Kyrgyz author and diplomat Chinghiz Aitmatov will be commemorated on his 88th birthday with a special event at the Topkapı Turkic World in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu district on Dec. 14.

The event, titled "The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years," will be jointly organized by the Consulate General of Kyrgyzstan in Istanbul, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's cultural enterprise Kültür A.Ş. and Kyrgyzstan Association of Friendship. The program will begin at 2:00 p.m. with a documentary on Aitmatov's life.

Kyrgyz ambassador İbragim Junusov, General Manager of Kültür A.Ş. Nevzat Kütük and Turkey's honorary consul to Kyrgyzstan Mustafa Kurt, along with scholars known for their academic research on Kyrgyz people and culture, including Assistant Professor at Beykent Univeristy Muzaffer Ürekli, the General Manager of Chinghiz Aitmatov Turkic World Application and Research and Assistant Professor Cıldız Ismailova will address the event.

"The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years" event will discuss Aitmatov's life, personality, political identity, his works and influence. Alongside the event, a painting exhibition will also be held and the participants will be offered traditional Turkestan rice at the end of the event.

Chinghiz Aitmatov was born on Dec. 12, 1928 in Talas which is located in modern day Kyrgyzstan. He began work at a very young age because of World War II and continued his education on veterinary medicine and agriculture.

He later enrolled to the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow. His books have been translated in many languages around the world. Aitmatov represented the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation as an ambassador between 1990 and 1994 and later the Republic of Kyrgyzstan until 2008.

Aitmatov is the author of "Red Scarf," which was adapted for the screen by legendary Turkish director Atıf Yılmaz in 1977 as "The Girl with the Red Scarf." He died of renal failure in Germany's Nuremberg on June 10, 2008.