Facts about cultural capital of Turkic world in 2017
This was said by Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Culture and Sport Aktoty Raimkulova at the 34th meeting of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Cultural Affairs of TURKSOY and closing ceremony of "Sheki, the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2016" year, Kazinform correspondent reports from Baku.
As it was previously reported, Kazakh Turkestan was named the cultural capital of Turkic world in 2017.
"It is noteworthy that a tradition of declaring a capital of Turkic Culture was started in 2012 with the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. And today Kazakh Turkestan was named cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2017 ".
She noted that Turkestan was a commercial and cultural center at the junction of steppe and ancient agricultural societies and a place of preaching activity of a renowned thinker Khoja Ahmed Yasawi.
"Today Turkestan is one of the most beautiful and clean cities. Here you can find medieval monuments, as well as a unique mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. The settlement on the site of the modern city of Turkestan stood at the crossroads of caravan routes from Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva and appeared in around 500 AD", said Raimkulova.
Akim of Turkestan Alipbek Userbaev noted that TURKSOY strengthens cultural cooperation between Turkic countries.
"For us the election of Turkestan as cultural capital of Turkic world became good news. TURKSOY continues to work tirelessly to preserve and transmit the heritage of Turkic culture to future generations", added Userbaev.
According to Aktoty Raimkulova, TURKSOY is a unique platform in terms of the number of activities and content which has done huge work for the entire Turkic world.