A solemn ceremony of books giving to the National Library of Belarus was held by Zulfi Toman, the President of the National Library of Turkey, within the framework of the official visit to the Republic of Belarus of Binali Yildirim, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, on February 15 in the atrium of the 2nd floor of the National Library of Belarus.
The Library’s book fund is enriched with a collection of 1500 books in Turkish on economics, culture, science, history, politics, including encyclopedic and reference books, books for children and others. As the President of the National Library of Turkey Zulfi Toman noted, these publications will be relevant for people who study the Turkish language and are interested in the culture of the country. Mr. Thoman expressed hope for further cooperation and fruitful work in various areas of library activities, promising to give interesting Turkish books to the National Library.
Roman Motulsky, director of the National Library of Belarus noted that the books, which were added to the Library fund, will become very popular due to the growing interest in the history, culture and traditions of Turkey. He also stressed the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Library of Turkey and the National Library of Belarus signed on February 14, which aims to strengthen the interaction between the two libraries in their professional activities and facilitate the establishment of corporate relations in the field of science, culture and the dissemination of scientific information.
As part of the ceremony a photo exhibition "Traces of Istanbul: from the Empire to the Republic" was organized, where black and white photographs depicting the history of Turkey were presented.
In a solemn atmosphere Roman Motulsky donated to the President of the National Library of Turkey an electronic copy of the book "The Monarchy of Turkey ..." written by Paul Rycaut, the English diplomat, historian and traveler. This is the view on Turkey as a European country with its own history, culture and traditions. The book accurately describes the fundamentals of public administration, the customs of the country and its domestic policy, religion and laws of Turkish society. The publication was published in 1678 in Slutsk.
At the end of the event Roman Motulsky spoke about the forthcoming ceremony at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Turkey of the transfer of the multi-volume facsimile "The Book Heritage of Francysk Skaryna" as a gift to the National Library of Turkey.
The initiators of the project have worked on creation of a 21-volume facsimile for five years, collecting under the same cover the books published by Skarina in Prague and Vilna. Now, when the project is completed and the last volumes are printed, the valuable edition replenishes the funds of the largest cultural centers all over the world.
