Evidence of human life on the territory of present-day Turkmenistan started in the Paleolithic Era. Rock inscriptions can be seen in Jebel in the Krasnovodsk Peninsula, and various finds can be observed in the National Museum in Ashgabat. More extensive is the evidence of human settlements from the Neolithic and Eneolithic Eras: various sites in the foothills of the Kopetdag mountain range at Djeytun (near Ashgabat) and Anau (near Ashgabat) show evidence of early agricultural activity and village-like settlements.

For those with a special interest in visiting these sites please contact us directly.

The Bronze Age marked the beginning of several large oasis settlements with not only residential functions, but also ritual and burial sites, and with evidence of the existence of contacts with people from Indian, Bactrian and Mesopotamian civilizations. While remains of the Bronze Age settlement in Abiverd (near Kaahka) has largely been covered by settlements from later times, the oasis region of Margush at the previous Murghab river delta remains impressive evidence of the existence of a civilization that has recently been recognized as a fifth Bronze Age civilization next to Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. The civilization is referred to as the Bactrian-Margianian Civilization. Dozens of settlements from different time periods within the Bronze Age are spread around the territory where in ancient times the Murghab River flowed. Among these are Altyn Depe, Namazga Depe, Keleli, Togolok, and Ajikui.

In the late Bronze Age life in the Murghab delta oasis declined and over the next centuries concentration of habitation shifted – with the shifting of the Murghab River flow - towards the area we now refer to as Merw, a city that reached the peak of its fame under the Seljuk Empire in the 10th century.

The first recorded evidence of population settlements in the Merw area was found in the Behistun rock inscription in Iran which was created in the VI c. BC when most of present-day Turkmenistan was part of the Achaemenid Empire.

Merv under the name of Aleksandria Margiana (Erk Kala or Iskander Kala) was included in the area conquered by Alexander the Great and mentioned by a number of Hellenistic and Roman authors. The Seleucids, Alexander’s successors, founded the second city of Merv (IV c. BC), known today as Gyaur Kala, which experts identify with Antiochia Margiana.

The Seleucids and after them the Parthians and Sasanids developed Merv as administrative, cultural, trading and military center. After the battle of Carrhae thousands of Roman soldiers were sent to settle in Margiana. The Sassanid period was marked by religious tolerance and Sassanid Merv was a meeting point of many religions: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Manichaeism. Under the later Sassanid kings Merv was a seat of a Christian archbishopric.

The Moslem Arabs conquered Merv in 651. They moved the city slightly to the west of the original site and made it the capital of Khorasan province. Along with Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus, it became one of the most important centers of Islam. In those days’ silk was being cultivated in Merv. After having been ruled by Arab khalifs, Merw was occupied by several feudal dynasties, such as the Persian Samanids and Turkic Ghaznevids.

Merv’s greatest period of glory was under the rule of the Turkic Seljuks (XI-XII cc), who occupied Khorasan and defeated the Ghaznevids near Merv in 1040, establishing their regional eastern capital here. At this time Merv was called ‘The Jewel of the sands’, ‘the Queen of the east’, and Marw al- Shahijan ‘the Soul of Kings’.

The Great Seljuk Empire extended from China to Syria and from the Oxus to Arabia. The Seljuks founded a group of dynasties in Persia, Syria and Asia Minor and were responsible for the construction of monumental buildings, notable for their elaborate ornamental brickwork and stucco decorations. They encouraged the arts, all kind of sciences, literature, and architecture. Seljuk Merv was like a magnet to many celebrated scholars, poets and writers, who worked in its legendary libraries and observatory.  Among them was Yaqut al–Hanawi, who spent about three years in Merw collecting material for his geographical dictionary, and Omar Khayyam, who compiled his astronomical tables, the so-called Jalal al-Din Calendar, working in the Merv Observatory. 

The talent of Omar Khayyam flourished under Malik Shakh, who owed his reputation of being the greatest of the Seljuks’ sultans mostly to the wise government of his vizier Nizam ul-Mulk. In 1092 Malik Shakh died and the empire experienced a short period of instability. The high point of the Seljuk empire was under the rule of Sultan Sanjar (1118 - 1157) and his fame eclipsed even that of Malik Shakh. 

