The papers included in this book cover a wide range of topics, but at the same time are representative of only a fraction of the Professor Tadeusz Majda scholarly interests. We decided to select articles from three research areas: the language, literature, and culture of Turks, and thus regretfully exclude the field closest to his heart: Turkish and Islamic art. However, since it is not possible to separate art from a culture completely, some papers that can be found in the third part of this volume reflect, albeit to a very limited extent, the Professor’s valuable contribution to this discipline. This publication is aimed to provide valuable substantial support for students and lecturers of not only Turkish, but also Arabic and Iranian Studies. Serving as an auxiliary textbook for classes and seminars on Turkish and Oriental literature, language, and culture, and also on the history and development of Turkic and Oriental studies, it will help students to broaden their knowledge of particular topics.
This volume is also a tribute to the Professor on his 90th birthday, which unfortunately we were unable to celebrate in 2020 due to the pandemic. It also marks the 70th anniversary of his appointment in 1951 – at the suggestion of his high-school teachers – to the Department of Turkology at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Warsaw University – the first step he took in his long and a brilliant academic career.