Turkey's northwestern Bursa province on Thursday has been named the 2022 Culture Capital of the Turkic World. This came in the 38th meeting of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) in Uzbekistan's Khiva province. Bursa, one of the former capital cities of the Ottoman Empire, is home to historical mosques, madrasah, tombs, and other architectural works. Speaking at the meeting, before the decision, Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy underlined the historical importance and national beauties of Bursa. 'I would like to announce with great pleasure the candidacy of Bursa-which served as the capital of the Ottoman Empire-as the Culture Capital of the Turkic World which fascinates visitors with its historical and architectural texture and with its green and natural beauties,' Ersoy said. At the meeting, the participants accepted the proposal and decided to declare Bursa as the 2022 Culture Capital. 2022 was also declared the year of commemoration of the Kyrgyz artist Toktobolot Abdumomunov; Azerbaijani composer Fikret Amirov, whose 100th birthday will be celebrated next year; and the Turkish mystic Suleyman Celebi, whose 600th anniversary of death will be marked in 2022.
