Barzan region prepares for annual Mazî-Picking day on August 8

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Barzan Environmental Protection Battalion (EPB) has designated August 8 as Mazî-picking day, known in Kurdish as "çinîna dara mazî."

Colonel Sadiq Hassan, Director of Media Awareness of the Barzan EPB, announced to Kurdistan 24 on Sunday, “Annually in the Kurdistan Region, Mazî-picking starts in different areas. We have informed the villages’ mukhtars in an official letter that they should inform the villagers to go to the mountains at a specified time, place, and day.”

Colonel Hassan explained, “August 8 has been designated for going to the mountains and starting the Mazî-picking process.”

He noted, “In general, August is the month of Mazî-picking in the Kurdistan Region. Some areas pick the Mazî while it is still green and others wait until it dries. Some villagers take it with them, while others use it for medicine and sell it in the markets. The price of one kilogram of Mazî is five thousand dinars.”

He emphasized that “Mazî-picking has remained as a cultural heritage in this area.”

Regarding the production of Mazî, Colonel Hassan mentioned, "We don't have any official statistics to record the annual production of Mazî trees in Barzan region, but I estimate that there are a lot of Mazî trees in Barzan region and everyone benefits from them every year."

Historically significant, Mazî was one of the most important traded products in ancient times, including during the Assyrian period.

Mazî, a type of oak tree, is prominent in the Kurdistan Region and comes in three varieties: the ordinary oak tree, the Mazî tree, and the Lebanese oak tree.

These trees thrive in dense, moist, and shady areas, reaching heights of up to 20 meters and growing at altitudes of 900 to 1500 meters above sea level.

There are 600 species of oak trees worldwide, aged between 200 and 500 years. Mazî tree is among the types of trees that can survive for an extended period.