POLITICS
Grand Novruz Celebration held in Washington
Washington, March 18 (AZERTAC). An event dedicated to Novruz holiday took place in Ernst Community Cultural Center located in NOVA Annandale campus. The event was organized by joint efforts of American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA) and Eurasian American Cultural Association (EACA). Over thousand guests participated in the event, including distinguished guests such as Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan Mukhtar Djumaliev, Counselor of Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., Behic Hatipoglu, Counselor of Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington, D.C., Nurgali Arystanov, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Sharon Bulova, Supervisor John Cook, and Virginia delegates Ken Plum and Bob Brink.
After tasting traditional food of Turkic nations, guests continued to view display corners of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and familiarize themselves with certain elements of each culture. Then the President of EACA, Nadir Shafiyev, gave an opening speech welcoming the guests on behalf of ATFA and EACA which was followed by folklore performances by representatives of the participating nations.
To extend congratulating remarks, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Sharon Bulova, thanked ATFA and EACA for organizing the event, and expressed how delighted she was to see such diverse, but united community in her district. Supervisor John Cook expressed his pleasure for having representatives of Turkic nations in his district. Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan Mukhtar Djumaliev underlined the importance of Novruz for Turkic nations. Ambassador of Azerbaijan, H.E. Elin Suleymanov emphasized that there have been many Novruz celebrations in American community in the past; however, this was the first one with such wide audience that included many nations. As the closing part of the event, distinguished guests and performers sang the Turkish song “Eski Dostlar” and thanked the guests for participating.
Yusif Babanly
AZERTAC, Washington