The act of twinning was signed in a place sacred to the Greek people – in front of the Temple of Hera, where in ancient times the disk of Iphitus with the rules of the Olympic Games was kept, and in modern times a solemn ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame is held every 2 years.
Signing of a twinning agreement between the city of Taraz and Ancient Olympia
The next Olympic torch relay for the Paris 2024 Olympics will start at Ancient Olympia on April 16, 2024, where French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach are expected to attend.
Orynbekov noted that establishing cooperation with the new partner city will allow intensifying exchange in the fields of culture, sports, tourism, science and education in order to create favorable conditions for the mutual development of the two cities.
Mayor of Ancient Olympia Georgios Georgiopoulos
In turn, Georgiopoulos emphasized that Ancient Olympia is glad to unite through bonds of friendship and brotherhood with Taraz, a city with a history that goes back 2000 years and is a place of contact between the peoples and cultures of East and West.
During the meeting with representatives of the business community of the Greek region of Ilia, an agreement was reached on strengthening economic ties and developing relations between the regions and the business circles of the two countries.
Ancient Olympia is famous not only for its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but also for the fact that it is home to the International Olympic Academy, which is the main educational and cultural institution of the International Olympic Committee.
Speech by the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Greece Erlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev at the ceremony of signing the twinning agreement.
The establishment of sister city relations between Taraz and Ancient Olympia was initiated by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Greece and the Kazakh-Greek Business Council with the aim of developing interregional cooperation. The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Greece Erlan Baudarbek-Kozhataev, co-chairs of the Kazakh-Greek Business Council Zhaksybek Kulekeev and Thomas Lamnidis, President of the International Olympic Academy Isidoros Kouvelos, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Crete Spiridon Zannias.
It is noted that the greatest sports competitions of ancient times, the Olympic Games, originated and took place in Olympia in the period from 776 BC. to 393 AD Currently, the city is one of the iconic places of international tourism, which receives about 600 thousand tourists a year from all over the world.
Taraz is the oldest city in Kazakhstan with a rich history. It is called the cultural capital of Kazakhstan, the cradle of Islam in the country. This is a monument city, the historical value of which is complemented by a park museum. In 2023, Taraz will turn 2021. Residents celebrated the city’s 2000th anniversary on September 26, 2002. The age of Taraz is officially recognized by UNESCO, the city akimat notes.
The settlement of Taraz on the banks of the Talas River was founded by the Usun and Saka tribes in the 4th-5th centuries. BC e. In the 1st century BC. e. The Wusuns were joined by Zhizhi, the son of the Shanyu Xuiliu-Quanqu, who did not want to submit to China. He founded the Taraz fortress and made it the capital of the Western Xiongnu.
Taraz (Tholosa) was first mentioned in Greek written sources in 400. The northern branch of the Great Silk Road passed through it. It left Almalyk, the capital of Mogolistan, to the city of Yasy (the modern city of Turkestan) and descended along the Syr River (Syr Darya). Trade contributed to the development of crafts and culture in the city.
Why was Taraz known as a city of merchants? This is what eyewitnesses call Taraz in written sources. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who passed through Taraz in 485, noted a large number of merchants from different countries in the city. Oriental authors of the 8th-10th centuries call Taraz a city of merchants. Goods from all over the world were sold at its bazaars, writes archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences Karl Baipakov in the book “Ancient Cities of Kazakhstan”.
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