The Turkish House in New York City / Turkish Consulate of New York hosted the movie screening of a docu--drama "The Legend of Khari Bulbul" by Swedish photographer and filmmaker Mikael Silkeberg.

The story is about the rose and the nightingale, a central part of the folklore of  Azerbaijan, adapted by Hans Christian Anderson and made world famous. 

Mikael Silkenberg grew up with the Anderson stories and when he was on assignment to cover the recently liberated territories of Azerbaijan, he discovered the origin of this internationally known story. The film explores the connection between the folkloric heritage of Azerbaijan and Scandinavia. 

The film focuses on Azerbaijani literature and the “art” music known as mugham, which combines poetry with traditional Azerbaijani singing.

 Speaking at the presentation, Mr. Silkenberg talked about the filming process, his experiences visiting Shusha, Fuzuli, and Aghdam, taking photos, his lifelong interest in oriental folklore, and his visits to Turkiye.  He expressed his gratitude to those who supported the making of the film and those who attended the film screening.

Jeffrey Werbock, musician and chairman of the Mugham Society of America, introduced Mr. Silkeberg, related his experiences learning about Azerbaijan, and expressed his feelings for Azerbaijan, known as a peace loving and culturally rich nation.

Kharibulbul, the orchid of the Caucasus, is a rare endemic flower which grow only in the outskirts of Shusha, Azerbaijan. If you look at the flower closely, you can easily see three petals spreading in three different directions. Two of them are like wings, and the third one in the middle is shaped like a bird’s head.  This is the source of the legend of the origin of this unique flower, only able to proliferate in this region, nowhere else.

Our profound gratitude to Consulate General Ozgur, for opening the doors of the beautiful Turkish House to our community and Ambassador Yashar Aliyev for helping us with the film screening. We also express our gratitude to Mr. Mikael Silkenberg and Mr. Jeffrey Werbock for the presentation.