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Founder: The Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan
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Articles

HISTORY OF NATIONAL OREO COOKIE DAY

America celebrates its very special day – National Oreo Cookie Day on March 6 every year. They love a good cookie. And good cookies stem from the classics.  In fact, one of our absolute favorites is a timeless classic: the Oreo. With crisp chocolate cookies and creamy filling, these little cookies have captured our hearts and our stomachs. The Oreo was first introduced in 1912 and it has been the best-selling cookie in America ever since. We love to dunk them, twist them, and straight up take a bite. Here’’s to the delicious Oreo! The late Sam J. Porcello, a former Nabisco food scientist, is known for his work in terms of the modern Oreo cookie, which has been a creamy favorite snack for decades. This cookie creation is without a doubt one of his most notable achievements in his 34 years at Nabisco. And frankly, we believe that life has been sweeter ever since, since we at National Today just cannot get enough! The Oreo cookie is nearly 108 years old, and is enjoyed by cookie lovers of all ages across the globe.

31 March 2023

The secret of ancient Nisa

On the political map of the ancient world, the historical province called Parthia was located in South Turkmenistan. The Great Parthian kingdom was later formed on its basis. This state later consolidated a large geographical area and competed with Ancient Rome. Parthia is known to have had different capital cities at different times. But Nisaya has always been Parthia's «sallanchag» - the city where the state was founded, its spiritual and historical capital. It was one of the most powerful states that shook the ancient world. It was founded in Parthia, one of the satrapies (provinces) of the Seleucid State in 247 BC by Arsak I, the head of the Parn tribe and his brother Tridatus. Parthia lived for almost 500 years and it fell in 224 AD and disappeared from the scene of history. Over the centuries, information about him has faded. According to this, there are different views in science about the foundation of Parthia, the exact dates of its origin and trial, and the origin of the Arsaki dynasty.

25 March 2023

Sultan of saints

When we think about the city of Koneurgench, the capital of the state whose reputation once spread to seven continents, we realize that in the past, Koneurgench was a great cultural centre of Oghuz Turkmens, a flourishing place of science, culture, and art. This land is a holy land that gave birth to great thinkers, world-famous scientists, masters, and poets. The great buildings of the past! The mysterious pages of history tell many strange and mysterious stories about those buildings. Those stories about the great buildings of the ancient Koneurgench, the information that looks like fairy tales compared to today's view, correspond to the time when the fiery heels of fierce enemies did not yet tread on this land. In fact, they are cited not only in the memoirs of one or two historians, but in many books.

27 January 2023

Turkmen school of painting in the 15th century

As it has been shown in the book «Turkmenistan — the Heart of the Great Silk Road» (Ashgabat, 2017) by our Hero Arkadag, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov the roots of the Turkmen culture go back to the ancient times. The book gives the historical materials and books written about the art and cultural traditions of the Turkmen people. Among them «The Book» of Marco Polo (1254-1324) tells about the ornaments designed by the Turkmen women, their decorations, famous Turkmen carpets, their designs which are striking evidence of the existence of the Turkmen art of painting since the ancient times. The pictures of animals, birds, plants depicted on the Turkmen carpets, charms and decorations show aspirations of their creators, quest for perfection since the ancient times. The Islamic religion founded by Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century militated against the pre-Islamic tradition of making figures and depicting the living beings. Once I asked my grandfather the reason for this, he said: «There is a popular belief that if you draw a picture, then those beings depicted in the picture will ask you on doomsday, in that eternal world, to make them alive and give them souls, but you cannot make them alive, because everything is in the hands of the Almighty Allah». It is evident that such beliefs are closely connected with Muslim traditions.

4 December 2022

Bright Symbols of the Turkic World

The decision of the International Organisation of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) to declare 2024 the Year of the Great Poet and Thinker of the Turkic World – Magtymguly Pyragy and the ancient Turkmen town of Anau the cultural capital of the Turkic world 2024 raises pride in our country and leaves none of citizens of Turkmenistan indifferent. Today, centuries later, the poetic lines of the great son of the Turkmen people, calling for love of the Motherland, unity and brotherhood, remain relevant and echo in every heart. Magtymguly Pyragy!..There is, perhaps, no more famous and more honourable name among the Turkmen people. It is difficult to find another poet in the history of Turkmen literature, whose work has not rolled off the lips for three centuries, whose poetry served as the same exact and accurate expression of the aspirations of every Turkmen.

