New Year fair in Baku REPORT

Baku. 14 December. REPORT.AZ/ As New Year approaches the price of holiday decorations particularly pine trees increase. Festive fairs have been held in many areas of Baku.

Report’s employees visited some of those fairs.

First we headed to the fair set up at the exit of 28 May metro station. The tents here were set up on December 4 and they will operate until the last day of the month. The fair openes at 08:00 am and closes at midnight. The souvenirs and decorative items sold in each tent differ from each other. The seller Gadim Maharramli says that the difference between the sold items does not create concurrency among them:

“Our gifts start from 0.8 and the most expensive present costs 37 AZN. Mostly people buy very small souvenirs. There is nothing that is not bought.”

Our interviewee said the fair is mostly visited by students: “Many people come to watch rather than buying. Sometimes they ask questions about things that we don’t offer which makes us tired. Almost every day children break 5-10 souvenirs. In this case we take from them the half price of the item.”

Walking in the fair I come across with 82-year-old flower seller Mammad Bakhshaliyev. He said he tries to cover his daily expenses by selling the flowers:

“I buy flowers for 5 AZN, first I offer for 12 AZN later the buyer decreases the price. Sometimes I get 1 AZN, at times they buy it at the price I offer. I sell 3-5 bouquets of flowers per day.”

The most bought things:

The price of decorative tinsels for New Year decorations varies from 0.7 AZN to 3 AZN. The price of garlands changes between 3-8 AZN. The cheapest stuffed toy costs 1.50 AZN, the most expensive 20 manat. The seller Guliyev Aladdin said that all the items are sold within a year: “All the items are new. Women mostly buy soft toys and masks.”

Another seller Fakhraddin Aliyev said the most expensive pine tree in the fair costs 260 AZN:

“The price of pine trees starts from 6 AZN. There is a low demand in pine trees with snow-frosted tips. The prices change depending on the material. In our tents parents mainly buy costumes of Father Frost and Snow Maiden for their children. The price of them varies from 5 to 15 AZN.”

It is necessary to mention that pyrotechnics are not allowed to sell in fairs.

From here we head to the most visited site of the city called “Cold hands warm hearts”. In the kiosks set up in the fountain squares apart from holiday gifts, people can buy fast food, books and many other things. One can see here many tourists among capital residents. Fair “Cold hands warm hearts” will last until January 15. It is open from 10:00 am to 22:00 pm.

All kinds of beverages, fast foods made of kebabs, liver and fish are sold here. The kiosk offering fish food was the most crowded one. One can always see that the customers wait in lines. Elnur Rajabov who works there said that the fish is without bones: “It costs 3.50 AZN. We have a lot of customers because it is delicious. We sell about 100-200 fishes per day.”

It is free to take a photo with Santa Claus

There is also a book kiosk here. A few meters ahead we have seen Father Frost. It is free of charge to take photo with him. He invited people for a photo though did not seem to be willing to communicate.

When we were ready to leave the fair, we have noticed the handmade things on the display. On behalf of parents Sevana Salmanova was monitoring the sale: “All the things you see here were made by children with hearing and speaking disabilities of school number 3. My son also studies in that school. The price is not important for them, they want to sell what they have made.”