February 9 is annually celebrated in Uzbekistan as the birthday of the great poet and thinker Mir Nizomiddin Alisher Nava'i (1441-1501). Alisher Nava'i, an outstanding statesman, patron of science and culture, founder of the classic "Turki" poetry (old Uzbek language), one of the leading figures of the Eastern Renaissance of the Timurid dynasty, has been by far the most prominent poet of all times and nations.
  And this year, the 580th anniversary of Alisher Nava’i was widely celebrated in Samarkand and at the Samarkand State Medical Institute. On the eve of the great poet's birthday a number of commemorative events were held at the Institute's departments and divisions, and the students of the Institute staged a performance of "The Language of Birds" based on Nava’i's work of the same name at the Regional Music and Drama Theatre.
  So, representatives of the Samarkand State Medical Institute's rectorate and teaching staff took an active part in laying flowers at the monument of the great poet and thinker in the Central Park of Culture and Rest named after him.
  Those speaking at the event recounted the life and actions of the great poet and thinker, stressing in particular his contribution to the treasury of world culture. There were also recitations of timeless poems and theatrical re-enactments of the great poet's life.

SamSMI Press Service