At the Al-Farabi Library, a presentation of the book “The Travels of Marco Polo” was held. The book was translated from Italian into Kazakh as part of a joint project by scholars of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
The publication represents the first-ever direct translation into Kazakh from the 1559 Venetian edition prepared by Giovanni Battista Ramusio and written in medieval Italian.
The translator is KazNU alumna and postdoctoral researcher at Ca’ Foscari University, Raima Aueskhan.
The presentation ceremony was attended by Ca’ Foscari Vice-Rector Antonio Marcomini, Professor Elisabetta Ragagnin, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of KazNU A.K. Galeeva, Head of the Department of Turkology and Language Theory, Doctor of Philology, Professor R.A. Avakova, as well as scholars, doctoral candidates, master’s students, and undergraduate students of the Faculty of Philology.
The event also featured research professors from the A. Baitursynuly Institute of Linguistics and Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, who shared their views on the translation of the famous traveler Marco Polo’s book and wished the translator further creative success.
As part of the event, a book exhibition dedicated to Italy was organized from the collection of the Al-Farabi Library. The exhibition featured publications reflecting the country’s language, culture, and literary heritage.
Five copies of the presented book were donated to the library’s collection. This edition will become a valuable scholarly resource for philologists, orientalists, historians, and geographers.
