of Azerbaijan Republic Ramiz Yusufov commented on how the water festival adds more color to the celebration of sports: “The sharing of joy brought by victories and sadness brought by defeats and support of each other isn’t just a show of culture, but also a priceless value.”

The next stop on the Journey from the Caspian, spanning all of Azerbaijan, is Mingachevir, which will be visited on April 23. This journey that started from Caspian Sea will go on for 37 days and cover more than 3000 km, paying visits to 15 regions of the country.