After the reign of Sultan Sanjar the power of the Seljuks began to wane. In 1221 the Mongols conquered Merv. They destroyed the city, burnt the libraries, demolished the dams and massacred the citizens. One chronicler estimated that 700,000 people were killed here. Merv never fully recovered from this disaster; however, the archeological excavations at Merv indicated that Merv was not completely abandoned after the Mongols.

In the early fifteenth century the descendants of Emir Timur (Tamerlane) re-built the dams and founded a new urban center. However, Merw never got back its previous status of fame, as Emir Timur made Samarkand the capital of the Timurid Empire.

In the 18th century Merv came under the rule of the emir of Bukhara and in the 19th century the emir of Khiva conquered it. However, the Turkmen Teke tribe drove out the troops of the emir in 1836 and remained in control of the area until the tsarist Russian armies annexed Merv in 1884.

Remains of an important residential-ritual complex at Nissa dating from the second half of the III c. BC indicate the presence at the territory of present-day Turkmenistan of settlements from the time of the rise of the Parthian Empire. 

The Parthian empire, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was the most enduring of the empires of the ancient Near East. A lot of information about the Parthian empire was taken from Roman and Chinese historical chronicles, whereas the Parthians left relatively little recorded references.

The first mention of Parthia we can find in Iran in the Behistun rock inscription by Dari Gistaspus. At that time Parthia was one of the satrapies of the Persian Achaemenid empire and later, after Alexander’s death – the Seleucids. In the middle of the 3d century B.C. a number of uprisings took place in Central Asia against the Hellenistic power and Parthia was the center of one of such uprisings. At the head of the biggest one was Arsaces I, who became the founder of the independent Parthian kingdom and the Arsacid dynasty.

Mithridates I of Parthia (r. c. 171–138 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han Dynasty in China, quickly became a center of trade and commerce.

The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures.

With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of central government shifted from Nissa, Turkmenistan to Ctesiphon along the Tigris (south of modern Baghdad, Iraq), although several other sites also served as capitals.

Rome always clashed with Parthia, in particular about the control over Armenia and the Levant, considering it as the main obstacle on the Great Silk Road. In 53 B.C. the Roman general Crassus invaded Parthia. At Carrhae Crassus was beheaded by the Parthians. The Roman army was defeated and Roman prisoners were sent to settle in Margiana.

However, the Romans launched a counterattack against Parthia and several Roman emperors invaded Mesopotamia during the Roman-Parthian Wars. However, frequent civil war between Parthian contenders to the throne proved more dangerous than foreign invasion, and Parthian power evaporated when Ardashir I, ruler of one of the Parthian vassal states, revolted against the Arsacids and killed their last ruler, Artabanus IV, in 224 AD. Ardashir established the Sassanid Empire, which ruled Iran and much of the Near East until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century AD, although the Arsacid dynasty lived on through the Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia.

Another great empire that developed at the territory of what is today Turkmenistan, is in the region that was then called Khorezm. Kunya (Kone) Urgench was the capital of the Khorezm Empire.

The city of Biruni and Avicenna, al Farabi and al Khorezmi was located on the caravan routes which lead to the Caspian Sea and Russia. The history of Kone Urgench is closely connected with the history of Khorezm, coming through several periods of flourishing and decays:

Khwarezm, Khorezm, Chorasmia, Hualazimo as it is named by Persians, Chinese, Greeks and Arabs in different ancient reference works, are all names of one important historical region along the Amu-Darya River. The prosperity of Khorezm was built on intensive agriculture, animal husbandry and trade.

Khorezm was subjected to the Achaemenid Empire for about two centuries, in the VI-V cc BC, Khorezmian stone was delivered to Persia for the construction of Achaemenid palaces. By the V-IV cc B.C. Khorezm became an independent region, at the head of which was a king or shah. His residence was at a palace at the left bank of the Amu Darya River.

After a short period of subjugation to the Kushan Empire Khorezm again became independent. The residence of Khorezm shah was moved to the right bank of the Amu-Darya: according to al-Biruni the citadel of Kath was constructed there in 304 BC.

Until the VII c, when the Arabs brought Islam into the Central Asian region, Khorezm maintained an authority of an independent country and experienced a mixed culture of religions - Zoroastrianism, Christianity, perhaps Judaism.  In the X c. Khorezm was incorporated in the Samanid Empire.

