Baku, March 13 AZERTAC

"Manas Day" dedicated to the ancient epic of the Kyrgyz people was held at the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation. The event saw a presentation ceremony of the book "Manas Epic and Turkic Epic Tradition" published by the Foundation in Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz languages was held.

Speaking at the event, the President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Gunay Afandiyeva, said that the centuries-old sagas and epics of the Turkic people are among the richest examples of folklore in the world, along with the all-Turkic oral literature. The President of the Foundation valued the epic "Manas" as a vital part of the spirituality of the Kyrgyz people and emphasized: "Manas reflects the inner world, opinion, thinking of the Kyrgyz people, that is, their national identity. Furthermore, Manas is the power of the Kyrgyz. It is because in the epic, the heroic pages of the Kyrgyz, their love for the motherland, their ever-standing desire to defend the land are manifested. On the other hand, Manas is heritage. It is a legacy that is passed down from generation to generation, despite various obstacles, difficulties. And finally, Manas is a factor that unites the Turkic World". Gunay Afandiyeva recalled the statements by the National Leader Of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev on the 1000th anniversary of "Manas" held in 1995 in Bishkek - “Our immortal epics like Manas are the eternal wealth of all mankind. The extent to which Manas belongs to the Kyrgyz people, is the same for Manas belonging to the Azerbaijani people. Manas belongs to all Turkic peoples”. The President of the Foundation stated that the book written by Adil Jamil, a well-known scientist in the field of in-depth study of “Manas”, aims to bring the Turkic peoples closer together. Gunay Afandiyeva emphasized that the relations between the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and Kyrgyzstan, the founding member state of the organization, are strengthening day by day, and stressed that a number of projects are being implemented in this direction.

Speaking at the event, the Special Representative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Taalatbek Masadykov, said that “Manas” is one of the brightest peaks of the world epic art. He empasized that the preservation and transmission of rare values and knowledge collected in the epic, inherited from ancestors, created an opportunity for the Turkic peoples to continue their progressive development. T. Masadykov noted that the book published by the organization makes a significant contribution to the study of culture, traditions and spirit not only of the Kyrgyz people, but of the entire Turkic world. Taalatbek Masadikov highly appreciated the mutual friendship and cooperation of the organization with Kyrgyzstan. He thanked the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation for their support in the publication of the book, as well as the author for his interest and in-depth research on the topic.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Azerbaijan Kairat Osmonaliev noted in his speech that the scientific research of “Manas” and its comparative analysis with epics of other peoples are always relevant. Kairat Osmonaliev stressed that the dastan was declared a cultural treasure of the world by the UN. The ambassador said that this historical source, which contains a thousand-year history of Kyrgyzstan, also described the ties of friendship between the Kyrgyz people and various Turkic peoples. The Ambassador touched upon the importance of the work carried out by the Foundation for the preservation of the common heritage of the Turkic world and evaluated the book as an important source for studying the features of Turkic folklore.

Deputy of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, academician Nizami Jafarov, representative of TURKSOY Kanat Mambetaliyev, Director of the Institute of Folklore of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, academician Mukhtar Imanov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Azerbaijan to the Organization of Turkic States, statesman Hasan Hasanov spoke at the event and noted the important role of the book in further strengthening the ties between the Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz peoples.

The author of the book, Adil Jamil, emphasized the important role of the preservation and promotion of Turkic inscriptions in the transmission of ancient thoughts and thinking of Turkic peoples to future generations. Adil Jamil expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation with the Foundation and the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Azerbaijan for the high-level organization and presentation of the research he has been working on for a long time.

In the artistic part of the event, Manaschi Emirtemir Tolonov, a cadet of the Heydar Aliyev Military Institute, performed excerpts from the epic "Manas". National music and songs of Kyrgyzstan were performed by Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan Sahib Pashazade and Saule Osmonaliyeva. Samples of Kyrgyz cuisine were presented.

An exhibition of illustrations dedicated to the epic "Manas" by the well-known Kyrgyz artist Zamir Ilipov was demonstrated at the event.

Officials, deputies, ambassadors, culture and art figures, intellectuals, media representatives took part in the event.