Yunus Emre Monument, which was built in cooperation with Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB), Astana Embassy of the Republic of Turkey and Astana Governorship, a member of TDBB in Kazakhstan, was inaugurated on 26 October 2023 in Atatürk Park in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
The opening ceremony was attended by Turkey’s Ambassador to Astana Mustafa Kapucu, Kazakh Senator Darhan Kıdırali, Mayor of Astana Baykonur Talgat Rahmanberdi as well as other guests. The official opening ceremony was dedicated to the independence day of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey.
TDBB undertook the construction of the Yunus Emre Monument in the Astana Atatürk Park, which was reopened after improvement works were carried out by the Astana Municipality in 2022, as a result of the development of cooperation with the local governments of Kazakhstan.
In his speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Kapucu stated that they will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic on October 29 this year and said, “In this period, which is a historical milestone for our country, we are pleased to officially open the Yunus Emre Monument in the city of Astana as a symbol of the Turkish-Kazakh brotherhood”.
Pointing out that the monument, which was built in cooperation with the Union of Turkish World Municipalities, Astana Governorship and the Embassy, is important in terms of remembering the common historical roots of the two brother countries and maintaining their cultural ties, Kapucu said that there are monuments, parks and streets in Turkey that bear the names of many Kazakh intellectuals, especially the great Kazakh thinker Abay.
Kapucu said, “Yunus Emre, the pioneer of Turkish poetry, Sufism and folk poet, who lived in Anatolia in the 13th and 14th centuries, put ‘loving the created for the sake of its creator’ at the center of life. Yunus Emre conveyed his world of thought and belief in a simple and fluent way, using the plain Turkish spoken in the age he lived in.”
Kapucu emphasized that, like Hoca Ahmad Yasawi, who lived in his ancestral homeland of Kazakhstan, Yunus Emre was the pioneer of the Turkish folk Sufism tradition in Anatolia and that he guided the spiritual life of the Turks for centuries with his works and added: “In this context, we commemorate Yunus Emre and Hodja Ahmad Yasawi with gratitude and mercy for enriching our spiritual life with their works and beliefs that have survived through generations.”
Mayor of Astana Baykonur Talgat Rahmanberdi said, “I congratulate Kazakhstan’s 25 October Independence Day and the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. These dates are important days that our countries gained sovereignty. The Republic of Turkey has a special place in our country as it is the first state to officially recognize our independence. May the friendship between the two countries last forever.”
Yunus Emre Year
The year 2021 was included among the commemoration and celebration anniversaries by UNESCO on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the death of Yunus Emre, one of the most important figures of Turkish language and culture. With the Circular published in the Official Newspaper dated January 30, 2021, 2021 was declared as the “Yunus Emre and Turkish Year” by the President of the Republic of Turkey. In this context, the monument in Astana was built by the Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB).