Under the Samanids Khorezm traded with the Khazaris that lived around the northern Caspian Coast and up the Volga River, and the variety of goods traded increased significantly.  Dried fruit, sweets, broadcloth, carpets, brocade, boats, bows, arrows, falcons, castor oil, fish teeth etc. were available at the bazaars of Gurgandj. The residence of Samanid governor Mamun was located in Gurgandj (on the left bank of the Amu Darya River), which appeared as the northern capital of Khorezm, whereas the successors of the local Khorezm dynasty continued to reside in Kath. In 995 Mamun, who received the ancient title of Khorezmshah, was able to unite Khorezm, and Gurgandj became the only capital of the new Khorezmian state.

In 1017 Khorezm was conquered by the Gaznevids. Then the Oguz Turks came. One of the first Oguz Turkic rulers, Alp Arslan, suppressed a local rebellion and Khorezm became one of the provinces of the Seljuk Empire. A new Anushtegin dynasty of Khorezmshahs was founded in the last years of the XI c. The founder of the new dynasty was Anush Tegin - an ex slave of the Seljuk emir, who obtained a high position under Malik Shakh, promoted himself and became a governor of Khorezm.

By the XII c. Khorezm obtained independence from the Seljuks and became the largest empire of the Middle East with its capital in Gurgandj. It stretched from Iraq in the west till India in the east, from the Aral Sea in the north till the Indian Ocean in the south. After the Mongol invasion the Empire collapsed and the capital was destroyed.

In the 15th c. Khorezm was controlled by the Khans of Golden Horde. At that time Khorezm became the wealthiest and culturally most developed province of the Golden Horde and Kone Urgench experienced its second flourishing.

Ibn Batuta, a contemporary of Kutlug Timur and Turabek Khanym, visited Kone Urgench in 1333 and described it as “very beautiful, majestic and of considerable size with large and rich bazaars, wide streets and a lot of impressive buildings”.

In 1395 the power of Golden Horde came to an end. After Tamerlane’s invasion the city was partly rebuilt, but abandoned when the Amu-Darya changed its course in the 16th century.

It is clear that by far the largest number of historical sites on the territory of Turkmenistan date from the times of the Hellenistic, Parthian, Khorezmian and Seljuk empires, that thrived with the development of the Great Silk Road. Here’s a piece of history about that famous Road:

The Great Silk Route, starting from the Chinese city of Ch’ang-an (modern-day Xi’an) and leading to the shores of the Mediterranean, spanning over Asia and Europe with a total length of 7,000 km, is history today. A history of more than 2,500 years. The formal starting date of the Silk Road is connected with the year 105 BC, when the Chinese arranged a fact-finding mission and started their trek to the west. Silk became the major commodity transported along this road. For centuries, Chinese kept the secret of its manufacture, banning to take silkworm eggs out of the country.

This route from China to the West, one of the greatest trading routes in the world, was named “die Seidenstrasse”, the Silk Road, by the 19th century German explorer Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen.

However, not only luxurious Chinese silk had been  traveling along this road but also a great number of raw materials such as bronze and cobalt, Chinese porcelain,  Venetian glass, Afghan jade, lapis lazuli and rubies, Iranian turquoise, tin and copper, Siberian furs, Arabian incense and perfumes, Indian cotton, heavenly horses, Mervian steel and melons, Egyptian papyrus and other luxuries, flowers and vegetables, moreover new thinking and ideas, arts, religions, modern technologies and other practical inventions. Some researchers suggest that the Parthian parchment inspired the Chinese to develop paper for writing, which replaced the previously used silk and bamboo.

The Silk Road was not a single road. It was an unparalleled and very complicated network of   routes. Its main branches skirted north and south of the Tarim basin across Central Asia and the Iranian plateau further to the west, meeting at Dunhuang at one end and Kashgar at the other. From Kashgar southbound traffic crossed the Karakoram; westbound the Tian Shan. From Sogdiana caravans could follow either the Oxus (Amu Darya) or the Jaxartes (Syr Darya), via Khorezm and its center of Kunya Urgench on the way to the Aral Sea and further to Russia.

But the more popular branch was a southern route, taking travelers from Dunhuang across the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert (‘to come in and never come out’), Kizilkum Desert (‘Red sands’) and Karakum Desert (‘Black sands’) to the west. The city of Bactra (the capital of the Bactria region; present-day Balkh in northern Afghanistan), which perhaps is not so familiar to modern-day travelers, was roughly in the center of the Silk Road and was also the gateway to India.

