UNESCO announced its decision yesterday to declare 2008 the Year of Mahmud al-Kashgari, a renowned 11th century scholar and lexicographer of Turkic dialects, and 2009 the year of either Hacı Bektaş-i Veli, another great Turkish Sufi saint whose name is often mentioned with that of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, or Katip Çelebi, a famous Turkish scholar and geographer.

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism had appealed earlier this year to the UNESCO Turkish National Committee, requesting that 2008 be declared the Year of Mahmud al-Kashgari and 2009 the year of either Nasreddin Hodja, the famous Turkish humorist, or Çelebi.

The UNESCO Turkish National Committee assessed the request and submitted the name of Veli instead of Hodja while approving al-Kashgari and Çelebi. The UNESCO International Committee has now made the decision anticipated by the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the UNESCO Turkish National Committee by allotting 2008 and 2009 to commemorate three great Turkish men worldwide.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has already started developing projects to put 2008 and 2009 to as good a use as possible and in order to get the same amount of positive international feedback on Veli, al-Kashgari and Çelebi as they have with Mevlana.