The city of Anau was declared the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2024. The decision was made unanimously following the 39th Term Meeting of the Permanent Council of TURKSOY, which was held in Bursa (Türkiye). This status is awarded to ancient cities, the history of which is inextricably linked with the history of the formation of Turkic-speaking nations in the Age of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, to bind together the Turkic world with common cultural and artistic wealth, to strengthen unity, solidarity and brotherhood among the Turkic peoples and to promote culture and art of the Turkic world worldwide. Our correspondent talks with the Head of the National Directorate for the Protection, Study and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Monuments at the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan Muhammed Mamedov about what Anau and its surroundings are famous for.

NT: “There are not many places on the planet which have evidence shedding light on the crucial stages in the development of human civilisation. One of these places is the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains in Turkmenistan. There, the ancient settled agricultural area, known as the Anau civilisation, emerged in the northern foothill plain in the V-IV millennia BC. With unflagging interest, one archaeological expedition after another sieved through hundreds of cubic metres of soil to find unique and invaluable historical artefacts in the depth of cultural layers hidden from view for thousands of years. Traces of which civilisations are preserved in the monuments of Anau?”