Bactra was one of the major centers of Buddhism in the time of the Kushan Empire; Buddhist influence can be found in the shape of a cave city called Ekedeshik on the Turkmen side of the border in the same geographical region.

From Bactra travelers went northwards via Serags or Mehne (present-day Meane), and Dandankan, and reached the key caravan city of Merw

Other travelers approached Merv from a northern route. Coming from Bukhara, after having crossed the Oxus (which was a very difficult affair) and having had a rest in Amul (the remains of which are still visible at the suburbs of modern-day Turkmenabat), they went southwards to Merv through the formidable Karakum Desert.

From Merw, some caravans cut straight across the Kopetdag Mountains on the way to Nishapur in present-day Iran, passing by Abiverd (located between Ashgabat and Merw at the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains in southern Turkmenistan), which in medieval times became even more prosperous than Nissa (at a similar location but close to present-day Ashgabat).

Others traveled via Dehistan (Misrian) to the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon (in present-day Iraq, and built in 129 BC). From the Iranian plateau travel went down into Mesopotamia via Dura-Europos (in present-day Syria), a city founded on the banks of the Euphrates by the Seleucids in 280 BC, and a flourishing Parthian stronghold in the first century BC.

From Dura caravans went northwest via Palmyra and Aleppo (Syria) to Antiochia and across the mountains and valleys of the western parts of modern-day Turkey all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.  In different periods of time different civilizations shaped the image of these vital trade routes. The fortunes of these civilizations rose and fell with the fate of the Silk Road.

So, many centuries have been passed since its decline, but today you have a chance to rediscover the Road, to recreate its atmosphere and perhaps to gain an experience similar to that of the hundreds of thousands of traders who traveled along the Great Silk Road since ancient times.

If you are interested in visiting both well-known and less known Silk Road sites, please contact us directly. We can offer a wide variety of itineraries that follow the lesser known, more difficult to reach yet fascinating monuments that are proud reminders of the Silk Road in Turkmenistan.

Turkmen adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, but also respect a wide variety of local traditions, customs and rituals. Ancient Islamic monuments such as mosques and mausoleums often serve as destination for a pilgrimage as well. Particularly mausoleums and graves of local respectables attract a constant flow of people praying for a wish, circling a grave or other monument of importance, tying pieces of cloth, placing little stone piles or leaving symbolic personal belongings behind, hoping for their wish to come true. The most popular destinations for pilgrimage in Turkmenistan include the graves of Gozli Ata near Balkanabat, Parau Bibi near Serdar (Kyzyl Arvat), Said Jemaleddin in Anau, Kyz Bibi in Nohur, Yusuf Hamadani and Ibn Zayd in Merw, Kyrk Molla and Najmeddin Kubra in Kunya Urgench, Meane Baba in Meane, Serakhs Baba in Serags, and Kyrk Kyz in Kugitang.

Turkmen tribes since the arrival of Oghuz (Guzz) Turks (10^th century AD) lived in yurt-settlements and roamed the desert oases with their herds of camels, sheep and goats. Next to the care for the family and the household, women engaged in intricate forms of dress embroidery, knitting, silk weaving and carpet knotting, whereas men busied themselves with the herds, horses, and were masters at pottery baking and jewelry making.

For the roaming tribes the main public meeting place was at the bazaar. Trade in cattle, local agricultural produce and arts and crafts brought together large crowds of people coming from faraway places. Melons and grapes were on sale, next to carpets, jewelry and silk material. Today the bazaar continues to fulfill this important role. While every local settlement has its own daily bazaar, once a week the bazaar extends to include traders from all around the neighboring villages and districts. The absolute best example of such a bazaar we can see at Tolkuchka Bazaar just outside Ashgabat. Biggest in Central Asia and comparable in size with the Sunday Bazaar in Kashgar (China) this bazaar is working on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Other bazaars worth visiting are the Sunday bazaars in Turkmenabad or Mary.

Lots of people also gathered at the occasion of a family’s celebration, where everyone would appear in their best dress and decorations, and would enjoy music performances and dancing.

