The memory of Mándoky Kongur István, a prominent Hungarian Turkicologist, was honored in Budapest

A commemorative event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Hungarian Turkologist Mándoky Kongur István was held at the Representative Office of the Organization of Turkic States in Hungary. The event was jointly organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Hungary, the Representative Office of the Organization of Turkic States in Hungary and the Hungarian-Kazakh Fund "Bars".

In his speech, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Hungary Abzal Saparbekuly emphasized that the scientific heritage of Mándoky Kongur István plays a special role in strengthening fraternal, historical and cultural ties between Hungary. In addition, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan noted that this commemorative event is dedicated to respecting the spiritual heritage of Mándoky Kongur István and the importance of passing it on to the future generation.

The head of the representative office of the Organization of Turkic States in Hungary academician István Vásáry said that one of the main goals of the organization is to continuously honor outstanding scholars of Turkic studies and to glorifying their great contribution to science.

Turkologist Dr. Júlia Bartha, a countrywoman of Mándoky Kongur István emphasized the importance of the science of Turkology from the historical point of view of Hungarian and Turkic culture, and also noted the achievements of Hungarian Turkologists. Chairman of the Hungarian Kazakh foundation “Bars” Andras Gal told about the collection of selected folklore of Turkic nations “Wide Waters of the Amu Darya” translated by Mándoky Kongur István, published with the support of the Foundation in 2002. Andras Kelemen, former state secretary of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry and a close friend of Mándoky, shared some personal recollections.

In addition, Saule Dulati shared her thoughts at the event, Chairperson of the representative office of the International Center “Kazakh Language” in the Russian Federation. In general, well-known Turkologists, researchers, Mándoky Kongur István 's wife Onaisha Mándoky, colleagues and close friends attended the event.

Mándoky Kongur István made a great contribution not only to the life of Kipchak science in Hungary, but also to the familiarization of the Hungarian public with Kazakh literature and culture. Under his leadership, poetry collections of Kazakh poets were translated into Hungarian and published in Budapest. Enlightenment of the works of such great personalities as Abai, Makhambet, Zhambyl, is assessed as a vivid manifestation of Kongur's contribution to the strengthening of cultural ties between the two countries. He took active participation in familiarizing the Hungarian public with Kazakh national values, cultural heritage.

It should be noted that the understanding of the east for Hungarians is a sacred historical and cultural concept. The numerical branch of the science Turkology has long been established in Hungary as a scientific subject of a of national character.

Hungary, which has a rich tradition of studying oriental languages, history and culture, has a three-century history of teaching Turkic languages. For the first time in the world, a department of Turkology was established at the University of Budapest in 1867, and in 1897 the chair of Altaic studies and corporativism was established at the Kolozsvári University.

On December 13, 2024 in the Hungarian University of Debrecen opened the “Turkic corner”. It is intended that this corner will serve as a public space to unite the youth of the Hungarian and Turkic world. The Embassy has donated books dedicated to Kazakh literature and culture to the Turkic corner.