Kazakh epic Kyz Zhybek turns 500 years old

Almaty, October 21, 2009 (Khabar) - The way the 500th anniversary of the Kyz Zhybek epic will be celebrated has topped a discussion in Almaty featuring scientists and public figures. A year ago, UNESCO added this date to the international calendar of history and is now planning to celebrate this event throughout the world. The poem depicts faithfulness in love and friendship, bravery and patriotism – the ideals which the young generation should follow. Therefore, the full version of the Kyz Zhybek on CD has been released by the Zheruiyk public foundation and the Ministry for Culture and Information of the Republic. People in Kazakhstan will soon be able to enjoy the poem in a radio play format. In the near future, a few cities in Kazakhstan will stage some conferences devoted to this epic. The poem is also planned to be released one more time with commentaries from domestic scientists added to it.

Abdimalik Nysanbayev, academic, Kazakhstan National Academy of Sciences:
- There is a love of homeland, nation, and culture and there is human love. Love is the most important value and if we are constantly promoting it and bringing up people in love by means of such poetry. In this case, Kazakhstan will strengthen its inter-religious and inter-ethnic accord. I think that the Kyz Zhybek epic has a huge consolidating feature for both the Kazakhs and other nationalities living in Kazakhstan too.