NEWS

Unique Specimen of Turk­men Archi­tectu­re

The eas­tern re­gion of the count­ry abounds with ancient mo­nu­ments that have come down to us. This pri­ma­ri­ly re­fers to the Ka­ra­be­kaul his­to­rical and cul­tu­ral oa­sis located in the heart of the velayat. The­re, 21 ancient buil­dings stand in a re­la­tively small area along the banks of the Amu­da­rya River. The Sol­tan­niyaz­beg fort­ress ta­kes a special place among them. It is located 63 ki­lo­met­res from Turk­me­na­bat. It is not visib­le from a dis­tance, and on­ly when the car climbs the hill, nu­me­rous ruins of various sha­pe and si­ze will ap­pear to the left of the ro­ad. Ancient archi­tects did not choo­se the place of const­ructi­on by chance: a wi­de view from the hill al­lo­wed the in­ha­bi­tants a cen­tu­ry ago to see the app­roaching ene­mies and to pre­pa­re to de­fend the fort­ress. In his scien­ti­fic work Ancient Le­bap, the re­now­ned re­searcher of the his­to­ry of the eas­tern velayat Al­bert Burk­ha­nov wri­tes that the peop­le of the Er­sa­ry tri­be be­gan to sett­le on the banks of the midd­le reaches of the Amu­da­rya River in the 16th cen­tu­ry. They we­re cha­racte­ri­sed by a dis­per­sed sett­le­ment and the const­ructi­on of lar­ge fort­res­ses. As a ru­le, they used the re­mains of the Kus­han ancient and me­dieval sett­le­ments fo

11 March 2022

Heritage

Respect for our national values

Only a healthy person can think comprehensively. Achievements in science, education and sports demonstrate that the minds of the Turkmen youth are healthy and perfect. The subject and Internet Olympiads, creative competitions, the national and international sports tournaments are important events that improve the skills of the Turkmen youth on the path to perfection. These competitions help to discover new talents each year. The President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has recently visited the Ahalteke Equestrian Complex of the President of Turkmenistan. At the venue, the Turkmen leader watched the ‘heavenly’ horses and engaged in creative writing. The President of Turkmenistan noted that, as they say ‘At – myrat’ (‘Horse – purpose’), and the art of horse breeding is enriched. The Turkmen leader emphasized that special significance is attached to the ‘heavenly’ horses and their purity, and expressed his gratitude to horse breeders for their great work.

4 March 2022

Heritage

Pre­serving the Ma­nuscript He­ri­ta­ge of Py­ra­gy

Spea­king at the 8th Sum­mit of the Coo­pe­ra­tion Council of Tur­kic-Spea­king Sta­tes on Novem­ber 12, 2021, Pre­si­dent Gurbanguly Ber­di­mu­ha­me­dov no­ted, “The outs­tan­ding rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the Tur­kic peop­les are Mag­tym­gu­ly Py­ra­gy, Yu­nus Em­re, Mu­ham­mad Fi­zu­li, Abay, Yu­suf Ba­la­sa­gu­ni and Mu­ham­mad Ulugh Beg, who­se works con­ti­nue to ins­pi­re us to achieve new heights. Facing se­rious chal­len­ges to­day, we are gui­ded by the his­to­rical le­gacy of the great sta­tes­men and scho­lars of our fra­ter­nal peop­les, who bequeat­hed the im­pe­ris­hab­le princip­les of hu­ma­nism, go­od neigh­bour­li­ness and uni­ty.” To­day, the li­fe dicta­tes the ne­ed for the in-depth stu­dy of the his­to­ry and cul­tu­re of the na­tion, its tra­di­tions and cus­toms. The re­search is ba­sed pri­ma­ri­ly on writ­ten mo­nu­ments. All writ­ten mo­nu­ments rep­re­sent a col­lecti­on of various documents and records, which al­low in ma­ny as­pects recrea­ting the pa­let­te of the cul­tu­ral li­fe of the Turk­men peop­le over the cen­tu­ries. The Turk­men bo­ok cul­tu­re develo­ped in the con­di­tions that we­re com­mon and clo­se for ma­ny peop­les of the Cent­ral Asian re­gion. The­re­fo­re, the stu­dy of the mo­nu­ments of T

25 February 2022

Heritage

Ceramic Calligraphy

Calligraphy (from Greek – the art of beautiful handwriting) – an ancient branch of applied graphics, the aesthetic design of a handwritten font is very popular among the many trends of Islamic arts. Calligraphy occupies a special place in the art of Islam. It came from the copying of the Holy Qur’an and began to flourish at the earliest stages of Islamic history. Soon the letters turned into decorative ones, and an angular pictographic form, which resembles the simplified types of hieroglyphs, developed. This form of writing was called Kufi (after the city of Kufi in Iran) and continued to be used for five centuries after the rise of Islam. In addition, it was used to write the titles of manuscripts and their sections. At first, the Arabs used the Hijazi script, which retained cuneiform writing with right angles. Gradually, new handwritings began to develop, most of which were variants of the “magnificent six” calligraphic scripts recognised as canonical. These Are Naskh, Muhaqqaq, Suls, Riqah, Rayhani and Tauqi. Each script was used in a certain area.

