― 26 февраля 2024 г.

A book by Gafur Gulam was presented in Ankara

In commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the birthday of the famous Uzbek poet and author Gafur Gulam, a meeting to present the book entitled "A Sky Full of Stars" was held in Ankara in cooperation of  the International Organisation of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) with the Hacı Bayram Veli University on  February 26th, 2024. The meeting which took place in the conference hall of the Hacı Bayram Veli University gathered many senior personalities.

The event took place in the presence of  TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev, the Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Ankara H. E. Mr. Alisher Agzhamkhocayev, the Advisor to the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr. Shavkatjon Ortıkov, the Deputy Rector of the Hacı Bayram Veli University Prof. Dr. Metin Orbay and Gafur Gulam's daughter Mrs. Almas Akhmedova  who each delivered a speech.

In his opening address, Prof. Dr. Metin Orbay stressed that the cultural and historical heritage of the Turkic World has an important place in the history of civilisation and stated that TURKSOY's activities in this field play a unifying role for the Turkic World. The Advisor to the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr. Shavkatjon Ortıkov who also took the floor at the event underlined the strong contribution of TURKSOY to the common civilisation of Turkic peoples and wished the continuation of activities it carries out in this respect.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Ankara H. E. Mr. Alisher Agzhamkhocayev who touched upon the artistic personality of Gafur Gulam, noted that Gulam knew the languages of Turkic peoples, understood life and humanity, and reflected this in the most elegant way in his poems. Ambassador Agzhamkhocayev also underlined the outstanding human qualities of Gafur Gulam.

TURKSOY Secretary General  Sultan Raev who said that every nation has its symbol poets further added: "For example, Mehmet Akif Ersoy is in the hearts of our brothers from Türkiye. Magjan Jumabayev is in the hearts of our Kazakh brothers, and Alıkul Osmonov is a famous poet of Kyrgyzstan who is dear to the hearts of the Kyrgyz people. Gafur Gulam also holds a special place in the hearts of our Uzbek brothers and the Turkic World. Indeed, his works dealing with universal themes such as humanity, kindness, beauty, brotherhood and friendship reflect the common values of the Turkic World. The poems of this great poet are literally an accumulation of the ancient culture of the Turkic World and this is why they are appreciated by all Turkic peoples."

Gafur Gulam's daughter Almas Akhmedova stated that her father embraced  all Turkic peoples  and added that his art  is the expression of a strong attachment to human values and is therefore also appreciated by the entire  Turkic World.

The meeting went on with a short film about the life and work of Gafur Gulam which was followed by the ribbon-cutting ceremony of  the book during which souvenirs were mutually handed over by participants to eachother.

The panel on the life and work of Gafur Gulam hosted by the Hacı Bayram Veli University will go on  with various sessions in 6 different halls and take place with the contributions of  scholars from different regions of the Turkic World.