DASHT-I-KIPCHAK. SECRET SIGNS, KAZAKHSTAN, 49 MIN., 2016

Directed: Bakhyt Kairbekov
Alexey Kamensky
Made to commemorate the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, the film deals with Kipchak literature and culture. The first part of the film tells the history of the Kipchak language, the progenitor of most Turkic languages, which was spoken 700 years ago by those living between the Altai to the Danube. It was also spoken in Egypt, once ruled by the Kipchaks headed by Sultan Baybars. The second part is devoted to Codex Cumanicus, which means The Book of Kipchak, the unique book that was presented to Venice Library by the outstanding Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca in 1362. Today the Codex is kept in St. Mark Cathedral in Venice. Codex Cumanicus is an important written source of Kuman (or
old Kipchak) language of the early 14th century containing precious material for both linguistic experts and historians.