Turkish first lady and Uzbek counterpart celebrate heritage

Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has hosted Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, wife of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is on an official visit to Türkiye.

Erdogan and Mirziyoyeva on Thursday visited the "Heritage from the Roots" exhibition featuring handcrafted products prepared by the advanced technical school for girls.

The first ladies were offered Turkish coffee at the exhibition's entrance, during which Mirziyoyeva took a close interest in the process of making the traditional drink.

Touring the exhibit, they were briefed by officials from the General Directorate of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of National Education, who accompanied them.

After examining the products at the stands, Emine Erdogan presented Mirziyoyeva with handmade items from the advanced technical school for girls.

Mirziyoyeva used the woodblock printing technique, a traditional Turkish method used in textile products, to print on fabric. This technique involves rubbing with a wooden block to transfer the paint effectively.

The Uzbek first lady also watched Ankara's "sof" fabric weaving on a loom and showed interest in the products made from the fabric, which holds a geographical indication sign.

Mirziyoyeva presented with Mevlana's 'Masnavi'

The leaders' wives also visited the "Fatih Sultan Mehmet Exhibition" at the National Library, located in the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

Here, Emine Erdogan and Mirziyoyeva received information about the exhibition from Prof. Dr. Erhan Afyoncu, Rector of the National Defence University, and took a photo in front of the painting titled "Mehmed the Conqueror's Entrance to Hagia Sophia".

Later, the first ladies received information about the books in the Uzbek library section in the Cihannuma Hall. Emine Erdogan gifted an Uzbek edition of Mevlana's "Masnavi" to Mirziyoyeva, who also presented Uzbek works to the National Library.

"I would like to thank Mrs. Ziroat Mirziyoyeva for the precious works they have gifted to the book treasury of our library. I hope each rare book will be passed on to the future as a sign of our ancient friendship with Uzbekistan," Erdogan said on X following the visit.