THE GREAT SILK ROAD AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION BETWEEN CIVILIZATIONS AND ITS PLACE IN THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE TURKIC PEOPLES

The Great Silk Road (GSR), a means of trade, ethnic and cultural relations, has an important place in the history of the two great civilizations on the Eurasian continent - Western and Eastern civilizations. GSR has connected Eastern and Western cultures for tens of centuries. GSR served to development of science, technique, technologies, international and interregional relations and exchange of cultural values on the mainland. GSR was created in the 3rd century BC and was in force until the 16th century AD. During the 17th century, the nations located on the 18,000-kilometer-long Great Silk Road played a major role in spreading new knowledge, religions, and writings to the world, in the interaction of different languages and cultures, and in the ethnic relations of peoples. The Great Silk Road passed through the territories inhabited by more than 100 peoples, representatives of many races, peoples and countries participated in the trade and economic relations carried out on this road for centuries. But among them, the ancestors of the peoples who lived in Central Asia -peoples with Turkic origins, a special role. For this reason, the location in the center of GSR has left its traces in the formation of the history, ethnopsychology, culture, languages, religious beliefs and traditions of peoples this region. It is known that the loss of importance of the Great Silk Road in the Middle Ages led to the disconnection of many countries located in the center of Eurasia from universal connections and falling into the clutches of world imperialism as a result of their backwardness in development. In our days, when humanity has entered the new world order and the era of globalization in its development, the beginning of the restoration of this ancient way of dialogue and cooperation between civilizations with the initiative of the People’s Republic of China “One Belt and One Road” is not at all accidental, because humanity is based on equal cooperation. The demand for this project is increasing. Early implementation of the “One Belt and One Road” initiative will contribute to the economic well-being of the countries along the Silk Road and economic cooperation in the region, cooperation and relations between different civilizations, and peaceful development on our planet, the “One Belt and One Road” project is a huge step taken for the well-being of all countries of the World. The Turkic peoples must find their rightful place in the new Silk Road and be a bridge again between East and West, as they have been for centuries.