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History of
Turkmenistan
Tools from the
Stone-Age have been discovered along the Caspian Sea shore and
near the modern port of Turkmenbashi, establishing the
pre-historic presence of humans in the area that is today known
as Turkmenistan. The remains of farming settlements in the
Kopet-Dag Mountains date back 8,000 years. The ancient
cultivators in this region used the mountain streams to irrigate
their crops. They also survived by
herding livestock and by hunting wild game.
As early societies learned to make pottery and metal tools, they
began to trade with other peoples of central Asia. This
profitable trade however, also attracted foreign invaders. By
the 6th century B.C., the powerful Persian Empire had
established the provinces of Parthia and Margiana, in what is
now Turkmenistan. From their base south of the Kopet-Dag range,
the Persians controlled trade through central Asia and subdued
the many nomadic peoples who lived on Turkmenistan's arid
plains.
The energy-rich Central Asian
country revives its most ancient rituals and customs, and
discovers old taboos that were thinly papered over during
Communist rule. Many marriages are arranged, but
marriages-of-love are becoming more popular. Muslims in
Turkmenistan are of the Sunni faith, and do not share the
Islamic fundamentalism of their neighbors in Afghanistan and
Iran.
Young women with two braids and a
small scarf are unmarried; those with one braid and a big
kerchief have been wed...More than 70 different nationalities
reside in Turkmenistan...Two giant earthquakes (10 points on the
Richter scale) in 1895 and 1924 flattened Krasnovodsky and
Ashgabat respectively. A 1948 quake destroyed Ashgabat in less
than a minute...Yurta, the traditional tent (it has a
collapsible wooden frame and is covered with reeds and felt) is
still used today.
The tent is erected in the front
yard and used as a summer house...National dress: men wear high,
shaggy sheepskin hats and red robes over white shirts. Women
wear long sack-dresses over narrow trousers (the pants are
trimmed with a band of embroidery at the ankle). Female
headdresses usually consist of silver jewelry. Bracelets and
brooches are set with semi-precious stones...The Turkmen are
famous for their horses, breeding and training. Princess Anne of
Great Britain purchased Turkmen horses. |
Tours to Turkmenistan 