Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Eskishehir province of Turkey will host an international symposium on May 7-8 that aims to include the Molla Nasreddin jokes to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and will bring together representatives of more than 30 countries.

A document about the Molla Nasreddin jokes will be prepared at the symposium, which is being organized by the national committee of UNESCO in Turkey with the support of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism, for its further submission to a relevant body.

The Molla Nasreddin jokes are spread over large geography, including Azerbaijan, China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India as well as Anatolian Peninsula, Balkan Peninsula, the Near East and North Africa and passed on from generation to generation as heritage.

Molla Nasreddin, who lived in the13th century, was known under various names amongst a number of nations. He was called Khoja Nasreddin, Nasreddin Efendi in Central Asia, Molla Nasreddin in Azerbaijan, and Nasreddin Khoja in Turkey.

According to beliefs, the son of Fatih Sultan Mehmet ordered to write down the Molla Nasreddin jokes and thus, well-known thinker of his time Abulkheyir Rumi gathered his jokes and wrote them down in 1480.

Western researchers have published the jokes of Molla Nasreddin as well.

The first Azerbaijani satirical magazine Molla Nasreddin, which was one of the most remarkable projects in the history of the Azerbaijani press, also was named after the author of famous jokes Molla Nasreddin.

The UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list includes the Novruz holiday, Azerbaijani mugham, Azerbaijani ashug art, Azerbaijani carpet and the music of Azerbaijani tar.

The main list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Azerbaijan includes the Old City of Baku with Shirvanshahs Palace and Maiden Tower as well as the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape.

Furthermore, there is also a tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Azerbaijan which includes Lokbatan Mud Cone, Hirkan State Reserve, the Ordubad historical and architectural reserve, Sheki Khan's Palace, Surakhani Ateshgah Temple, the Susha historical and architectural reserve, the mausoleum of Nakhchivan, etc.