In Turkmen tradition marriage remains the most colorful social event. When a Turkmen family holds a wedding or “toy” (literally: feast) a lot of guests are invited and all neighbors help to celebrate it, bringing crockery and cooking up dishes. Every passer-by is welcomed to attend. Marriage is a very lengthy process, which begins with arranging the match. The suitor sends matchmakers to the girl’s parents. The matchmakers - relatives of the suitor - will bring lavish gifts to the girl’s parents and ask their consent. Then the bride price and wedding date will be set. When a Turkmen bride arrives to the bridegroom’s house both mothers offer to the bride and guests sweets, wishing the bride a sweet life. They present toys to children, wishing the bride to have children. At this moment young men toss up telpeks –traditional fur hats, wishing the bride and the bridegroom a long life. Every word and every motion during this ceremony are loaded with meaning. Different games and tournaments are always held to celebrate this family occasion. During the ceremony “gushak chozdurme” or un-tying a sash (waste band of the groom) the bridegroom and the bride are dressed in traditional costumes. The bride groom is wearing a red silk gown with a scarlet homespun sash and a shaggy hat of snow-white sheepskin. The bride is wearing a long silk dress and her head is covered by traditional robe and her mouth is closed by a special kerchief of silence.

Turkmen women have never completely closed their faces. The legend says that Turkmen have originated from the light of the Great Creator therefore their faces should be opened to the Sun. That is how Turkmen are dressed for a feast. Their embroidered dress and silk headscarves mark the tribe they represent, and intricate gold-on-silver jewelry completes their decorations.

The Turkmen telpek is only a part of the traditional Turkmen male costume. It obliges the person with a number of duties - to protect his family, to be wise and to live in dignity, to be true to his word and merciful. When the bride takes off the bridegroom’s hat and unties his sash that means she will always serve her husband.

If you are interested in watching a marriage ritual, include a visit to a folklore show to your itinerary in Ashgabat, and arrange your trip such that it includes a Thursday, Saturday or Sunday stay in Ashgabat for a visit to Tolkuchka Bazaar.

National garments

Traditional Turkmen women’s garments are real pieces of art. Dresses, overcoats and scarves are made form fine material, woven on simple horizontal looms, and decorated with intricate embroidery, unique in the Central Asian region. Next to being decorative, these embroideries, particularly those at the edges of a garment, were also functioning as an amulet that would deter evil spirits.

The art of sowing embroidered head coverings (kurte or chirpe), dresses (koynek), single-piece robes (don) and scarves has remained unchanged over centuries. These garments are plain in shape, and well adapted to the local living and climatic conditions. The dresses and overcoats were mostly made from narrow pieces of silk material called ketene, in red, green or purple color, whereas for some of the single-piece overcoats cotton material was also used. A selection of

Chirpe head coverings were worn by women on special occasions. The decorative embroidery covered the whole garment, and reflected stylized shapes of animals, household items, but mostly flowers (lotus, tulip). Kurte head coverings – though similar in shape and purpose – were decorated less densely than the chirpe.

The shape of the ceremonial dress called ketene koynek – also made from ketene material – stresses the yellow lining of this material. The lining in turn – running all the way from top to bottom of the dress in the front, back, both sides and over the arms, stresses the overall shape of the dress.

Besides a dress, robe and head covering women wore a cover for the lower part of their face. This garment is called gynach. They are sown from silk material and triangular in shape. Two sides are richly decorated with embroidery and brushes.

A less formal, yet extremely popular piece of clothing that was and still is worn at home by virtually everyone, and in public by nearly all women in the cold period of the year are jorabi and cheshki. These respectively longer or ankle sized knitted socks are made from sheep wool, camel hair or synthetic thread, and are intricately decorated on all sides.

Young girls and boys and teenagers, up to the time they marry, frequently wear an embroidered head cover called tahiya during formal functions, including when attending school or university.

Traditional Turkmen men’s robes, also called don, are made from cotton material with plain decorative edges. The don ichmek is a heavy winter version, made from sheep’s skin, polished/treated with pomegranate skin.

Men’s hats, telpek, come in many designs. The most striking is the silkme telpek, made from long sheep hair, and providing perfect protection to the head from heat and cold alike.

Fine collections of antique garments can be seen on display at several museums in Turkmenistan. But also at a wedding photo shoot next to popular monuments, in the streets and at the bazaars in the southern parts of Turkmenistan we can see ordinary people wearing these garments.

Jewelry

Traditional Turkmen jewelry is, just as the embroidered garments, very peculiar and unique for Turkmens only. And just as the garments, we can identify different styles and designs used by different Turkmen tribes. The ornaments are in general fairly massive; silver foundations were often gilded with gold top coatings, and with inlays of turquoise (Yomut) or Cornelian (Teke).

