Some Navruz merrymaking took place at Elephant last weekend.
The “vivid celebration” was held at the Mercato Metropolitano Market, near Elephant and Castle, on 27 March.
Navrus is a central Asian spring celebration, marking the beginning of a new year in the Persian calendar.
Countries such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Albania, Turkey celebrate this colourful festival.
Guests at the unique event had the opportunity to sample the cuisine of central Asian countries, such as Azeri sweets and traditional Uzbek Plov (of which more than 200 kg was served on the day).
They were also shown national traditions, learned local dances, books myths and legends.
“It was the first celebration of Navrus at Mercato Metropolitano Market and I hope that this event will become an established annual event,” said Marat Akhmedjanov, chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild.
“There were an unexpected number of participants, a lot of bright performances and presentations,” he added.
Among participants of the festival were the members of London’s Eurasian Creative Guild, the Uygur and Kazakhstan communities, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UK and Consular of the Embassy of Uzbekistan.
Event organisers said the day helped cultural integration, allowing different nations to get to know more about the inner life of individual central Asian countries and their traditions.
“It also allows the international community to picture familiar issues in a new way,” they said.
The event was organised by the Euraisian Creative Guild and British OCA magazine, which promotes the culture, politics and news coming from Eurasia.
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