― 27 сентября 2018 г.

The Famous Philosopher of the Borchaly Region Prof. Dr. Cemal Mustafayev was commemorated in Eskişehir

Within the framework of its series of conferences on Pioneers of the Turkic World, the International Organization of Turkic Culture TURKSOY held a commemorative event dedicated to the great Turkic philosopher of the Borchaly region in Georgia Prof. Dr. Cemal Mustafayev in Eskişehir.

The commemorative event organized in cooperation of TURKSOY with the Center of the Anatolian University for Research on the Turkic World (TUDAM) and with the contribution of the Association of Azerbaijani citizens of Eskişehir took place in the Anatolian Cinema.

The event dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birthday of Prof. Dr. Cemal Mustafayev and to Turkic peoples of the Borchaly region in Georgia gathered the District Governor of Odunpazarı Turgay Hakan Bilgin, the Chairman of the Turkish Cultural Center of Eskişehir Prof.Dr.Nedim Ünal, the Director of TUDAM Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Topal and the Chairman of the Association of Azerbaijani citizens of Eskişehir Cavid Aydın along with many students and guests.

The Director of TUDAM Prof. Dr. Mehmet Topal who delivered the opening speech of the event said that the cooperation between Eskisehir and TURKSOY has grown stronger with the declaration of Eskisehir as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World in 2012 and that this event dedicated to the commemoration of Prof. Dr. Cemal Mustafayev and Turkic Peoples of Borchaly is one of the many events carried out every year within the framework of this fruitful cooperation.

The Chairman of the Association of the People of Borchaly Zelimhan Memmedli who also said a few words at the event stressed that: " Prof. Dr. Cemal Mustafayev who is from the Borchaly region actually lived in Azerbaijan and studied philosophy in Moscow. He had extensive knowledge about Greek philosophy. His research on the Turkic World led him to a certain opinion thereon which we will be sharing with you today. He always said: 'To me, the greatest philosophy is that of humanity'. Prof. Dr. Mustafayev was a Doctor of Philosophy. His conviction was that the "higher humanity is praised, the better will it live. Humanity does not need to shed blood to live. Humanity always overcomes fear". This is what we also wish for humanity as we are introducing Cemal Mustafayev to you today".

Another keynote speaker of the conference was Dr. Oğuzhan Aydın from the Yıldırım Beyazıt University of Ankara who said that Turkic peoples of the Borchaly region in Georgia have been preserving the tradition of minstrelship and transmitting it from one generation to the next for centuries. Dr. Aydın further added: "Just as it is for Anatolia, the tradition of minstrelship is also a cornerstone of Turkic culture and the Turkic World. Indeed, with their philosophical worldview which they express through their ancestral art, minstrels are our gateway to the world. The region of Borchaly in Georgia is the land of peaceful poets and minstrels ."

Dr. Aydın who further stressed that as a tradition which is exclusively peculiar to the Turkic World, the tradition of minstrelship is in fact the very essence of our "national identity", quoted verses by the minstrel Mevlüt İhsani:

"Don't ask what minstrelship is about,

Minstrelship is a gift of God,

It is the whish of one's soul, the voice of one's heart,

It can be neither measured nor understood" .

Following the speeches, the commemorative event went on with a reading of poems during which the Poet and Chairman of the Association of Minstrels of the Borchaly Region Osman Ahmetoğlu recited poems written by poets of Borchaly.

The reading of poems was followed by a colourful performance of minstrels featuring Nargile Mehtiyeva from Georgia, Selahattin Dündar from Turkey and Termeyhan Kurbanov from Azerbaijan and a folk dance performance of the Sarvan Folk Dance Ensemble of the Borchaly Region.