― 16 апреля 2025 г.

Visit of Secretary General Sultan Raev to cultural and artistic institutions in Karakalpakstan

The first stop of TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev during his visit to cultural and artistic institutions in Karakalpakstan was the branch of the State University of Arts and Civilization of Uzbekistan in Nukus. The students of the university welcomed Mr. Raev in the garden of the university amidst traditional bahshi music and the sounds of the komuz, and demonstrated the art of bahshi, one of the important elements of Karakalpak culture, and introduced the intricacies of this art.

Then the students of the vocal and dance departments of the university gave short performances of typical Karakalpak dances which raised  great interest by Sultan Raev and the participants as the concert. As the foyer of the university was filled  with enthusiasm, Mr. Raev's entrance to the building was greeted with orchestral tunes. As students gave up their seats to the artists,  performances of traditional music by bahshi artists literally created an atmosphere of competition among art schools, each displaying their own art. The short concert was followed by a performance of students of the university's theater department who took the scene for  a short theater play.

Secretary General Raev who appreciated the performance of  students of the theater department  suggested them to participate in the “Student Theater Festival of the Turkic World” organized annually by TURKSOY.

After the performances, Secretary General Sultan Raev met with administrative staff members and scholars of the university. In the meeting, Mr. Raev stated that the artistic performance of the university is rather high and emphasized the importance of its active participation in cultural events organized by TURKSOY. Mr. Raev also reminded that the university is a member of the “Union of Art Universities of the Turkic World” and stated that the most important objectives of the establishment of this platform are the exchange of repertoire and students between countries, the exchange of experience between artistic movements and the strengthening of intercultural integration at  university level. In this respect, Mr. Raev stated that art schools within the university will be invited to various festivals and events in order to raise their level of education and gain further experience.

The university administration expressed its pride and pleasure to welcome the Secretary General of TURKSOY, which represents the culture and art of the Turkic World, at their university and emphasized that this center of science and culture, which has trained important artists of Karakalpakstan, will actively participate in efforts to introduce the art of the region to the world.

Turkic Yurta entered the Guinness Book of World Records

Secretary General Raev who then visited the big tent, a fixed (single piece) yurta, which entered the Guinness Book of World Records received detailed information about the Turkic yurta and expressed his admiration as to the splendor of the structure. Mr. Raev further stressed that beautiful events will be hosted here and pointed out that the infrastructure around this structure will be an important achievement in term of its contribution to regional tourism in the Turkic World.

Located in the “Ak Kuş” complex in the city of Nukus in Karakalpakstan, this building is considered the largest permanent yurt in the world with a height of 22 meters and a diameter of 40.5 meters. The Turkic yurta in the Ak Kuş complex is also home to numerous tents dedicated to different Turkic peoples and decorated with the traditions of those peoples. Examples of the tent traditions of Bashkir, Tatar, Kyrgyz, Kazakh and other Turkic peoples are also on display here.

“Louvre Museum in the middle of the desert”

Secretary General Raev also visited the Savitsky Museum in Nukus. At the museum founded by Igor Savitsky, who was known for his admiration for Karakalpak culture and made a great contribution to the preservation of this ancient culture, Mr. Raev met with the management and staff and received detailed information about the museum from the experts. After visiting the halls of the museum and looking at the paintings and works of art on display, Secretary General Raev emphasized that the quality and number of works of art displayed in the museum are at a level that cannot be found even in museums of many capitals of the world. 

Describing the Savitski Museum as a “Louvre Museum in the middle of the desert”, Mr. Raev said that the many historical finds exhibited here range from works by famous artists to historical paintings and archaeological objects reflecting the life of that period and added that the museum has also become a center of attraction for tourists from Europe. 

Noting that the museum has more than 100,000 artifacts in its collection with only two percent thereof being exhibited, Mr. Raev said that even this small percentage shows how important the museum is.