The launch of the October issue of the journal ‘Urban Anthropology’ dedicated to Azerbaijan was held at the Bucharest Parliament Palace
The launch of the October issue of the journal ‘Urban Anthropology’ dedicated to the Caucasus region (Azerbaijan and Georgia), co-organised by the University of Bucharest, the Bucharest City Museum and the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Romania, took place in the Education Committee Hall of the Bucharest Parliament Palace.
The scientific articles about our country published in the journal, looking at our cultural heritage from different aspects (national costumes of Azerbaijan, architecture of Baku, ethnic peculiarities of the Azerbaijani people, customs and traditions of Novruz holiday, tea culture, etc.), were written by the academic staff of the Azerbaijan University of Languages, Baku Engineering University and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. The journal also features photographs of Baku and various regions of our country taken by Catalin Constantin, professor of the Faculty of Languages at the University of Bucharest.
The main theme of the conference was ‘’Silk Road Chronicles: Azerbaijan's Role in the Development of Silk Production and Trade‘’.
Among the guests of the conference were Mirela Furtuna, chairwoman of the European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, Dan Iancu, head of department at the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Romanian ambassador to Azerbaijan, and Adrian Majuru, director of the Bucharest City Museum.
In his speech, C. Constantin noted the joint efforts of the authors from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania in the preparation of the journal and spoke about the prospects of future co-operation in the study of culture, history and traditions of these countries.
In his speech, M. Furtuna spoke about the role of the Caucasus region as a gateway to Europe and emphasised the importance of assessing the contribution of mutual economic, political and cultural relations to the development of our regions. In this context, she appreciated the initiative and considered culture as one of the main factors bringing the peoples closer to each other
D. Iancu stated that historical architectural examples of Azerbaijani cities reflect the history and unique culture of Azerbaijani people. He expressed his gratitude to C. Constantin for his work in researching these monuments and including them in the October issue of the journal, thus creating a collection of scientific articles on the architectural anthropology of the South Caucasus, which will be used in the future. D. Iancu noted the cultural similarities between the Azerbaijani and Romanian peoples, emphasising that these features are reflected in the national cuisine, carpet weaving and architecture.
A. Majuru, who delivered the speech, recounted the history of the founding of the journal and expressed his gratitude to all those who had contributed to the creation of the journal, which has been published twice a year for the past 10 years. Expressing satisfaction that the journal continues to expand its objectives year after year, the director of the museum expressed confidence that these initiatives will be sustainable.
Ambassador Gudsi Osmanov expressed special gratitude to the creators of the journal for the initiative and expressed confidence that the articles published in the journal will contribute to better recognition of Azerbaijan in Romania. Talking of relations between Azerbaijan and Romania, the diplomat emphasised the importance of developing cooperation between our countries in all spheres. Touching upon the theme of the event, the ambassador mentioned that Romania, which joined Great Leader Heydar Aliyev's initiative to restore the historic Silk Road in the 90s, has been showing support to all international and regional projects put forward by Azerbaijan over the past 30 years. The diplomat described Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania as an important part of the global route stretching from East to West.
Head of the Department of Regional Studies of the Azerbaijan University of Languages Sevdagul Aliyeva and Dean of the Faculty of Education 2 Salman Nuriyev addressed the event. They talked about the history of silk culture in Azerbaijan, trade and economic relations between nations and countries along the Silk Road, as well as the Silk Road Economic Belt project being implemented today.
The event was also attended the officials of the Embassy of Georgia in Romania.
The event continued with an exhibition dedicated to the progress of Azerbaijan, as well as a reception organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Romania.
