The Chairman of the Committee on Agrarian and Environmental Protection of the High Council of Adjara – Friedon Putkaradze, and Member of the Parliament of Georgia, Anzor Bolkvadze, were visiting Duzce University of the Republic of Turkey within the framework of the Days of Georgian Culture.
The lawmakers held a meeting with the representatives of the Department of Georgian Language and Literature and the University. Attention was focused on the Georgian language department and its development.
Department of Georgian Language and Literature at Duzce University was opened in 2013 with the efforts of Fridon Putkaradze’s brother, famous Georgianologist, Professor Tariel Putkaradze, and active cooperation with the university. Here, even today, learning is going on with a program prepared by a scientist. At the same university, there is a cabinet named after Tariel Putkaradze, where a small library is also set up.
The deputy of the High Council of Adjara also visited and inspected the professor’s cabinet and heard about the hard work and merit that Tariel Putkaradze has done to preserve language and culture in Duzje University, as well as ethnic Georgians living in Duzje.
Linguist Tariel Putkaradze, who worked for years in the Republic of Turkey and studied the existence, life, and dialect of ethnic Georgians living there, died in 2021.
The head of Duzce Georgian Cultural Center, Aidin Kubilai, gave a copy of Tariel Putkaradze’s handwriting as a gift to Friedon Putkaradze, which is kept by local Georgians in their families as a memory.
During the visit, deputies also attended a traditional holiday organized by Georgians living in Duzje. Organized by the Local Georgian Culture Center, the Day of Georgian Culture was celebrated for the first time on such a scale.
During the event, a concert was held, with participation: a musical group from Duzje Cultural Center, an ensemble “Rirashi” from Inegol, and a musical group from Istanbul – led by Iberia Ozkan Melashvili.
At the same time, an exhibition was organized, where Georgian dishes and calligraphy samples were presented. Friedon Putkaradze and Anzor Bolkvadze addressed the gathering and thanked them for preserving the Georgian language and culture.
