TÜBA and Uzbekistan Cultural History Meeting in Science Diplomacy
TÜBA and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Ankara came together under the title "Dünya Yazma Eser Koleksiyonlarında Özbekistan’ın Kültürel Mirası" (Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan in World Manuscript Collections) as part of Uzbek-Turkish scientific diplomacy.
The program, which was attended by TÜBA Council members, opened with the speeches of Alişer Azamhocayev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Ankara, and Prof. Muzaffer Şeker, President of the Academy, and continued with a presentation by historian Dr. Ali İhsan Çağlar.
The book collection consisting of 50 volumes published as part of the project "Dünya Yazma Eser Koleksiyonlarında Özbekistan’ın Kültürel Mirası" under the auspices of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which can only be found in the Topkapı Palace Museum in Türkiye, was presented to the President of the Academy Prof. Muzaffer Şeker by Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Ankara Alişer Azamhocayev.
The comprehensive work, which was prepared with the aim of preserving and promoting Uzbek cultural heritage, includes reprints of rare artifacts related to the history and culture of Uzbekistan that are kept in foreign museums. The work, which will enable the preservation and promotion of Uzbekistan's unique heritage and at the same time serve the study of Uzbekistan's history and culture by Turkish researchers, includes information on Uzbekistan's history, culture and art, as well as textiles, ceramics and paintings. This large collection is considered both a valuable source of information for researchers and a source of education.
These works will inspire the future.
Noting that the work titled "Dünya Yazma Eser Koleksiyonlarında Özbekistan’ın Kültürel Mirası" contains rare manuscripts that shed light on the history of Türkiye and the Turkish geography, President Şeker said that the work is the common heritage of not only Uzbekistan but also the world civilization. "This comprehensive collection was prepared to promote Uzbekistan's rich culture, history and literature worldwide. Each volume contains knowledge and wisdom from the roots of our past. Considering the historical and cultural ties between Türkiye and Uzbekistan, the gift of these works to a well-established scientific institution such as the Turkish Academy of Sciences has a special meaning for us. I believe that this collection will further strengthen the scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries. I hope that these works will inspire researchers, students and general readers. I believe that these manuscripts will continue to inform and inspire future generations and further strengthen our cultural bridges."
Providing information about the Turkish-Islamic Science and Culture Heritage (TIBKM) Project, which was initiated by TÜBA in 2014 and carried out under the auspices of the Presidency since 2018, Prof. Şeker stated that TIBKM aims to save the classical works of Turkish-Islamic science and culture heritage, which have contributed to the accumulation of knowledge of humanity, from their idle state in libraries through facsimile edition, transliteration, translation into contemporary Turkish and publication, and to make them available to our scientific and cultural people and future generations.
Noting that Uzbekistan has carried out many reforms in recent years, Ambassador Azamhocayev said that within this framework, the fields of science and history are also given importance. Explaining the academic developments since 2016, Azamhocayev continued as follows: "We have always seen and continue to see the support of our Turkish brothers and sisters in this process. I would like to express my gratitude for the scholarships and grants given by our TÜBA Presidency and TÜBİTAK to studies on Uzbekistan. In addition, the Faculty of Health Sciences University, which started its activities in Bukhara, and the TOBB ETU Branch opened in Tashkent also contribute to the development of science in our country. These examples are concrete achievements within the scope of Uzbek-Turkish Science Diplomacy, which is the subject of our meeting today."
Ambassador Azamkhocayev underlined that 5 years ago, a project was launched to collect treasures about Uzbekistan stored in various museums and collections around the world, such as historical libraries in Istanbul, and emphasized that the book "Dünya Yazma Eser Koleksiyonlarında Özbekistan’ın Kültürel Mirası" is the result of this project. "The collection includes manuscripts, beautiful miniatures, archival documents and paintings about Uzbekistan. On the occasion of today's meeting, we would like to present this work to our esteemed President of TÜBA. I believe that this resource will help our esteemed professors conducting research on Uzbekistan and will further promote Uzbek-Turkish scientific cooperation."
Prof. Dr. Ali İhsan Çağlar made a detailed presentation on the subject as well as his speech on how the corpus emerged, its content and the archive of manuscripts in Uzbekistan.