25 November 2022

Kyarizes

Demonstrating amazing ingenuity and resourcefulness, the Turkmen people learned to extract life-giving moisture from the bowels of the earth in ancient times. This is illustrated by kyarizes – ancient hydraulic structures, which represent a system of wells connected by underground galleries. Though some of the surviving kyarizes are several centuries old, they continue to serve people by collecting and bringing groundwater to the earth’s surface. These man-made sources of water have served man for thousands of years. Today, in the period of the Revival of the New Era of the Powerful State, specialists of the Bäherdenagyzsuw Directorate conduct maintenance, repair and improvement work at the kyarizes Garaja, Chopan, Hyuntyush, Dov, Garasuv, Han, Janabat, Kone Borme, Bami ata and Shih ata located at the foothills in the Baherden etrap, Ahal velayat. No one will probably ever know when the first kyariz was dug in the ancient Turkmen land, and the point is not in this, but in what an important role these facilities played in the life of our ancestors for thousands of years.

25 November 2022

From the History of the Potter’s Wheel

The notion of the potter’s wheel, craftsmen and their products is moving further away from us. There are no pottery workshops in modern cities, few of them can be found in rural areas, and ceramics has received new uses, turning into one of the decorative arts. A real ceramic article is rare; in everyday life it often serves as an interior decoration, an interior design element of office or administrative buildings. Meanwhile, the potter’s wheel that appeared 6,000 years ago has become a factor in progressive changes in the social life of the cultural and historical space, a leap forward for this craft and for humanity. Scientists believe that all the best, progressive and democratic in culture is reflected in ceramics. The reason is in its ethnicity and the traditionalism of this art, which is rooted in history. However, now we will talk about the tool used to make it – the potter’s wheel, one of the greatest inventions of humankind, the longest and most actively functioning technical phenomena. The displacement of hand-made moulding by this pottery tool happened historically quickly, which contributed to the division of labour and the transformation of the craft into a branch of production. In Central Asia, they began to use the potter’s wheel in the late III millennium BC, including the settlements of Southern Turkmenistan – Jeytun, Jebel and Chopan

7 October 2022

Gold of Margush

Archaeological finds made of precious metals always stir up interest and attract special attention of applied art connoisseurs and researchers, because these artefacts are unique specimens of artistic creativity of jewellers who lived thousands of years ago. Such, for example, are the worldwide and textbook-famous gold jewellery made by Egyptian, Greek or Scythian masters. In the historical part of the exhibition devoted to the kingdom of Margush, the State Museum of the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan presents jewellery pieces that vividly illustrate the highest metalworking skills of ancient goldsmiths. The discovery of the legendary Bronze Age kingdom in the delta of the Murghab River in the second half of the 20th century brought many new, amazing things extracted from under the sands, testifying to the flourishing of ceramic and metallurgical production, stone cutting and jeweller’s art in its settlements. Therefore, it became a global sensation and an outstanding achievement of Turkmen science, expanding knowledge about the historical past of Turkmenistan, whose territory is rightfully considered the fifth centre of world civilisation together with Egypt, China, India and Mesopotamia and significantly enriched the museum collection of our country. Today, the golden items from Margush – the “city of kings and gods” that laid in oblivion for 4,000 years, are t

1 July 2022

Ancient rock paintings depicting people on skis found in China

«7/24.tm», № 11 (94), 14.03.2022. The unusual rock paintings depicting people on skis have been discovered in Xinjiang Province of China. This archaeological finding is unique for the fact that Northern Europe is considered the birthplace of skiing. However, according to the latest research, the Chinese people could do skiing much earlier than they did in the west.

13 March 2022

The scientific account of the turkmen history

Writing perfect works connected with our glorious history, art the roots of which go back to ancient times, and about social life gives a good example to our people. We can see it on the example of the book «Turkmenistan — the Heart of the Great Silk Road» written by our esteemed President. In all the periods of the history our people looked upon the book with a special respect and love. They loved the book as the means of concentrating the spiritual-moral values of the people in it, immortalizing them. In the beginning of this wonderful work highly appreciating the book as the transforming power of the society our Hero Arkadag wrote: «The book is like the candle brought into the dark room. The historical books enlighten the darkness of the past. They satisfy the aspiration, desire of people to reach clarity, to find out the truth. That’s why the human generations admire the books and works with deep content. The book is the fruit of science, flower of culture. If books are published much, both science and culture will also flourish. If science flourishes, our history will flourish, the fates of the whole humanity will flourish, our present, future will turn into a flower garden».

