― 26 ноября 2025 г.
The Book Fair of Turkistan: A Festival of Literature in the Heart of the Turkic World
Turkistan, the spiritual capital and historical city of the Turkic World, is hosting one of the most prestigious gatherings in the publishing world.
Organised in cooperation of the International Organisation of Turkic Culture TURKSOY with the Governorate of Turkistan and the Foliant Publishing House, the International Book Fair of Turkistan started introducing bring the common literature heritage and current publications of Turkic peoples to its visiting readers.
High-Level Participation and Opening Ceremony
The official opening ceremony of the fair, which brought together more than 50 publishing houses, authors, poets and translators from the Turkic World, was held at the Turkistan Congress Centre (Congress Hall).
The ceremony gathered many scholars and literature enthusiasts, including the Secretary General of TURKSOY, author and playwright Sultan Raev; the Governor of Turkistan Nuraly Kosherov; the Consul General of the Republic of Türkiye in Turkistan Levent Gürcan and the poet and Chairman of the Authors’ Association of TURKSOY Ulukbek Esdaulet.
Secretary General Sultan Raev: ‘Libraries Beautify Humanity’
In the speech he delivered at the opening ceremony of the bookfair, TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev emphasised that books are not just a source of information, but the most fundamental building blocks of civilisation.
Secretary General Raev made the following remarks which resonated deeply with the audience: "A book educates those who read it, refines their spirit and beautifies them with the worlds it opens up in its pages. As such, libraries and book fairs are beacons of light that beautify not only individuals but also societies and humanity as a whole, illuminating our civilisation. The cultural light we are initiating today in Turkistan will illuminate the shared memory and future of the Turkic World."
A Meeting Point for Authors of the Turkic World
The fair, held in line with the vision of His Excellency Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of Kazakhstan, to ‘promote a culture of reading and establish a national book day,’ will be the centre of cultural and sectoral interaction for three days.
During the fair, book signings and panels will showcase selected works of Turkic literature. Among the works being promoted are TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev's novel ‘Janjaza,’ translated into Turkish as “Tımarhane”; the epic ‘Leyla and Mecnun’ by the famous author of Kazakh literature, Nesipbek Aytuly; the historical documentary novel ‘Han Batu’ by Ularbek Daleuly; and masterpieces such as the ‘Yakut Poetry Anthology,’ which reflects the subtleties of the poetry of Sakha Yakutia.
In addition, the event will also feature interviews to be held with the author Bayangali Alimjanov and the poet Ularbek Daleuly amongst others as well as a special podcast recording and discussion session on Chingis Aitmatov masterpiece ‘Farewell, My Love’.
Participating Countries
The fair which will feature stands of publishing houses from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, and the Russian Federation (Sakha-Yakutia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan) aims at strengthening ties of literature among Turkic peoples.
