Azernews.Az

A poetry festival reflecting the literary heritage and creative traditions of Azerbaijan and Iraqi Turkmen was organized in indoor stadium “Salam” of Tel-Afar, by the Eurasian International Development Association (EIDA) and the Tel Afar City Municipality in Iraq.

At the opening of the festival, representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq, the mayor of Tel Afar, representatives of diplomatic missions present in Iraq, and others delivered speeches.

The event began with presentations by local and Azerbaijani researchers on the shared values, examples, and figures in the oral and written folk literature and poetry history of Iraqi Turkmen and Azerbaijan. The speeches highlighted the common creative examples preserved over the centuries, the spiritual values, traditions, humanist ideals in these examples, and the issues of preserving Turkish and Muslim identity. It was noted that this shared culture proves that Azerbaijanis and Iraqi Turkmen are people with a common historical memory.

Representing Azerbaijan were poet Kamal Huseynzade, researcher Natiq Rahimov, Orkhan Isayev from the Institute of Linguistics at the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, and others. Renowned poet Riza Cholakoglu, poet and writer Abdullah Salah Kirkuklu from Iraq also participated. After their speeches, they presented numerous examples of poetry from both historical and contemporary poets of Iraqi Turkmen and Azerbaijan.

Following the festival, an anthology of poems by Azerbaijani and Iraqi Turkmen poets, published at the initiative and organization of EIDA, was distributed to the participants.

As the event continued, celebrations of the ancient tradition of Khidr Ilyas, a festive holiday of the Azerbaijani and Iraqi Turkmen, were organized with the support of the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office. The celebration included performances of folk dances by the Azerbaijani and Iraqi Turkmen. The inhabitants of Tal Afar as well as heads of Turkmen ashirats (tribes)of the region took part in this event

It should be noted that for several years, various events aimed at preserving the Turkmen cultural heritage in Iraq have been carried oout by support of EIDA.