Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sunni Islam is the state religion. Despite
Turkmenistan's constitutional guarantee of
free practice for all faiths, in reality Islam
and Orthodox Christianity are the only
freely practised religions.
People
Turkmen remain nomadic at heart, if not
still in practice, and carry themselves in a
simple yet dignified manner that reflects
their rural lifestyle. Nomadic rules, includ-
ing the treatment of guests, still dominate
home life.
Turkmen are guided spiritually by a
unique form of Central Asian animism.
Holiday breaks are thus used for pilgrim-
age time. Women in particular use these
pilgrimages as an opportunity to take a
break from their home life, and you may
see caravans of women on buses, headed
to shrines around the country where they'll
camp, cook and pray.
By the standards of many Muslim socie-
ties, women in Turkmenistan enjoy a good
amount of freedom and choice. In most
cases they tend to be home-makers and
mothers, as well as often working in the
fields to cultivate crops. Bucking this trend
is an urban elite of educated, Westernised
women in Ashgabat who work in all fields
and enjoy most of the freedoms of their
male counterparts. Very few women wear
the veil in Turkmenistan, though colourful
scarves on the head are ubiquitous.
Arts
Turkmen carpets are world famous and can
be seen just about everywhere, although
the best place to see them is in the bazaar.
Silk, embroidery, silver and jewellery are
other crafts that have been perfected over
the centuries.
The arts have not thrived since the end
of Soviet rule. Theatres remain active, al-
beit with Turkmen-only song-and-dance
acts, concerts and drama performances.
The most impressive traditional singing,
bakhshi, deals with folklore, battles and
love, and is accompanied by a dutar (two-
stringed guitar).
Between the Soviets and Niyazov, con-
temporary Turkmen literature has been
all but destroyed. Rahim Esenov was Turk-
menistan's best literary hope until he was
jailed (in 2004) following the publication
of his book The Crowned Wanderer. Turk-
men are encouraged to read the writings
of poet Magtymguly Feraghy (1733-83)
and, increasingly, those of President Berdy-
mukhamedov, whose voluminous contribu-
tions to literature include a book on wild
flowers.
Population
The population of Turkmenistan is estimat-
ed to be just over five million; a census was
undertaken in 2012, but its results remained
unpublished at the time of writing. Uzbeks,
who make up about 5% of the population,
live in the border cities of Konye-Urgench,
Dashogus and Turkmenabat. Russians have
left in huge numbers since independence,
as it becomes increasingly hard to work
without speaking Turkmen, and dual citi-
zenship was phased out in 2013.
Environment
Effectively a giant desert ringed by oases
along the country's borders, Turkmenistan
is home to far more varied landscapes than
you might expect. To the east are the can-
yons and lush mountains of the Kugitang
Nature Reserve, while to the south the Ko-
pet Dag range rises up in a line towards
the Caspian Sea. The territory along the
Caspian is particularly unusual - vast mud
flats, coloured canyons and the enormous
bulk of the Big Balkan massif make this one
of the more bleakly beautiful places in the
country.
Religion
Turkmen are deeply spiritual people with-
out being particularly religious compared
with people in nearby Iran or Afghanistan.
Their traditional animist beliefs have been
blended over the centuries with Islam, and
evidence of this is clear at mosques and
mausoleums, which are often decorated
with animist features such as snakes and
rams' horns. Likewise, pilgrims arrive at
these sites bearing tokens such as mini-
ature cribs, indicating a desire for children.
Wildlife
The most famous of Turkmenistan's many
interesting species is the Akhal-Teke horse,
a beautiful golden creature that is believed
to be the ancestor of today's purebred.
 
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