The craft of making jewelry has been practiced by Turkmen artisans since many centuries ago. Today we find samples of this jewelry dating from no earlier than the beginning of the 19^th century. This can be explained by the fact that jewelers used old jewelry to make new creations, and therefore melted down old jewelry. Systematic collection of rare samples was begun in the late 1930s.

A wide variety of decorations are worn by women on the occasion of special celebrations. These pieces of jewelry are very large in size and more densely decorated with precious stones and engraved designs than the daily pieces of jewelry. A special set comes as bridal decorations, and a particular set is also made for children. All these have the combined functions as decoration as well as protective amulet.

Jewelry art includes not only personal decoration, but also other items made from precious metal and other metals, such as horse harnesses, knife handles, swords and whips. Personal decorations come in dozens of shapes and have each their own function. Here is just a short list to give you an idea of the wealth of Turkmen jewelry:

Gulyaka and gursakcha:    the most frequently and constantly worn piece of jewelry worn by                                                                     women; it is a round or oval shaped brooch, worn on the front                                                                                            edge of a dress’ neckband.

Gupba                                   a conically-shaped piece of jewelry that is worn by young girls, on                                                                       top of the head cover tahiya.

Chekelik                                 a long pendant of triangular and other forms that hangs down from                                                                   the head along the temples and cheeks. The largest pendants are                                                                       inlaid with Cornelian or red glass. Brides often wear this type of                                                                              decoration.

Gulak-khalka                        earrings that were very popular among women from the Yomut                                                                          tribe in particular. They have the form of a round loop with a                                                                                               decorated plate in the center of it, and bangles hanging down as if                                                                     they were sunrays. Teke women usually wore long ear hangers                                                                               called tenechir.

Bilezik                                    bracelets in the shape of cylinders, narrowing down towards the                                                                         bottom, and teethed edges. The cylinders are usually composed of                                                                     4 or 5 sections. Some were as much as reaching from the wrist to                                                                    the elbow.

Sachlyk                                  a hair/tail decoration (sach means hair). The sachlyk is made up of                                                                     two long vertical pendants joined by various horizontal                                                                                          constructions. The Yomut tribal sachlyk as an extra detail has bells                                                                 at the bottom.

Yuzyk                                     set of five rings connected on the upper part of the hand by silver                                                                       strings, often connecting the yuzyk to a bracelet.

 Bukov                                   Teke chest pendants that hold very large, richly decorated discs.

Ildirgich                                 a frontal ornament worn by Teke women. Whereas the ildirgich is                                                                      composed of different little plaques and therefore more flexible in                                                                     shape, the main component of the egme is a massive plaque with                                                                     decorative Cornelian stone inlay.

Gynach-udzhi                       a long piece of jewelry that is attached to the sides of the head                                                                           cover gynach.

Boyun-bag or boyun-tovuk necklaces of thick (twisted) silver with chest pendants, attached to                                                                   a central medallion in the necklace.

Next to jewelry that fulfills mainly an esthetical function, there are also decorations that are purely fulfilling the function of protection against the evil eye. Some are worn, and some are sown into or onto clothing. Some are solid, and some have a hollow part inside, that leaves space from something to keep evil spirits at a distance (such as Koran texts, salt or coal).

Kheykel                                  mostly square (leather) cases that hold Koran texts or other                                                                                 written charms. The top part of the case, and the shoulder or neck                                                                     band, are covered with gold and silver decorations and inlays of                                                                            various precious stones.

Eginlik                                   an amulet-decoration that is believed to protect a mother’s milk.

Achar-bag                             a square charm holder mostly worn by Yomut tribe (decorations in                                                                     blue).

Tumar                                    a charm holder that was worn on the front, back or shoulder band,                                                                    depending on the purpose of the charm it held. Shapes could be                                                                         cylindrical, square, triangular or a combination of all these.

Goch-boynguz and ok-yai amulet-decorations sewn into boys’ clothing.

Various museums and several private collections in Turkmenistan have an impressive array of antique jewelry on display. Of course, you can also find Turkmen jewelry at Sunday bazaars. Without doubt the best occasion to watch the abundance of jewelry is when observing a Turkmen wedding ritual or photo shoot.

Carpets and felts

For Turkmen people carpets are not only a symbol of beauty and happiness, but also tell the story of their forefathers; carpets tell Turkmen history. For centuries, travelers through Turkmenistan document about the quality of the carpets woven here.

