Turkey hosts Georgian Mother Language conference

A conference dedicated to the Georgian Mother Language has been held in the city of Inegol in Turkey.

Yesterday’s event was attended by the local population, as well as historical Georgian diaspora from Ankara, Istanbul, Izmit, Gebze and other regions of Turkey.

At the conference, Turkish researcher and journalist of Georgian origin Abdullah Tataroglu delivered a report about the condition of Georgian language among the Turkish Georgians.

Invited scholars from Georgia, Professor Rozeta Gujejiani and history PhD Zurab Batiashvili also delivered lectures at the event.

Furthermore, Georgian and Turkish school-aged children who were completing a Georgian language course in Turkey also took part in the conference. The course was being led by Georgian Young Ambassador to Turkey Teona Varshalomidze.

This was the second time the Mother Language conference was held in Turkey and organised by the Caucasian Folklore and Culture Community and Georgia’s Embassy to Turkey.

At the end of the conference, Georgian Ambassador Irakli Koplatadze thanked the organisers and gave special gifts to the participants.

It is believed up to 1 million Georgian historical immigrants currently live in Turkey. Official data on the number of ethnic Georgians who now live in Turkey was unavailable.