Programs are organized about contemporary fine and applied arts, classical music, and cinema.Continue reading
A hundred programs will be organized this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and Türkiye, Péter Hoppál, the government commissioner responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Hungarian-Turkish Cultural Year, told Kossuth Radio’s Sunday Newspaper (Vasárnapi újság) program.
The Cultural Year opened on December 18, 2023, with Müpa Budapest hosting the festive event, and the programs will run for one year. The year-long celebrations in Hungary will showcase a wide range of Turkish culture, and a Hungarian cultural season in Türkiye will also be held at the same time.
The government commissioner explained that
this year, 100 years of diplomatic relations are being honored with 100 programs.
Among the cultural programs, he said, Hungarian literary works translated into Turkish in recent decades will be republished in Türkiye by the Petőfi Literary Museum. He noted that the various artistic disciplines will show where Hungarian creative and performing arts stand today. This will be complemented by academic programs, conferences, university cooperation, exhibitions of contemporary Hungarian art, as well as art of the past 200 years, and sports will also be part of the cultural season.
We would like to show as much of ourselves as possible, so that the image of Hungarian culture in Turkish society is as nuanced as possible,”
the government commissioner stressed.
Péter Hoppál recalled that Turkey established its first diplomatic relations with Hungary after becoming a republic under the leadership of President Kemal Atatürk. He said that in the past hundred years, Hungary has provided assistance to the Republic of Türkiye, its capital Ankara, and that is why they have turned to the Hungarians with love. He also recalled that Hungarian emigrants had gone to Turkey after Hungary’s defeated wars of independence, including the heroes of the 1848 War of Independence.
He stressed that Hungarian-Turkish relations are deeply rooted; a significant part of Hungarian words are of Turkish origin, but the two peoples have also adopted ornamentation and decoration from each other,
and in the last hundred years, in the new dimension of diplomatic relations, “cooperation and friendship can be seen in an unprecedented perspective.”
Catholic church in Pécs (southwestern Hungary), formerly a mosque. Photo: Facebook/Dr. Hoppál Péter
“We Hungarians, of course, identify our pain with the Turks, the 150 years of occupation, but this cultural year is a bold attempt to show our cultural affinities to each other,” the government commissioner added.
If you are interested in the programs, you can find more information on the official website for the event.
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Macar-Türk Kültür Yılı