Akhal Teke horses got their name from the Akhal oasis in the center of Turkmenistan, which is historically inhabited by one of the Turkmen tribes – the Teke.  Through centuries the Teke were able to keep the purity of their horses, to polish their exterior, develop endless enormous stamina and the ability to withstand the extremeness of temperatures and harsh climate. Akhal Teke horses are notable for their dry constitution and well developed muscles of croup, a much longer neck than other horses, mobile thin ears, very expressive eyes, thin legs with strong sinews, tall and high withers, strong small hoofs and a unique  golden-colored coating, possessing a brilliant metallic sheen, outstanding speed and highly developed nervous system.

This ancient breed helped to develop the Arabian, English, Orlov saddle horse, Karabakh, Donski, Persian, Pakistan, Indian and Afghan horses. The stallion Atti, born in 1784, occupies a central place in the history of Turkmen horse-breeding. In 1790 Atti was transported from Istanbul to Prussia, and used to improve horse breeds like the Trachen (Germany), the lonius (Hungary) and a few half-blood breeds in Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia.

The origin of Akhal Teke horses stretches back to ancient times. Chinese called them ‘Heavenly horses’ or Divine Horses. Ancient Greek, Roman, Chinese and Arab chronicles mention the desires to obtain one of these superior horses, for example King Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and various Chinese emperors and Arab rulers.

Akhal Teke horses have been immortalized in Turkmen traditional songs, proverbs and poems. Their intelligence, wisdom and attachment to human beings are all legendary. One Turkmen proverb says, “When you get up in the morning you must greet your father and your horse”. Turkmen horse-breeders (seys) had a special approach to their horses. Each Turkmen kept one horse. They were never herded and Turkmens kept them tethered. They fed them pellets of food that contained a mixture of alfalfa, barley and mutton fat. Historians noted that “The Turkmen do not only nourish tenderly their horses, but also with passion. To treat a horse badly is considered a sin among them. The whole tribe would scorn a person committing such a sin.” For this reason, of all Central Asian peoples, Turkmen are the only ones who never slaughtered a horse for its meat or drank mare’s milk.

After the Bolshevik Revolution the Akhal Teke horses experienced a very difficult period in their history. During collectivization efforts all Akhal Teke horses were registered with the new Soviet government and private ownership of horses was banned.

By the end of the 20th century this ancient and unique horse breed was in danger of extinction. The policy of Saparmurad Turkmenbashi - the first president of independent Turkmenistan, helped to prevent this. In 1986 he issued a decree permitting to keep Akhal Teke horses on private farmsteads.

The Akhal Teke is an excellent sport horse. It is perfect in marathon racing; dressage, breaking in and flat race conquer. In 1935 thirty Turkmen riders with their horses made a very long trek and covered 4,300 km from Ashgabat to Moscow in 84 days. All horses successfully overcame the difficulties of this trek, the major part of which run through the Karakum and other desert terrain. Shortly afterwards the Akhal Teke stallion Zenith set a record by covering 300 km in 19 hours. The Akhal Teke proved itself as an endurance horse. If necessary, the Akhal Teke can stay without food and water for much longer than other horses and could easily endure terrible heat.

In 1960 at the Rome Olympics the Akhal Teke stallion Absent, ridden by Sergei Filatov won a gold medal in dressage and was called ’Horse of the century’. Later at the Mexico Olympics a new rider on Absent became champion in team riding. The whole world admires and applauds the circus ensemble ’Horsemen from sunny Turkmenistan”, which perform on Akhal Teke horses.

Nothing can really compare with the experience of horse riding. Each of us, at least once in our lives, has perhaps dreamt of riding a horse. This dream can easily come true in Turkmenistan, which is justly famous for its elegant horses. Both veteran equestrians and those less experienced will find a good possibility to ride well trained and mannered horses at private stables outside Ashgabat.

Our travel agency can organize a visit to these private stables or offer cross-country horse treks.  You’ll ride under the watchful eye of highly qualified instructors and experience the solitude of the Kopetdag Mountains and the Karakum Desert. The peace and beauty of the nature will be one of the highlights of your stay in Turkmenistan.

Contact us for more details on horse riding tours, but also about attending horse races that take place every Sunday during spring and autumn at the National Hippodrome in Ashgabat.

The last week ending on the last Sunday of April has formally been devoted to the famous Turkmen horses. Contact us for exact program details during that week.