22 November 2021

Altyndepe–is archeological heritage of dog upbringing experiences

In our country a lot of discoveries have been made about different periods, revealing valuable information about the historical traces of the Turkmen alabay and origins of national experiences in breeding them. Among them, the archeological heritage of the Altyndepe monument is of particular importance. Altyndepe historical civilization located in 3km east of Mane village in Kaka etrap of Ahal velayat. This civilization created among ancient Mane and Chache rivers, place where farming and animal domestication is prevailed. About this civilization Academic V.M. Masson mentions in his writing “Altyndepe” scientific monography about this civilization’s emergence, life standards and its prosper period. Starting from the second half of the 5th millennium BC near the Mane and Chache rivers farming, cultivation started by people. As result of it the largest settlements of antiquity Altyndepe and Yylgyndepe civilizations emerged. Archeological findings from Altyndepe does not only represent to our countries past, it is also very helpful to learn historical background of Central Asia countries. This is because of the fact that Altyndepe is one of the first places that used bronze metal in history. The introduction and use of bronze metal by the human race have caused a change in the development of world cultures. Therefore, the findings found about the first use of bronze metal in

18 October 2021

Archaeological Discovery Confirms…

Due to the special concern of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the revival, study and preservation of ancient traditions, the Turkmen people received an opportunity to study their history more deeply and comprehensively. Undoubtedly, national traditional games are part of the spiritual culture of the Turkmen people. Many sports appeared in ancient times. They have stood the test of time and survived to this day. This has been proven by the work of a number of researchers dealing with the history of sports and by archaeological excavation data from ancient settlements. Numerous finds, including dice ashyk, objects in the shape of a snake’s head for the board game pechiz and figurines of people and animals, some of which not only played the ritual and magical role, but also served as toys for children, were found at the monuments of the IV-II millennium BC (Altyn-Depe and Namazga-Depe) in Southern Turkmenistan and during archaeological excavations at the ancient Massaget mounds. An interesting object was discovered during archaeological excavations at one of the medieval monuments in the Serahs oasis – the site of ancient settlement Geok

10 September 2021

Sultanbent, a famous Monument of Ancient Merv

Many traces of man-made fortresses, buildings, different constructions have been preserved on the Turkmen land, as the signs of the hard work of our ancestors. There is much interesting information in historical written sources about some of them. Among these monuments, the most famous is Sultanbent, a special dam built on the banks across the Murgap River. According to written sources left by travellers, Sultanbent has more than a thousand years of history. Speaking about the Murgap River, Al-Maqdisi, the Arab geographer, who lived in the 10th century, wrote that its water was stored in one place until it was full and then the water went towards Merv. The Arab geographer wrote that about ten thousand people worked under the Emir's supervision over the river protecting people from water floods. It can be assumed that the place where the Arab geographer claims that the water overflowing near that dam is an ancient form of the present water structure of Sultanbent. Pointing to the idea that there where the water overflowed was a specially restored dam, Maqdisi himself wrote: «The Murgap River is blocked by very beautiful wooden dams about 6-7 kilometres from Merv. To control the water level, measurements were made on the board with a dotted line in the middle of the river. When the level of the water rises to the sixtieth line, it gave hope that the year would be fruitful. The

29 July 2021

Muhammet Bayram Khan, Turkmen Poet and a famous Statesman

Muhammet Bayram Khan the Turkmen (1501 — 1561) was a skilled poet, a famous statesman, a brave military commander, who embodied the true features of the Turkmen character and after the death of the emperor Babur in 1530 he became the adviser of the ruler Humayun. At that time he also took part in diplomatic missions and in battles as the brave general. Our esteemed President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov notes: «The poetic and philosophical unity of thoughts, multifaceted views on the glorification of humanity, the elevation of the human dignity are the main features of the poet's work. The literary heritage of Bayram Khan, which entered the universal poetic treasury as an ode to humanity, friendship, goodness and beauty, is our pride».

25 May 2021

Stamped ceramics of Merv

Large cities that grew up along the Great Silk Road were not only strategic hubs of transit trade, but also well-known centres of production of a wide variety of goods. For a long time, earthenware dishware that is so necessary in every home remained to be among the most used. It is not surprising that ceramic art reached perfection in medieval Turkmenistan. A special group of unglazed ceramics includes vessels with the entire surface ornamented in relief-stamped patterns and made using special matrices (galyb). They are found at the settlements of the 11th-13th centuries. The largest centre of production of such ceramic products was Merv. A vast quarter of ceramists was located in the vicinity of medieval Merv, behind the wall of the site of the ancient settlement of Sultan Gala, in the square of the former suburb, rabad. Thousands of furnaces operated there from the 11th till the early 13th century. Locally manufactured ceramic items – glazed and unglazed – include numerous fragments of high-quality stamped vessels. Ceramic products deformed during firing or damaged during manufacturing were found in mass quantities in the dumps of ceramic scrap; artisans broke them following the custom not to keep their failures. After thorough selection and restoration, the fragments helped recreate a large number of magnificent forms of dishware.

29 January 2021

The Man who found treasure in Ancient Times (From the collection of «Life stories»)

I have the book «The popular People of the 20th century» published in Russian in the beginning of 90-s of the 20th century in my hand. While I was looking through the pages of the book the article «The leading scientist of archaeology of Central Asia» attracted my attention. It was very strange and interesting biography. This personality had to overcome a number of difficulties and went through continents.

29 January 2021

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