11 February 2022

Heritage

The national pride of the people

Our people have always had deep respect for the national values and heritage of ancestors. As is known, this respect has been enhanced in the epoch of might and happiness. Impressive work is underway to preserve and promote our national values under the wise leadership of the President of Turkmenistan, and to create wonderful conditions for the selecting and breeding of thoroughbred Turkmen alabays. The Türkmen alabaý itleri Association was established on May 7, 2020 on the initiative and thanks to support of the Turkmen leader. This fact demonstrated great state concern for the alabays, which represent an example of courage, faithfulness and bravery, and for the traditions of the national school of dog breeding, selecting and raising to be passed down to the future generations.

4 February 2022

Heritage

Our national pride

The sayings related to heritage and happiness, namely, ‘horse is heritage’, ‘dog comes with happiness’, ‘dog is happiness’, prove that the Turkmen people saw their heritage and happiness in horses and alabays. The origin, bravery, sensitivity, courage, wisdom of alabays, which are considered loyal friends and companions, as well as many historical facts prove that these dogs are very ancient and faithful. These facts are reflected in historical sources and provoke love of the Turkmen youth. Archaeological findings on the territory of Turkmenistan, namely, in Altyndepe, Gonurdepe, Nisa, and Dandanakan (60 km from Ancient Merv), confirm that alabay is one of the oldest breeds of dogs. To date, impressive work is underway to cherish the values of the Turkmen people that have been perfected for millennia and to pass them down to the future generations thanks to the concern of the President of Turkmenistan in the epoch of might and happiness.

28 January 2022

Heritage

Alabay is our national pride

On January 7, 2022, the President of Turkmenistan held the first online meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers to discuss priority issues related to different sectors of the national economy. The scientific study of the national designs that glorify the Turkmen alabays was among the issues discussed at the meeting. To date, impressive work is underway in the museums of our country on the preservation, study and promotion of the ancient arts of the Turkmen people, as well as the specimens of carpets and felt mats with ancient gyols (patterns), such as ‘It ýatak’, ‘Tazy guýruk’, ‘Güjük yzy’ dated back to the 19th-20th centuries. As was noted, the results of the work will enhance the international prestige of the Turkmen alabay. The national features of training and breeding of the Turkmen alabays will supplement the information prepared to be included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The President of Turkmenistan emphasized the importance of the study and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the Turkmen people and instructed to include this area of study in the curriculum of the institutions of higher education, particularly of those, which study the humanities, and to attract both scientists and members of the Milli Gengesh to the work on protection of this heritage.

21 January 2022

Heritage

Mysteries of medieval city

The heritage of our people is an integral part of the world cultural heritage, therefore, the deep study and wide popularisation of the monuments of the material and spiritual culture of the Turkmen people are in the focus of the attention of the President of Turkmenistan. There were many large settlements in the medieval Merv oasis, and many of them were located along the caravan routes connecting Merv with Nisa, Khwarezm, Amul, Sarahs and Merverud. Historical and geographical writings of the medieval East tell about cities and settlements such as Faz, Jirendj, Mehdiabad, Yahyaabad, Karineyn, Asadabad, Laukar, Hauzan and al-Ahnaf. The road from Merv to Merverud was part of a large route that went further to cities and countries that existed in the territory of modern states of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

7 January 2022

Heritage

Abu Sayid Mehneyi, or Mane-baba

The ancient lands of Turkmenistan abound with the famous personalities – ascetics, prominent figures of their times. One of them is the spiritual mentor Abu Sayid Mehneyi, called Meana Baba. His mausoleum, an architectural monument of the 11th century, not only is known as a specimen of medieval architecture, but also is visited frequently. He was born in 967 in the territory of modern Turkmenistan near Meana village (Mane in Turkmen) in the Kaahka etrap, Ahal velayat, 45 km south-east of the present-day Dushak railway station. In the Middle Ages, that area was called Havaran Sahrasy or Desht-i-Havaran – Havaran steppe. About a thousand years ago, there was a city of Mehne, known as the birthplace of many scientists and poets who bore the prefix to their own name “mehneyi”, which means “born in Mehne”, near the Meana village. The most famous of them was Abu Sayid Mehneyi, an elder of the Khorasan school of mysticism. His full name is Fadlullah bin Abul Khair. His father Abul Khair was an expert in medicinal herbs, imparted pharmaceutical knowledge and practice to his son. Abu Sayid studied for many years in Merv and then in Serahs, where he studied law and interpretation of the scriptures. At that time, he lived in seclusion, indulging in strict ascetic and mystical exercises. In subsequent years, he practiced in Nishapur, Amul, Mehne and Abiverd and often sang, and

7 January 2022

Heritage

Carpet Traditions of the Coastal Region

The variety and perfection of Turkmen matting carpets is a result of centuries of creative invention and selection of the most perfect artistic means and the talent of folk craftswomen. In such carpets, dark, brown-red and red-brown tones prevail, and the ornament and colour range differ depending on the traditions of different regions of the country, where their own unique foundations have been accumulated, amazing motives and performance characteristics have been concentrated, and schools that support their original trends and distinctive features of carpet weaving, including techniques for making patterns, have been formed. These skills have survived to nowadays and can be seen in the works of carpet weavers – our contemporaries. It is all the more interesting for specialists to see mutual influence or, on the contrary, adherence to purely local foundations of carpet weaving. There are peculiarities of such art on the Caspian coast in the western part of the country. In cultural studies, “coastal” carpets are called Yomud from the late 19th-early 20th centuries. This area of the Turkmen carpet is an integral part of ancient folk art and is important for the study of their production, the continuation and development of local traditions in the modern look of the Turkmen carpet. Today, an extensive collection of such items are among the exhibits of the Main Museum of Tu

31 December 2021

Heritage