On September 8, 2025, the Faculty of Oriental Studies hosted a calligraphy master class for undergraduate students of Arabic Studies. The workshop was led by Asylbek Orynbasar — the first and so far the only calligrapher in Central Asia to receive a license (ijazah) from renowned Turkish experts in Islamic calligraphy.
Asylbek Orynbasar shared with the students his personal journey in mastering this art and offered advice to help them better understand and appreciate its subtleties. The students had the opportunity to gain a closer insight into the art of calligraphy and to learn about the styles that are practiced today. At the end of the session, the master presented the participants with special bamboo pens and created personalized inscriptions for them in the popular naskh and diwani styles. The students showed great interest in calligraphy and expressed their desire to continue pursuing it.
It is worth noting that the artistic work of Asylbek Orynbasar, a student of such renowned Turkish calligraphers as Hasan Çelebi, Mümtaz Seçkin Durdu, Ferhat Kurlu, and Ahmet Koçak, is followed with great interest not only in Kazakhstan but also in the United Kingdom, Russia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. In 2022, he was awarded a license in calligraphy technique at the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in Istanbul.
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