On February 19, NARGIS Magazine hosted the presentation of the book “Əlifba. A Cultural Alphabet” at Qatar National Library in Doha.

The presentation was attended by the President of Qatar National Library, Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the State of Qatar Adish Mammadov, Sheikha Wadha Al Thani, cultural representatives, as well as guests of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Qatar and representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora.

The book “Əlifba. A Cultural Alphabet” is an Azerbaijani alphabet for adults and children with colourful illustrations, in which each letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet provides information about a particular architectural monument, work of art, historical tradition or folklore character of our country. There is serious research work behind each letter.

The ideological inspirer and author of the project is Ulviyya Mahmud, Editor-in-Chief of NARGIS Magazine and the creator of many unique art projects, all aimed to promote Azerbaijani culture throughout the world.

The book is presented in four languages – English, Arabic, French and Spanish. Its main goal is to promote the history, and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani language.

The guests were greeted by the Director of NARGIS Magazine, Mujgan Gafarzadeh, who spoke about the history of the project.

As part of the presentation, there was a screening of “History in Letters” – a documentary animated drama that introduces viewers to Azerbaijani culture and history through the prism of the alphabet. This is not just a documentary cartoon, but a philosophical search for truth that demonstrates to the viewer the power of love for art. The film was worked on by: producer Meran Ismailsoy, screenwriter Agamehti Abidov, animation artists Kenan Sheykhzamanli and Nargiz Heydar. Illustrations for the book were made by artist Orkhan Huseynov.

A special stand for the book in the form of a crystal was made by sculptor Teymur Garibov. During the event, the crystal was presented by Ulviyya Mahmud to Sheikha Wadha Al Thani.

An installation “Welcome to Baku” prepared specifically for the project by artist and sculptor Rashad Alakbarov was also presented. After that, the guests were invited to try Azerbaijani cuisine, which became a part of Azerbaijan in Doha.

After the event, each guest received an edition of the book as a gift, as well as the February issue of NARGIS Magazine, posters, postcards, map and kelaghayi.

In the evening, a light projection of illustrations from the book “Əlifba. A Cultural Alphabet” decorated the Marina Twin Towers building. This allowed residents and guests of the city to get acquainted with our project visually.

The project “Əlifba. A Cultural Alphabet” was first released in 2019. The presentation of the book took place in Istanbul. In June 2024, the book was presented in Berlin. In 2025, the project is planned to travel further around the world: after Doha, the project will be presented in Rabat, Madrid, London and other cities around the world.

NARGIS Magazine expresses its gratitude to the general sponsor, PASHA Holding, for their support, as well as to the Azerbaijan Trading Corporation in Qatar, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the State of Qatar for their partnership and assistance, and the Kazunion travel agency.