Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 27 December 2019, at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, the presentation of Abdulla Qodiriy’s first book, “Bygone Days” (“O’tkan kunlar”), first published in the US in English, was presented.

The novel was translated by an American scientist, former director of the Center for Regional Studies of the US Naval Academy, Mark Reese. He was one of the first Peace Corps volunteers in Uzbekistan, where he worked in that capacity in 1994-1996.

Work on the translation of the novel lasted more than fifteen years. With the active support of the Embassy, our compatriots in the USA, as well as Uzbek experts, the process of publication of the novel noticeably accelerated. The book went on sale and has a "five-star" rating.

660 pages of the book contain more than 400 explanations of various terms and idioms used by the author, as well as comments explaining the peculiarities of the culture, traditions and customs of the Uzbek people.

Opening the presentation, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan Javlon Vakhabov informed in detail with the measures taken by the country’s leadership to perpetuate the memory of our great ancestors, the wide celebration in the country of the 125th birthday of the founder of Uzbek Romanism, a prominent representative of the movement of "jadids" writer Abdulla Qodiriy.

Mark Reese shared his fond memories of the years spent in Uzbekistan, spoke about the results of his work and urged everyone to “visit Uzbekistan at least once and witness the rich historical heritage, unique architecture and noble people.”

“The time I spent as a teacher in a traditional Uzbek school was a journey that made my life immeasurably enriching,” said Mark Reese. “It was an honor for me to translate Abdulla Qodiriy’s novel “O’tkan kunlar”into English - a work that has no analogues in Central Asia and world literature.”

According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan, copies of the translation of the book are distributed among US government officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps, leading US universities. The novel is also registered in the largest library and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States - the Library of Congress.

As a result of the presentation, an agreement was reached with Mark Reese on organizing the presentation of the book “Bygone days” (“O’tkan kunlar”) in Uzbekistan in the spring of 2020 in its translation into English, as well as on discussing the project to translate the novel by Abdulla Qodiriy “Mehrobdan chayon” ("Scorpio from the Altar").