Ambassador of Pakistan speaking at live programme of TRT
Ambassador of Pakistan speaking at live programme of TRT TURK regarding Pakistan Week - YouTube
Can I get a translation of this interview?
Here is the English translation of the video. The additions in the parentheses are mine.
HOST: welcome to our program, Mr. Ambassador.
Mr.A: Thank you very much.
HOST: Before I go into culture week, I would like to talk with you in Turkish for a bit. You speak Turkish very well.
Mr.A: I speak a little.
HOST: After you had worked in Turkey between 1982 and 1986, you have been the ambassador to Turkey for six months, representing your country. How are you, did you get used to Turkey?
Mr.A: This is a great honour, being Pakistan's ambassador to Turkey. As you know, the relations between Pakistan and Turkey are very special, unique and excellent. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for us, joining the (culture) week in Turkey. Actually, we want to show our love and respect to Turkish public and we want our billateral relations to be stronger.
HOST: You have been in Turkey with your wife for six months. When you first come to Turkey (after 1986), have you had any difficulties?
Mr.A: No, Turkey is our second home. Everybody greeted us very warmly and made us feel like we were in our own homes. Our job is easy because Pakistani embassy's doors are open to (Turkish) public but there are a lot of challenges, too. Because we want to strengthen our realtions with Turkey faster than ever. Therefore, we work days and nights.
HOST: As you said earlier, political relations (with Pakistan) are really in an excellent level. And cultural realtions will be tighter, thanks to this (culture) week arranged by you. What are we going to see about Pakistani culture?
Mr.A: This is going to be the first event of such, in the mutual history of Pakistan and Turkey. We are going to start showing historical photos in 19th March. We found some photos in our embassy.
HOST: Photos about Turkey-Pakistan relations?
Mr.A: Yes, these are very very historical and very important photos from the times of old. We prepared them with the great help of your foreign ministry. We are going to open the exhibition with the undersecretary of Turkish Foreign Ministry in 19th March. And then, we will have a national reception in 23rd March before starting the culture week. We will have dinner every evening, where you can taste Pakistani food.
HOST: We can talk in English, now. I think you'll be to explain more easily what you want to say in English. (
)
--English part
Mr.A: We are going to do a number of things simultaneously. We will have food week, we will have culture week. It will happen in SwissOtel and Panora Shopping Mall. In Panora we will present one of our arts, we will show a bus for a public display
HOST: What is this bus?
Mr.A: This is a normal bus, but really painted tradationally. In Pakistan, there is an art of painting buses. This make (our) people very happy. And we have choosen a shopping mall for reaching Turkish public more easily. In one of nights this (culture) week, we will have a culture night, which will take place in SwissOtel. Religious mystic (sufi) musicians will be there. Fareed Ayaz Qawwal will be there, playing the sufi works of Iqbal (Muhammad Iqbal), a Pakistani poet, and Mawlana(Mawlana Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī
, a Turkish Great sufi for 45 minutes and there will be a professional fashion show. Fashion designers and choreographer will come (to Turkey) from Pakistan and this will a very fascinating show for Turkish public. Very traditional, very eye-catching dresses will be shown there. Moreover, there will be table which we call Chef's Table, in which we will exhibit what Pakistani foods are.
HOST: Could you please tell us what the best Pakistani food is?
Mr.A: We make a food from rice but this rice is very different than the rice in Turkey. We have a food made of rice, meat and spices. This is a very special food. And again we have something similar to Turkish barbecue culture but we eat much spicier food, we have different spices. We love Turkish food generally and I am sure Turkish people will love Pakistani food.
HOST: And what Turkish food do prefer the most?
Mr.A: I love old Ottoman foods. Grill, barbecue. Fish, meat etc..
HOST: Let's talk about the fashion show. Are they going to be showing us traditional clothes or modern Pakistani clothes.
Mr.A: As you know, fashion designer don't show their designs beforehand.
HOST: It will be a surprise for you, too.
Mr.A: Yes, it will. But it will be very good because they know their jobs very well. And lastly, we will rent at least 35-40 billboards to show very big Pakistani-Turkish friendship posters in Ankara. This will last for two weeks.
HOST: Especially, you talked about the truck and bus painting. Are the all truck and buses in Pakistan this colorful?
Mr.A: Yes. If you seach in internet a little bit, you can see that. This is very interesting. After Ankara, in 3rd April we will some events in Istanbul but our aim is whole Turkey.
HOST: You want to go to all the cities of Turkey.
Mr.A: Yes, but this can be done with your help, media will help us. Because it is not feasible for us to go to all the cities in Turkey, it will ve very expensive.
HOST: As you said, Turkish Foreign Ministry is doing their best to help you. And we will be very happy to learn Pakistani culture in whole Turkey. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador.
Mr.A: Thank you, hope to see you next week in our exhibition.
