By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Egyptian Public Library, in cooperation with the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Cairo, held a symposium to present and present the book “The Uzbeks in Egypt” by Dr. Ahmed Abdo Tarabik – a researcher in the affairs of Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The symposium was attended by Ambassador Mansur Bek Klychev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Cairo, Atabek Alimov, Cultural Advisor at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Cairo, Ambassador Reda Al-Taifi, Chairman of the Egyptian Public Libraries Fund, Counselor Hamdi Abu Al-Enein, First Undersecretary of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Jalal Al-Hafnawy, former Head of the Oriental Languages Department. At the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, and Dr. Nourhan Al-Sheikh, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University.
In his speech, Atabek Alimov presented an overview of the founder of Turkish literature, Alisher Navoi, who lived between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries AD, and who is one of the most important figures in writers.
He emphasized that in this period, the language of literature and culture was the Persian language, even though the kings, princes, army, people, and the majority of the people spoke the Turkish language.
He added that at that time, Alishir Nawawi appeared on the literary scene, and at the age of five he memorized the entire Qur’an, and at seven he began writing poems out of love for literature, and at eleven he wrote his first ghazal.
He said: After Nafouri, Zaheer al-Din Muhammad Babur is considered, known as the Prince of Uzbek Literature, who wrote his famous book “Babur Nameh” and it was translated into Arabic by Dr. Magda Makhlouf, Professor of Turkish Literature at Ain Shams University, and work is currently underway to issue the second edition of this book.
He added: Babur was the first king of Samarkand, then he founded the huge Timurid empire in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and his sons and grandchildren ruled India for 332 years until the British invasion.
The Uzbek poet, thinker, and philosopher, Prince Ali Sher Nawi (1441-1501 AD), is considered one of the greatest figures in Uzbek literature, which is called in the West Chagatai literature, as there is no figure similar to him in the literature of the Turkish peoples.
During his life, Nawa’i traveled to various countries of the Islamic East, most notably Egypt, where he met famous figures of his time and developed his poetic skills.
For his part, Ambassador Mansur Bek Klychev stressed that there are historical ties and relations between Egypt and Uzbekistan, and that these relations form the basis for developing cooperation relations between the two countries in various political, economic, tourism, investment and cultural fields.
He stressed that the book reflects the historical relations between the two countries, expressing his wishes for increased relations in various fields that are constantly becoming stronger and stronger, which were strengthened by the visit of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to Uzbekistan in 2018, and the visit of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to Egypt in 2023.
